BINGO response to Federal Court penalty

BINGO Industries (BINGO) acknowledges today’s penalty imposed by the Federal Court in relation to two offences relating to pricing for building and demolition waste services in Sydney in 2019.

BINGO deeply regrets that the matter occurred. It does not reflect BINGO’s values or standards of behaviour and the company has made significant improvements to its governance and compliance protocols.

BINGO co-operated with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) from the outset of the investigation in relation to the matter and pleaded guilty to the charges at the first available opportunity.

The matter relates to a price increase implemented over about a two-month period in July and August 2019 in BINGO’s skip bin and processing businesses, predominantly at BINGO’s NSW facilities in Greenacre, Revesby and Auburn.

BINGO Chief Executive Officer, Chris Jeffrey, said that BINGO has learned from the experience and that it is now a materially different company than it was when the matter occurred.

“We’ve got a new owner, a new board, a new chair and a new executive team,” he said.

“Since the matter occurred close to five years ago, we’ve significantly improved our focus on governance and compliance.

“We’ve undertaken a comprehensive review of our internal processes and implemented enhanced compliance training programs to ensure the situation is never repeated. This includes:

• Improved protocols for dealing with competitors (who can also be customers of the business)
• Improved protocols for issuing price change communications
• Regular competition law training for all sales staff
• Internal quality assurance reviews”

During the course of the proceedings the CDPP acknowledged the improvements BINGO had made to its governance processes.

“We’re pleased to put this matter behind us. Our focus remains on achieving our vision of a waste-free Australia and assisting in the transition to a circular economy,” Mr Jeffrey said.

For further information:

Media: Chris Gordon +61 467 333 440