Competition and Consumer Act. Australia
the following matters:
(a) that access (or increased access) to the service would promote a material increase in competition in at least one market (whether or not in Australia), other than the market for the service;
(b) that it would be uneconomical for anyone to develop another facility to provide the service;
(c) that the facility is of national significance, having regard to:
(i) the size of the facility; or
(ii) the importance of the facility to constitutional trade or commerce; or
(iii) the importance of the facility to the national economy;
(e) that access to the service:
(i) is not already the subject of a regime in relation to which a decision under section 44N that the regime is an effective access regime is in force (including as a result of an extension under section 44NB); or
(ii) is the subject of a regime in relation to which a decision under section 44N that the regime is an effective access regime is in force (including as a result of an extension under section 44NB), but the designated Minister believes that, since the Commonwealth Minister’s decision was published, there have been substantial modifications of the access regime or of the relevant principles set out in the Competition Principles Agreement;
(f) that access (or increased access) to the service would not be contrary to the public interest.
(6B) The designated Minister cannot declare a service provided by means of a pipeline (within the meaning of a National Gas Law) if:
(a) a 15-year no-coverage determination is in force under the National Gas Law in respect of the pipeline; or
(b) a price regulation exemption is in force under the National Gas Law in respect of the pipeline.
(6C) The designated Minister cannot declare a service if there is in force a decision of the designated Minister under section 44LG that the service is ineligible to be a declared service.
(8) If the designated Minister declares the service, the declaration must specify the expiry date of the declaration.
(9) If the designated Minister does not publish under section 44HA his or her decision on the declaration recommendation within 60 days after receiving the declaration recommendation, the designated Minister is taken, at the end of that 60-day period, to have decided not to declare the service and to have published that decision not to declare the service.
44HA Designated Minister must publish his or her decision
(1) The designated Minister must publish, by electronic or other means, his or her decision on a declaration recommendation and his or her reasons for the decision.
(2) The designated Minister must give a copy of the publication to:
(a) the applicant under section 44F; and
(b) if the applicant is not the provider of the service — the provider.
Consultation
(3) Before publishing under subsection (1), the designated Minister may give any one or more of the following persons:
(a) the applicant under section 44F;
(b) if the applicant is not the provider of the service — the provider;
(c) any other person the designated Minister considers appropriate;
a notice in writing:
(d) specifying what the designated Minister is proposing to publish; and
(e) inviting the person to make a written submission to the designated Minister within 14 days after the notice is given identifying any information the person considers should not be published because of its confidential commercial nature.
(4) The designated Minister must have regard to any submission so made in deciding what to publish. He or she may have regard to any other matter he or she considers relevant.
44I Duration and effect of declaration
(1) Subject to this section, a declaration begins to operate at a time specified in the declaration. The time cannot be earlier than 21 days after the declaration is published.
(2) If:
(a) an application for review of a declaration is made within 21 days after the day the declaration is published; and
(b) the Tribunal makes an order under section 44KA staying the operation of the declaration;
the declaration does not begin to operate until the order is no longer of effect under subsection 44KA(6) or the Tribunal makes a decision on the review to affirm the declaration, whichever is the earlier.
(3) A declaration continues in operation until its expiry date, unless it is earlier revoked.
(4) The expiry or revocation of a declaration does not affect:
(a) the arbitration of an access dispute that was notified before the expiry or revocation; or
(b) the operation or enforcement of any determination made in the arbitration of an access dispute that was notified before the expiry or revocation.
44J Revocation of declaration
(1) The Council may recommend to the designated Minister that a declaration be revoked. The Council must have regard to the objects of this Part in making its decision.
(2) The Council cannot recommend revocation of a declaration unless it is satisfied that, at the time of the recommendation, subsection 44H(4) would prevent the designated Minister from declaring the service concerned.
(3) On receiving a revocation recommendation, the designated Minister must either revoke the declaration or decide not to revoke the declaration.
(3A) The designated Minister must have regard to the objects of this Part in making his or her decision.
(4) The designated Minister must publish the decision to revoke or not to revoke.
(5) If the designated Minister decides not to revoke, the designated Minister must give reasons for the decision to the provider of the declared service when the designated Minister publishes the decision.
(6) The designated Minister cannot revoke a declaration without receiving a revocation recommendation.
(7) If the designated Minister does not publish under subsection (4) his or her decision on the revocation recommendation within the period starting at the start of the day the recommendation is received and ending at the end of 60 days after that day, the designated Minister is taken, immediately after the end of that 60-day period:
(a) to have made a decision that the declaration be revoked; and
(b) to have published that decision in accordance with this section.
44K Review of declaration
(1) If the designated Minister declares a service, the provider may apply in writing to the Tribunal for review of the declaration.
(2) If the designated Minister decides not to declare a service, an application in writing for review of the designated Minister’s decision may be made by the person who applied for the declaration recommendation.
(3) An application for review must be made within 21 days after publication of the designated Minister’s decision.
(4) The review by the Tribunal is a re-consideration of the matter based on the information, reports and things referred to in section 44ZZOAA.
Note: There are limits on the information to which the Tribunal may have regard (see section 44ZZOAA) and time limits that apply to the Tribunal’s decision on the review (see section 44ZZOA).
(5) For the purposes of the review, the Tribunal has the same powers as the designated Minister.
(6)