The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched civil cartel proceedings in the Federal Court against four Sydney-based mobile crane hire companies and four senior executives, alleging they arranged not to supply services to certain customers or sites and, in two cases, attempted to fix prices.
The ACCC named Borger Crane Hire & Rigging Services Pty Ltd, MCR Melrose Pty Ltd, Two Way Cranes Pty Ltd and Ultra-Lift Cranes Pty Ltd. Executives alleged to be involved are Borger Cranes’ general manager Shawn Borger; Melrose Cranes’ former managing director Gregg Melrose and former general manager Ryan Melrose; and Frank Zammit, managing director of both Two Way Cranes and Ultra-Lift Cranes.
The regulator says the conduct is alleged to have taken place on a number of occasions between 2020 and 2024 and likely affected customers and sites across the Sydney area, including major construction projects.
“The allegations in this case involve the conduct of the largest mobile crane companies in Sydney that regularly supply mobile cranes for major infrastructure projects, small business and residential building work,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass‑Gottlieb said. “When companies collude to limit supply or fix prices, it reduces competition in the market and harms businesses and consumers.”
According to the ACCC, the companies used WhatsApp to identify particular building sites or customers and to reach arrangements that some or all of the companies would not supply cranes to those sites or customers. The regulator alleges the senior executives coordinated their actions in chat groups named “Crane Companies” and “Big 3”.
The watchdog also alleges that Melrose Cranes and Gregg Melrose made three attempts in 2022 to fix mobile crane hire rates with competing firms, and that in 2022 Borger Cranes and Shawn Borger attempted to fix cross‑hire rates — fees charged when one crane company rents a crane from a competitor.
“Mobile cranes are used across a range of critical sectors of the Australian economy, including construction, infrastructure, utilities, and mining, so ensuring businesses compete vigorously to supply services into these sectors is extremely important,” Ms Cass‑Gottlieb said. “We will continue to hold companies and individuals accountable for conduct that we consider harms competition and, ultimately, the broader community.”
The ACCC is seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties and costs against the businesses and the four executives, disqualification orders against three of the executives, and compliance orders against Borger Cranes, Two Way Cranes and Ultra‑Lift Cranes.
The regulator said some of the alleged conduct occurred in the context of negotiations with the CFMEU over Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, and in situations where companies had been, or risked being, removed from sites because of union action. Other alleged arrangements related to customers identified as having unpaid debts for crane hire services.
Cartel conduct can attract substantial penalties. For conduct occurring before 9 November 2022, a court may order a maximum civil penalty for a corporation of the greater of $10 million, three times the benefit attributable to the conduct, or 10 per cent of annual turnover in the 12 months before the act. Penalties were increased on and after 9 November 2022, with maximum fines for corporations rising to the greater of $50 million, three times the benefit, or 30 per cent of adjusted turnover during the breach period; individuals may face up to $2.5 million for each contravention.
