A Federal Court judge has found BlueScope attempted to engage in cartel conduct and price-fixing.

Justice Michael O’Bryan has handed down a 453-page judgement following a trial in late 2021, which found that most of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s allegations in the civil case were proven.

The court found that BlueScope Steel Limited and its former general manager of sales and marketing, Mr Jason Ellis, engaged in cartel conduct in relation to the supply of flat steel products in Australia.

Between September 2013 and June 2014, BlueScope and Mr Ellis attempted to induce eight steel distributors in Australia, and overseas manufacturer, Yieh Phui, to enter agreements to fix and/or raise the level of pricing for flat steel products supplied in Australia.

Justice O’Bryan found that the attempted price-fixing was not successful.

“No understandings were ultimately arrived at. In some instances, the evidence suggests that BlueScope’s proposal, whatever its ultimate characterisation under the act, was rebuffed because the counterparties believed that the proposal would or might involve a contravention of the law,” the judgement states.

“In other instances, the proposal was ignored because the competitive pressure from imported steel made BlueScope’s proposal commercially unviable.”

A two-day hearing will be held from April 3 next year to determine appropriate penalties. 

The ACCC is seeking penalties against BlueScope and Mr Ellis, including having him disqualified from being a director of any company in Australia.

The decision comes after Mr Ellis was convicted and sentenced in December 2020 for inciting the obstruction of an ACCC investigation, as a result of his conduct encouraging two other BlueScope employees to give false information and evidence to the ACCC during its investigation of the cartel conduct.