The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released a new guide for small businesses and farmers on the potential benefits of collective bargaining.

The ACCC says small businesses, including farmers, can sometimes be better off negotiating with their suppliers or customers as a group (referred to as collective bargaining).

Working together can help smaller businesses in some circumstances to negotiate better terms and conditions with larger businesses, and create efficiencies, that they would not achieve on their own.

But without ACCC approval they also risk breaching the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

The new ACCC guide highlights issues to take into account for small businesses considering negotiating as a group, and also outlines the ACCC approval process if they wish to proceed.

To view the new guide click here to visit the ACCC website.