The company was accused by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of breaching the price fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act and Competition Codes with regards to the price of copy paper and uncoated woodfree folio paper supplied to Australian customers.

The company admitted to having been part of a group known as the 'AAA Club', participating in as many as 18 secret meetings with competitors between December 2000 and January 2004.

According to the ACCC, these meetings saw the companies involved make "arrangements or understandings with competitors about the average price of paper sold", with the company then giving "effect to these arrangements in its Australian pricing".

Federal Court Justice Bennett said: "Conduct at AAA Club meetings was an arrangement which arose in circumstances where the participants were seeking to achieve stability in pricing by avoiding competition amongst themselves."

APRIL received what was described as a "significantly discounted" penalty as a result of its cooperation in the proceedings. As well as having to cover the ACCC's court costs in the amount of $250,000, APRIL has been served with injunctions to prevent further collusion over pricing.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said: "This matter sends a strong message that the ACCC will pursue alleged cartel arrangements made overseas by foreign corporations that affect Australian prices and consumers, in this case for a basic commodity like copy paper."

Federal Court proceedings will continue against other parties implicated in the price-fixing arrangements.

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