Mastercard wins battle over privilege claim in Australian antitrust case
By Saloni Sinha ( August 22, 2025, 07:47 GMT | Insight) -- Mastercard has successfully defended its legal-privilege claims in an Australian court, preventing the country’s competition watchdog from relying on the company’s internal draft agreements and emails, as the regulator prepares for an antitrust lawsuit. Federal Court of Australia Judge John Halley ruled today that Mastercard’s draft agreements and internal emails were privileged, dismissing claims by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that documents passed by Mastercard’s former in-house legal adviser to an employee from the company’s commercial side had voided legal privilege.Mastercard has successfully defended its legal-privilege claims in an Australian court, preventing the country’s competition watchdog from relying on the company’s internal draft agreements and emails, as the regulator prepares for an antitrust lawsuit....
Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today
MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.
Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:
- Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
- Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
- Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
- Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline
Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.