Northern Australian shipping and logistics company, Sea Swift, has acknowledged ACCC concerns its conduct may breach competition laws and will amend its transport contracts.
The ACCC said it was concerned elements of Sea Swift’s contracts with customers were anti-competitive and could significantly increase the cost of living in remote communities, including for First Nations Australians.
As a result of the ACCC investigation, Sea Swift has undertaken to amend its contract terms to remove restrictions that prevented other scheduled sea freight providers in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland from competing for customers and entering the market.
ACCC commissioner, Luke Woodward, said the regulator had significant concerns about the impact of restrictions on competition in remote freight services.
“Sea freight is literally a lifeline for many remote communities in supplying fresh produce and medical supplies. We had significant concerns about the impact that restrictions on competition in the supply of sea freight services can have on people living in remote communities, including First Nations Australians,” Woodward said.
“If remote businesses have only one supplier of essential services or goods, that supplier has few restrictions on the price it can charge, and consumers are often charged a higher price than they would in a competitive market.”
Woodward said the matter formed part of the ACCC’s engagement with the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) on improving access to affordable essentials in remote communities.
“The amended contract terms will give customers the flexibility to use alternative freight service providers, including the option to transport smaller, ad hoc volumes by sea or road,” he said.
The ACCC said it was concerned Sea Swift may have misused its market power and engaged in prohibited anti-competitive exclusive dealing conduct through long-term exclusive agreements with staggered end dates.
Some contracts also required customers to allow Sea Swift to match competitor proposals.
“We considered that these contracts could have prevented other freight service suppliers from growing large enough to viably compete, and that Sea Swift’s conduct had the substantial purpose, effect, or likely effect of substantially lessening competition,” Woodward said.
The regulator has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Sea Swift requiring it to amend existing and future contracts to remove anti-competitive clauses. The company will also notify customers of the changes through email and its website and implement a compliance program.
Sea Swift provides regular scheduled sea freight services to remote communities in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, transporting cargo including fresh produce, medical supplies, construction materials, mining equipment and vehicles. Since September 2025, it has been the sole supplier of regular scheduled sea freight services on most routes in those regions.
The ACCC said the matter forms part of its broader work with the NIAA following recommendations arising from the 2020–21 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs inquiry into food prices and food security in remote Indigenous communities.
In March 2025, the ACCC’s supermarkets inquiry found grocery prices may be significantly higher in remote locations, primarily due to the higher costs of servicing those areas.
The regulator also noted that in 2016 the Australian Competition Tribunal authorised Sea Swift’s acquisition of marine freight assets from Toll Marine Logistics Australia under a net public benefit test, subject to conditions.
The acquisition resulted in Sea Swift holding a near-monopoly position in sea freight services across the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland.
