(1) For the purposes of this Act, a government monopoly service is a service supplied by a government agency and declared by the regulations or the Minister to be a government monopoly service.Editorial note— For declarations under this subsection, see the Historical notes at the end of this Act. (2) A service may be declared to be a government monopoly service if the Minister certifies that it is a service:
(a) for which there are no other suppliers to provide competition in the part of the market concerned, and (b) for which there is no contestable market by potential suppliers in the short term in that part of the market.
(1) The Tribunal consists of 3 members appointed by the Minister as the permanent members of the Tribunal, and any number of additional members appointed by the Minister as temporary members. (2) Of the permanent members of the Tribunal, one is to be appointed as Chairperson.
(1) The Tribunal may enter into arrangements with any government agency, or other body or person (whether in the public or private sector):
(a) for the provision of assistance to the Tribunal in connection with investigations under this Act or the exercise of other functions of the Tribunal (whether under this or any other Act), or (b) for the provision of assistance by the Tribunal to the agency or other body or person by means of the provision of services that are within the Tribunal’s field of expertise and relevant to its functions.
(1) The Tribunal is to conduct investigations and make reports to the Minister on the following matters:
(a) the determination of the pricing for a government monopoly service supplied by a government agency specified in Schedule 1, (b) a periodic review of pricing policies in respect of government monopoly services supplied by such an agency.
(1) The Tribunal is also to conduct investigations and make reports to the Minister on any of the following matters referred to the Tribunal by the Minister:
(a) the determination of the pricing for a specified government monopoly service, (b) a periodic review of pricing policies in respect of a specified government monopoly service.
(1) The Tribunal is to conduct investigations and make reports on any matter with respect to pricing, industry or competition that is referred to the Tribunal by the Minister. (2) If the Minister so directs, a report by the Tribunal on an investigation under this section that relates to one or more access regimes is to include general guidelines for those access regimes.
(1) A government agency that, under a public infrastructure access regime, proposes to enter into an agreement for the granting of access to services provided by means of infrastructure facilities owned, controlled or operated by it must notify the Tribunal of the proposal at least 30 days before entering into the agreement.
(1) A government agency that, under a public infrastructure access regime, enters into an agreement for the granting of access to services provided by means of infrastructure facilities owned, controlled or operated by it must notify the Tribunal of that fact. (2) The agency must also provide the Tribunal with a copy of the agreement if the Tribunal requests it, and with such details of the agreement as the Tribunal may request.
(1) The Minister may, in respect of an investigation and report under this Part by the Tribunal, do any or all of the following:
(a) specify a period within which the report is required to be submitted to the Minister, (b) require the Tribunal to make a draft report available to the public, or to any specified persons or bodies, during the investigation, (c) require the Tribunal to consider specified matters when making its investigations, and the Tribunal must act accordingly. (2) The Tribunal is required to give notice of any investigation under this Part in a newspaper circulating in the State and to the government agency concerned (if any) and, at the discretion of the Tribunal, to any person or body that may supply or use the relevant service. The notice (and any report of the investigation) is to include the terms of any reference by the Minister and of any requirement made by the Minister under subsection (1). (3) The Tribunal is required, after considering any public comments on any such terms of reference, to settle the final terms of reference in the matter in consultation with the Minister.
(1) In making a determination of the pricing for a government monopoly service, the Tribunal is limited to either of the following approaches:
(a) the first approach, which involves either:
(i) fixing the maximum price for the government monopoly service, or (ii) setting the methodology for fixing the maximum price for the government monopoly service, or (b) the second approach, which involves both:
(i) fixing the maximum price for a part or parts of the government monopoly service, and (ii) setting the methodology for fixing the maximum price for any other part or parts of the government monopoly service.
(1) In making a determination of the proportion of costs that a distribution network service provider may require new customers or further new customers to contribute, the Tribunal may fix the maximum proportion of the costs or set the methodology for fixing the maximum proportion of the costs.
(1) In making determinations and recommendations under this Act, the Tribunal is to have regard to the following matters (in addition to any other matters the Tribunal considers relevant):
(a) the cost of providing the services concerned, (b) the protection of consumers from abuses of monopoly power in terms of prices, pricing policies and standard of services, (c) the appropriate rate of return on public sector assets, including appropriate payment of dividends to the Government for the benefit of the people of New South Wales, (d) the effect on general price inflation over the medium term, (e) the need for greater efficiency in the supply of services so as to reduce costs for the benefit of consumers and taxpayers, (f) the need to maintain ecologically sustainable development (within the meaning of section 6 of the ) by appropriate pricing policies that take account of all the feasible options available to protect the environment, Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991 (g) the impact on pricing policies of borrowing, capital and dividend requirements of the government agency concerned and, in particular, the impact of any need to renew or increase relevant assets, (h) the impact on pricing policies of any arrangements that the government agency concerned has entered into for the exercise of its functions by some other person or body, (i) the need to promote competition in the supply of the services concerned, (j) considerations of demand management (including levels of demand) and least cost planning, (k) the social impact of the determinations and recommendations, (l) standards of quality, reliability and safety of the services concerned (whether those standards are specified by legislation, agreement or otherwise).
(1) The portfolio Minister for a government agency may direct the Tribunal, when it makes a determination of the maximum price for a government monopoly service provided by the agency, to include in the maximum price an amount representing the efficient cost of complying with a specified requirement imposed on the agency.
(1) A determination of the Tribunal of the maximum price for a government monopoly service is to be implemented as follows:
(a) if the price for the service is fixed by a Minister, a public official (other than the Governor) or the relevant government agency—the Minister, official or agency is to ensure that the price does not exceed the maximum price determined by the Tribunal, (b) in any other case—the Minister responsible for the supply of the service (or for the government agency that supplies the service) is required to take the appropriate action available to the Minister to ensure that the price does not exceed the maximum price determined by the Tribunal. (1A) A determination made by the Tribunal of the methodology for fixing the maximum price for a government monopoly service is to be implemented as follows:
(a) if the price for the service is fixed by a Minister, a public official (other than the Governor) or the relevant government agency—the Minister, official or agency is to ensure that the price does not exceed the maximum price fixed in accordance with a proper application of the methodology, (b) in any other case—the Minister responsible for the supply of the service (or for the government agency that supplies the service) is required to take the appropriate action available to the Minister to ensure that the price does not exceed the maximum price fixed in accordance with a proper application of the methodology.
(1) As soon as practicable after the Minister receives a report from the Tribunal under this Part, the Minister is to arrange for copies of the report to be made available for public inspection.
(1) The Tribunal is required to hold at least one hearing for the purposes of each investigation and may hold further hearings if it considers that it is necessary to do so. (2) The Tribunal may also hold public seminars, conduct workshops and establish working groups and task forces for the purposes of an investigation. (3) Before the Tribunal begins to hold hearings for the purposes of an investigation, it must give reasonable notice, by advertisement published in a newspaper circulating in the State, of its intention to hold the hearings, the subject of the hearings and the time and place at which the first of the hearings is to begin.
(1) For the purposes of an investigation, the Chairperson may, by notice in writing served on an officer of a government agency or on any other person, require the officer or other person to do any one or more of the following:
(a) to send to the Tribunal, on or before a day specified in the notice, a statement setting out such information as is so specified, (b) to send to the Tribunal, on or before a day specified in the notice, such documents as are so specified, (c) to attend at a hearing before the Tribunal to give evidence.
(1) The Tribunal must make a document obtained by the Tribunal in connection with an investigation (including any submission given to the Tribunal under section 21 and any statement or document given to the Tribunal under section 22) available for inspection on request by any person, unless the document is an exempt document within the meaning of the . Freedom of Information Act 1989 (2) The Tribunal may make such a document available for inspection on request by any person who the Tribunal considers has an interest in the investigation to which the document relates, despite the fact that the document is an exempt document within the meaning of the . However, the Tribunal may only do that if the Tribunal: Freedom of Information Act 1989
(a) has given the person that gave the document to the Tribunal (and, in the case of a document that is an agreement registered under section 12C, the parties to the agreement) an opportunity to make a submission to the Tribunal on whether the document should be made available, and (b) has considered the submission (if any), and (c) is satisfied that making the document available could not reasonably be expected to damage the commercial or other interests of the State or of the person that gave it to the Tribunal (or, in the case of a document that is an agreement registered under section 12C, of the parties to the agreement) or of any other person.
(1) A person must not, without reasonable excuse:
(a) refuse or fail to comply with a notice served under this Division, or (b) refuse or fail to answer a question that the person is required to answer by the Chairperson at any hearing held under this Division. (2) It is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of subsection (1) that to comply with the notice or to answer the question might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to any forfeiture or penalty.
(1) A person must not, without reasonable excuse:
(a) refuse or fail to comply with a notice served under this Part, or (b) refuse or fail to answer a question that the person is required to answer by the Chairperson at any meeting of the Tribunal under this Part. (2) It is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of subsection (1) that to comply with the notice or to answer the question might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to any forfeiture or penalty.
(1) If a person provides information to the Tribunal in connection with functions under this Part on the understanding that the information is confidential and will not be divulged, the Tribunal is required to ensure that the information is not divulged by it to any person, except:
(a) with the consent of the person who provided the information, or (b) to the extent that the Tribunal is satisfied that the information is not confidential in nature, or (c) to a member or officer of the Tribunal.
(1) If a dispute exists with respect to a public infrastructure access regime that provides for the application of this Part, any party to the dispute may refer the dispute to arbitration.
(1) The Tribunal may act as arbitrator to hear and determine disputes referred to arbitration under this Part. Alternatively, the Tribunal may appoint one or more persons from a panel approved by the Minister (whether or not the persons are members of the Tribunal) who may act as arbitrators to hear and determine a dispute referred to arbitration under this Part.
(1) Any recommendations or advice authorised or required to be made or given by the Tribunal under its regulatory functions may be of a general or specific nature.
(1) There is established by this Act a Utilities Licence Auditing Advisory Committee.
(1) If a person provides information to the Tribunal in connection with its licence auditing functions on the understanding that the information is confidential and will not be divulged, the Tribunal is required to ensure that the information is not divulged by it to any person, except:
(a) with the consent of the person who provided the information, or (b) to the extent that the Tribunal is satisfied that the information is not confidential in nature, or (c) to a member or officer of the Tribunal.
(1) The purpose of this Part is to provide the Tribunal with a role under the State’s complaints mechanism, in connection with competitive neutrality principles, as contemplated by the , so far as they are applicable to public authorities. Other bodies (including the State Contracts Control Board and the Department of Local Government) may also have roles under the complaints mechanism. Competition Principles Agreement (2) Subject to subsection (3), this Part does not apply to a complaint that a public authority has failed to comply with competitive neutrality principles in relation to a tender bid made by the authority in response to an invitation for tenders.
(1) The Minister may refer to the Tribunal, for investigation and report, a complaint about a public trading agency with respect to:
(a) a failure of the agency to comply with competitive neutrality principles in relation to any or all of its public trading activities, or (b) the inappropriate manner in which competitive neutrality principles are applied by or to the agency in relation to any or all of its public trading activities.
(1) The report of the Tribunal with respect to a complaint is to contain a statement of its findings and recommendations about the complaint.
(1) Within 8 weeks after a report about a public trading agency has been furnished to the agency’s portfolio Minister, the portfolio Minister is to prepare a written response to the report. This requirement does not apply where the report states that the investigation concerned was terminated because the complainant did not comply or did not fully comply with a request under section 24GI.
(1) Subject to this Part, in an investigation, the Tribunal:
(a) is to act with as little formality as possible, and (b) may inform itself on any matter in any way it thinks fit and is not bound by the rules of evidence, and (c) may receive information or submissions in the form of oral or written statements, and (d) may consult with such persons as it thinks fit.
(1) If a person provides information ( protected information ) to the Tribunal for the purposes of an investigation on the understanding that the information is confidential and will not be divulged, the Tribunal is required to ensure that the information is not divulged by it to any person, except:
(a) with the consent of the person who provided the information, or (b) to the extent that the Tribunal is satisfied that the information is not confidential in nature, or (c) to a member or officer of the Tribunal. (2) If:
(a) the Tribunal is satisfied that protected information provided to the Tribunal by a complainant needs to be divulged to a person in order that the complaint can be properly dealt with, and (b) the exceptions in subsection (1) (a)–(c) are not applicable, the Tribunal may notify the complainant that the Tribunal proposes to divulge the information to a specified person, or in its report, after a specified period.
(1) A person must not, without reasonable excuse:
(a) refuse or fail to comply with a notice served under this Division, or (b) refuse or fail to answer a question that the person is required to answer by the Chairperson at any meeting of or hearing before the Tribunal under this Division. (2) It is a reasonable excuse for the purposes of subsection (1) that to comply with the notice or to answer the question might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to any forfeiture or penalty.
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(1) A customer who is dissatisfied with the way in which a government agency applies the methodology in a determination referred to in section 14A may complain to the agency. (2) The chief executive of the agency is to review the complaint or cause it to be reviewed.
(Section 11) Sydney Water Corporation Hunter Water Corporation Water supply authorities constituted under the Water Management Act 2000 County councils established for the supply of water Rail Corporation New South Wales
(Section 6 (4))
(Section 6 (5))
(Section 24FE)
(Section 30)