In the war against bid rigging, the Commerce Commission has today released new guidelines to secure a fair playing field for consumers.

Bid rigging - a form of cartel conduct - is prohibited by the Commerce Act 1986.

Cartels are formed when companies collude with their competitors to increase or maintain prices, divide geographical territories, customers or projects between themselves, agree to limit production, and/or engage in bid rigging, according to the Commerce Commission.

As flagged earlier earlier this week (read: Joyce: ‘pragmatic’ Crown Fibre changes lift investor appeal) Communications Minister Minister Steven Joyce has announced changes to the ultrafast broadband (UFB) tender today.