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Queensland
Queensland Competition
Authority Amendment Bill
2008
Queensland
Queensland Competition Authority
Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Amendment of long title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Amendment of s 10 (Authority's functions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6 Amendment of pt 3 hdg (Pricing practices relating to
government monopoly business activities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
7 Replacement of s 13A (What pt 3 is about) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
13A What pt 3 is about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8 Amendment of pt 3, div 1A hdg (Criteria for declarations of
government monopoly business activities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
9 Amendment of s 14 (Development of criteria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10 Insertion of new s 14A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
14A Development of criteria for non-government business
activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
11 Amendment of s 15 (Revision of, and advice about, criteria) . . . . 8
12 Amendment of pt 3, div 2 hdg (Declarations of government
monopoly business activities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
13 Insertion of new pt 3, div 2, sdiv 1 hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
14 Amendment of s 18 (Request for declaration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
15 Amendment of s 18B (Requests by local government entities
and responsible local governments). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
16 Amendment of s 19 (Declaration by Ministers). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
17 Amendment of s 20 (Declaration by regulation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
18 Insertion of new pt 3, div 2, sdiv 2 and div 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Subdivision 2 Non-government business activities
21A Declaration by Ministers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
21B Declaration by regulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
21C Effect on declaration of change of person carrying on
activity .............................. 11
Division 2A Revocation of declarations made by the
Ministers
21D Recommendation to revoke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
21E Power of authority to conduct investigation . . . . . . . . 12
21F Notice of investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
21G Procedures for investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
21H Revocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
21I Notice of decision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
21J When revocation takes effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
19 Amendment of pt 3, div 3 hdg (Investigations about government
monopoly business activities). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
20 Replacement of s 22 (Investigations by authority--standing
reference) ..................................... 14
22 Meaning of price monitoring investigation . . . . . . . . . 14
21 Amendment of s 23 (Investigations by authority--Ministerial
reference) ..................................... 14
22 Insertion of new s 23A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
23A Price monitoring investigations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
23 Amendment of s 24 (Directions of Ministers for Ministerial
reference) ..................................... 16
24 Amendment of s 25 (Notice of investigation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
25 Amendment of s 26 (Matters to be considered by authority for
investigation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
26 Amendment of s 28 (Ending of authority's jurisdiction for
investigation) ............................ 18
27 Amendment of s 29 (Application of division) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
28 Amendment of s 30 (Authority to report to Ministers). . . . . . . . . . 18
29 Replacement of s 31 (Authority to give copy of report to
government agency). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
31 Authority to give copy of report to government
agency or other person carrying on activity . . . . . . . . 19
30 Amendment of s 33 (Contents of report) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
31 Amendment of s 34 (Public availability of reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
32 Replacement of s 35 (Delaying public availability of reports) . . . . 20
35 Delaying public availability of reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
33 Amendment of s 36 (Decision of Ministers about report) . . . . . . . 20
Page 2
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
34 Amendment of s 36A (Decision of responsible local government
about report). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
35 Insertion of new s 36B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
36B Response to report of person carrying on activity--
monopoly business activity that is a non-government
business activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
36 Replacement of ss 3737B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
37 Referral of particular accepted recommendations to
responsible Minister--monopoly business activity
that is government business activity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
37A Register of recommendations, and decisions or
responses, relating to monopoly business activities
involving the supply of water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
37 Insertion of new pt 3, div 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Division 5 Miscellaneous
37B Authority may give advice about pricing practices . . . 24
38 Replacement of pt 5, div 1 hdg (Interpretation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
39 Insertion of new s 69E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
69E Object of pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
40 Amendment of s 72 (Meaning of service). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
41 Amendment of s 76 (Access criteria) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
42 Amendment of s 88 (Recommendation to revoke) . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
43 Amendment of s 109 (Decision on application) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
44 Insertion of new s 117A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
117A Period for making access determination . . . . . . . . . . 26
45 Amendment of s 119 (Restrictions affecting making of access
determination) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
46 Amendment of s 120 (Matters to be considered by authority in
making access determination) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
47 Amendment of s 134 (Consideration and approval of draft
access undertaking by authority) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
48 Amendment of s 138 (Factors affecting approval of draft access
undertaking) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
49 Amendment of s 140 (Consideration and approval of draft
amending access undertaking by authority). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
50 Insertion of new s 147A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
147A Period for approving draft access undertaking . . . . . . 30
51 Insertion of new pt 5, div 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Division 7A Rulings
Subdivision 1 Preliminary
Page 3
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
Contents
150B Purpose of div 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
150C Definitions for div 7A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Subdivision 2 Applying for and making rulings
150D Application for a ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
150E Authority must decide whether to make ruling . . . . . . 33
150F Requirements for making ruling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
150G Period for which ruling has effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Subdivision 3 Investigations about rulings
150H Authority may investigate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
150I Notice of investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
150J Procedures for investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Subdivision 4 Other matters
150K When a ruling does not apply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
150L Costs of making a ruling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
150M Register of rulings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
52 Insertion of new s 168A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
168A Pricing principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
53 Amendment of s 170R (Recommendation to revoke). . . . . . . . . . 38
54 Amendment of s 170ZA (Investigations by authority). . . . . . . . . . 38
55 Amendment of s 170ZI (Matters to be considered by authority in
making water pricing determination) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
56 Amendment of s 170ZZH (Matters to be considered by authority
in making a water supply determination) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
57 Amendment of s 171 (Application of part) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
58 Amendment of s 176 (Notice of hearings) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
59 Insertion of new pt 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Part 11 Transitional provisions for Queensland
Competition Authority Amendment Act 2008
246 Making of particular access determinations . . . . . . . . 40
247 Decisions about whether to approve particular draft
access undertakings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
60 Amendment of schedule (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Page 4
2008
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Queensland Competition Authority Act
1997
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 1]
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Clause 1 Short title 2
This Act may be cited as the Queensland Competition 3
Authority Amendment Act 2008. 4
Clause 2 Commencement 5
Section 40(1) and (2) commences on a day to be fixed by 6
proclamation. 7
Clause 3 Act amended 8
This Act amends the Queensland Competition Authority Act 9
1997. 10
Clause 4 Amendment of long title 11
Long title, `government'-- 12
omit. 13
Clause 5 Amendment of s 10 (Authority's functions) 14
(1) Section 10(a)(i)-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`(i) a government business activity or non-government 17
business activity to be a monopoly business 18
activity;'. 19
(2) Section 10, after paragraph (a)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(aa) to make recommendations to the Ministers for the 22
revocation of declarations of monopoly business 23
activities made by the Ministers; and'. 24
(3) Section 10(b), `government'-- 25
Page 6
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 6]
omit. 1
(4) Section 10-- 2
insert-- 3
`(ba) to conduct price monitoring investigations in relation to 4
monopoly business activities and report the results of 5
the investigations to the Ministers; and'. 6
Clause 6 Amendment of pt 3 hdg (Pricing practices relating to 7
government monopoly business activities) 8
Part 3, heading, `government'-- 9
omit. 10
Clause 7 Replacement of s 13A (What pt 3 is about) 11
Section 13A-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`13A What pt 3 is about 14
`(1) This part is about-- 15
(a) the declaration of monopoly business activities; and 16
(b) the investigation and reporting by the authority about 17
pricing practices relating to monopoly business 18
activities; and 19
(c) the conduct of price monitoring investigations by the 20
authority in relation to monopoly business activities. 21
`(2) This part applies generally to-- 22
(a) government agencies; and 23
(b) other persons carrying on business activities involving 24
services provided by means of facilities. 25
`(3) The application of the part to an activity carried on by a local 26
government entity depends on whether the activity is a 27
significant business activity.'. 28
Page 7
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 8]
Clause 8 Amendment of pt 3, div 1A hdg (Criteria for declarations 1
of government monopoly business activities) 2
Part 3, division 1A, heading, `government'-- 3
omit. 4
Clause 9 Amendment of s 14 (Development of criteria) 5
(1) Section 14, heading, after `criteria'-- 6
insert-- 7
`for government business activities'. 8
(2) Section 14(a), `government monopoly business activity'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`monopoly business activity'. 11
Clause 10 Insertion of new s 14A 12
After section 14-- 13
insert-- 14
`14A Development of criteria for non-government business 15
activities 16
`Within 6 months after the commencement of this section, the 17
authority must-- 18
(a) develop criteria for use by the Ministers for deciding 19
whether to declare a non-government business activity 20
to be a monopoly business activity; and 21
(b) give written notice of the criteria to the Ministers.'. 22
Clause 11 Amendment of s 15 (Revision of, and advice about, 23
criteria) 24
Section 15(1)(a), after `14'-- 25
insert-- 26
`or 14A'. 27
Page 8
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 12]
Clause 12 Amendment of pt 3, div 2 hdg (Declarations of 1
government monopoly business activities) 2
Part 3, division 2, heading, `government'-- 3
omit. 4
Clause 13 Insertion of new pt 3, div 2, sdiv 1 hdg 5
Part 3, division 2, before section 18-- 6
insert-- 7
`Subdivision 1 Government business activities'. 8
Clause 14 Amendment of s 18 (Request for declaration) 9
(1) Section 18, `government monopoly business activity'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`monopoly business activity'. 12
(2) Section 18(b), after `23'-- 13
insert-- 14
`or 23A'. 15
Clause 15 Amendment of s 18B (Requests by local government 16
entities and responsible local governments) 17
(1) Section 18B(1), `government monopoly business activity'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`monopoly business activity'. 20
(2) Section 18B(1)(b), after `23'-- 21
insert-- 22
`or 23A'. 23
Clause 16 Amendment of s 19 (Declaration by Ministers) 24
(1) Section 19(1), `government monopoly business activity'-- 25
Page 9
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 17]
omit, insert-- 1
`monopoly business activity'. 2
(2) Section 19-- 3
insert-- 4
`(8) A declaration continues in operation until it is revoked.'. 5
Clause 17 Amendment of s 20 (Declaration by regulation) 6
Section 20(1), `government monopoly business activity'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`monopoly business activity'. 9
Clause 18 Insertion of new pt 3, div 2, sdiv 2 and div 2A 10
Part 3, division 2, after section 21-- 11
insert-- 12
`Subdivision 2 Non-government business activities 13
`21A Declaration by Ministers 14
`(1) The Ministers may declare a non-government business 15
activity to be a monopoly business activity. 16
`(2) The declaration must be made by gazette notice. 17
`(3) In deciding whether to make the declaration, the Ministers 18
must-- 19
(a) have regard to-- 20
(i) the relevant declaration criteria; and 21
(ii) any information or advice about the criteria given 22
to them by the authority; and 23
(b) consult with the person carrying on the activity. 24
`(4) A declaration must identify the non-government business 25
activity by reference to the person carrying on the activity. 26
`(5) A declaration continues in operation until it is revoked. 27
Page 10
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 18]
`21B Declaration by regulation 1
`(1) A regulation may declare a non-government business activity 2
to be a monopoly business activity. 3
`(2) A declaration must identify the non-government business 4
activity by reference to the person carrying on the activity. 5
`21C Effect on declaration of change of person carrying on 6
activity 7
`(1) This section applies if-- 8
(a) a non-government business activity is declared to be a 9
monopoly business activity under this subdivision; and 10
(b) after the declaration is made, the person carrying on the 11
activity changes. 12
`(2) The change in the person carrying on the monopoly business 13
activity does not affect the validity of the declaration. 14
`(3) The declaration is taken to identify the monopoly business 15
activity by reference to the new person carrying on the 16
activity. 17
`Division 2A Revocation of declarations made by 18
the Ministers 19
`21D Recommendation to revoke 20
`(1) The authority may recommend to the Ministers that a 21
declaration of a monopoly business activity made by the 22
Ministers under section 19 or 21A (a part 3 Ministerial 23
declaration) be revoked. 24
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a relevant entity for a 25
monopoly business activity may ask the authority to 26
recommend the revocation of the part 3 Ministerial 27
declaration. 28
`(3) The Ministers may ask the authority to consider whether a 29
part 3 Ministerial declaration should be revoked by the 30
Ministers. 31
Page 11
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 18]
`(4) The authority may recommend the revocation of a part 3 1
Ministerial declaration only if the authority is satisfied that 2
revocation would be appropriate having regard to the relevant 3
declaration criteria. 4
`(5) In this section-- 5
relevant entity, for a monopoly business activity, means any 6
of the following-- 7
(a) the government agency or other person carrying on the 8
activity; 9
(b) if the activity is a significant business activity--the 10
responsible local government for the local government 11
entity carrying on the activity. 12
`21E Power of authority to conduct investigation 13
`For making a revocation recommendation, the authority may 14
conduct an investigation about the monopoly business 15
activity. 16
`21F Notice of investigation 17
`(1) Before starting an investigation under this division, the 18
authority must give reasonable notice of the investigation to-- 19
(a) the government agency or other person carrying on the 20
monopoly business activity; and 21
(b) if the activity is a significant business activity--the 22
responsible local government for the local government 23
entity carrying on the activity; and 24
(c) any other person the authority considers appropriate. 25
`(2) The notice must state the following-- 26
(a) the authority's intention to conduct the investigation; 27
(b) the subject matter of the investigation; 28
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Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 18]
(c) an invitation to interested persons to make written 1
submissions to the authority on the subject matter within 2
a reasonable time stated in the notice; 3
(d) the authority's address. 4
`21G Procedures for investigation 5
`Part 6 applies to an investigation under this division. 6
`21H Revocation 7
`(1) The Ministers may revoke a part 3 Ministerial declaration 8
only if the Ministers are satisfied that revocation would be 9
appropriate having regard to the relevant declaration criteria. 10
`(2) A part 3 Ministerial declaration may be revoked whether or 11
not a revocation recommendation has been made. 12
`(3) If the Ministers receive a revocation recommendation, the 13
Ministers must either revoke the part 3 Ministerial declaration 14
or decide not to revoke the declaration. 15
`21I Notice of decision 16
`(1) The Ministers must publish in the gazette-- 17
(a) notice of a decision to revoke, or not to revoke, a part 3 18
Ministerial declaration; and 19
(b) the reasons for the decision. 20
`(2) Also, as soon as practicable after making the decision, the 21
Ministers must give a written notice stating the decision and 22
reasons for the decision to-- 23
(a) the government agency or other person carrying on the 24
activity; and 25
(b) if the business activity is a significant business 26
activity--the responsible local government for the local 27
government entity carrying on the activity; and 28
(c) the authority. 29
Page 13
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 19]
`21J When revocation takes effect 1
`A decision of the Ministers to revoke a part 3 Ministerial 2
declaration takes effect on-- 3
(a) the day notice of the decision is published in the gazette; 4
or 5
(b) if a later day of effect is stated in the notice--the later 6
day.'. 7
Clause 19 Amendment of pt 3, div 3 hdg (Investigations about 8
government monopoly business activities) 9
Part 3, division 3, heading, `government'-- 10
omit. 11
Clause 20 Replacement of s 22 (Investigations by 12
authority--standing reference) 13
Section 22-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`22 Meaning of price monitoring investigation 16
`A price monitoring investigation, in relation to a monopoly 17
business activity, means an ongoing investigation in which the 18
authority-- 19
(a) monitors pricing practices relating to the activity; and 20
(b) reports periodically to the Ministers about the results of 21
the investigation.'. 22
Clause 21 Amendment of s 23 (Investigations by 23
authority--Ministerial reference) 24
(1) Section 23, heading-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`23 Investigations about pricing practices'. 27
(2) Section 23(1) to (2A)-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
Page 14
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 22]
`(1) The Ministers may refer a monopoly business activity to the 1
authority for an investigation about the pricing practices 2
relating to the activity. 3
`(2) In deciding whether to refer a monopoly business activity that 4
is a significant business activity or non-government business 5
activity to the authority under subsection (1), the Ministers 6
must consult with-- 7
(a) for a significant business activity--the local government 8
entity carrying on the activity and the responsible local 9
government for the entity; or 10
(b) for a non-government business activity--the person 11
carrying on the activity.'. 12
(3) Section 23(3), `investigations'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`investigation'. 15
Clause 22 Insertion of new s 23A 16
After section 23-- 17
insert-- 18
`23A Price monitoring investigations 19
`(1) The Ministers may refer a monopoly business activity to the 20
authority for a price monitoring investigation. 21
`(2) In deciding whether to refer a monopoly business activity that 22
is a significant business activity or non-government business 23
activity to the authority under subsection (1), the Ministers 24
must consult with-- 25
(a) for a significant business activity--the local government 26
entity carrying on the activity and the responsible local 27
government for the entity; or 28
(b) for a non-government business activity--the person 29
carrying on the activity. 30
`(3) In referring a monopoly business activity to the authority 31
under subsection (1), the Ministers must give the authority a 32
written notice stating-- 33
Page 15
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 23]
(a) the period for which the price monitoring investigation 1
is to be conducted; and 2
(b) how often the authority must periodically report the 3
results of the investigation to the Ministers. 4
`(4) The authority must conduct the investigation. 5
`(5) Unless the reference is earlier withdrawn or the period of the 6
investigation is amended under subsection (6), the reference 7
ends at the end of the period stated in the notice under 8
subsection (3)(a). 9
`(6) The Ministers may, by written notice given to the authority, 10
withdraw or amend the reference at any time before it ends. 11
`(7) A notice under subsection (6) must state the reasons for the 12
withdrawal or amendment of the reference.'. 13
Clause 23 Amendment of s 24 (Directions of Ministers for Ministerial 14
reference) 15
(1) Section 24, heading, `Ministerial reference'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`investigation'. 18
(2) Section 24(1), `government'-- 19
omit. 20
(3) Section 24(1)-- 21
insert-- 22
(d) to make a recommendation to the Ministers about a 23
stated matter, including, for example, if the activity was 24
referred to the authority under section 23(1), a 25
recommendation about-- 26
(i) whether a price monitoring investigation should be 27
conducted in relation to the activity; or 28
(ii) if a price monitoring investigation were to be 29
conducted in relation to the activity, what the 30
nature of the investigation should be, including, for 31
Page 16
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 24]
example, the matters mentioned in section 1
23A(3)(a) and (b).'. 2
Clause 24 Amendment of s 25 (Notice of investigation) 3
(1) Section 25(3)(a), after `government agency'-- 4
insert-- 5
`or other person'. 6
(2) Section 25(3)(a), `government monopoly business 7
authority'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`monopoly business activity'. 10
(3) Section 25(3)(b), `government monopoly business activity'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`monopoly business activity'. 13
Clause 25 Amendment of s 26 (Matters to be considered by 14
authority for investigation) 15
(1) Section 26(1) and (2), `government monopoly business 16
activity'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`monopoly business activity'. 19
(2) Section 26(1)(e), `government agency'-- 20
omit. 21
(3) Section 26(1)(g), from `by which' to `carried on'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`or other person carrying on the monopoly business activity'. 24
(4) Section 26(1)(j), after `agencies'-- 25
insert-- 26
`and persons carrying on non-government business activities'. 27
(5) Section 26(1)(n), before `any'-- 28
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Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 26]
insert-- 1
`if the monopoly business activity is a government business 2
activity--'. 3
Clause 26 Amendment of s 28 (Ending of authority's jurisdiction for 4
investigation) 5
(1) Section 28(1), `government'-- 6
omit. 7
(2) Section 28(1)(b), after `withdrawn'-- 8
insert-- 9
`, or otherwise ends under section 23A'. 10
(3) Section 28(2), from `the investigation'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`the investigation, up to the time its jurisdiction ended, to-- 13
(a) the Ministers; and 14
(b) if the monopoly business activity is a non-government 15
business activity--the person carrying on the activity.'. 16
Clause 27 Amendment of s 29 (Application of division) 17
(1) Section 29(a), after `division 3'-- 18
insert-- 19
`, including the periodic reporting of the results of a price 20
monitoring investigation'. 21
(2) Section 29(b), `the report'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`a report'. 24
Clause 28 Amendment of s 30 (Authority to report to Ministers) 25
(1) Section 30-- 26
insert-- 27
Page 18
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 29]
`(1A) Also, if the investigation is a price monitoring investigation, 1
the authority must periodically report the results of the 2
investigation to the Ministers as required under the notice 3
given to the authority under section 23A(3).'. 4
(2) Section 30(2), from `government monopoly' to `results of the 5
investigation'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`monopoly business activity that is a significant business 8
activity, the authority must, on the same day as it reports the 9
results of the investigation to the Ministers, give a copy of the 10
report'. 11
(3) Section 30(1A) and (2)-- 12
renumber as section 30(2) and (3). 13
Clause 29 Replacement of s 31 (Authority to give copy of report to 14
government agency) 15
Section 31-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`31 Authority to give copy of report to government 18
agency or other person carrying on activity 19
`On the same day as it reports the results of an investigation to 20
the Ministers, the authority must give a copy of the report to 21
the government agency or other person carrying on the 22
monopoly business activity.'. 23
Clause 30 Amendment of s 33 (Contents of report) 24
(1) Section 33(1)(a) and (b)-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`(a) if the investigation is not a price monitoring 27
investigation--its recommendations about the pricing 28
practices relating to the monopoly business activity; and 29
(b) any recommendations made by the authority as required 30
under a direction given to the authority by the Ministers 31
for the investigation; and 32
Page 19
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 31]
(ba) the reasons for its recommendations; and 1
(bb) if the investigation is a price monitoring 2
investigation--the information obtained by the authority 3
about the pricing practices relating to the monopoly 4
business activity; and'. 5
(2) Section 33(1)(ba) to (c)-- 6
renumber as section 33(1)(c) to (e). 7
Clause 31 Amendment of s 34 (Public availability of reports) 8
Section 34(1)-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`(1) The authority must make a copy of a report available for 11
public inspection as soon as practicable after giving the report 12
to the Ministers.'. 13
Clause 32 Replacement of s 35 (Delaying public availability of 14
reports) 15
Section 35-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`35 Delaying public availability of reports 18
`(1) The authority may decide that, in the special circumstances of 19
the case, a report, or a part of a report, must not be made 20
available for public inspection for a stated period. 21
`(2) The decision and the reasons for it must be stated in the 22
report. 23
`(3) Section 34(1) applies to the report, or part of the report, to 24
which the decision relates as if the report were given to the 25
Ministers at the end of the period mentioned in subsection 26
(1).'. 27
Clause 33 Amendment of s 36 (Decision of Ministers about report) 28
(1) Section 36, heading, `report'-- 29
Page 20
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 34]
omit, insert-- 1
`particular recommendations in report--monopoly 2
business activity that is a government business activity, 3
other than a significant business activity'. 4
(2) Section 36(1)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`(1) This section applies to recommendations about pricing 7
practices, or price monitoring recommendations, contained in 8
a report relating to a monopoly business activity that is a 9
government business activity, other than a significant business 10
activity.'. 11
(3) Section 36(2)(a) and (b), `about pricing practices contained in 12
it'-- 13
omit. 14
(4) Section 36(3), `government'-- 15
omit. 16
(5) Section 36-- 17
insert-- 18
`(5) In this section-- 19
price monitoring recommendations means recommendations 20
about-- 21
(a) whether a price monitoring investigation should be 22
conducted in relation to the monopoly business activity; 23
or 24
(b) what the nature of a future price monitoring 25
investigation in relation to the activity should be.'. 26
Clause 34 Amendment of s 36A (Decision of responsible local 27
government about report) 28
(1) Section 36A, heading, `report'-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
Page 21
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 35]
`particular recommendations in report--monopoly 1
business activity that is a significant business activity'. 2
(2) Section 36A(1)-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`(1) This section applies to recommendations about pricing 5
practices contained in a report relating to a monopoly business 6
activity that is a significant business activity.'. 7
(3) Section 36A(2)(a) and (b), `about pricing practices contained 8
in it'-- 9
omit. 10
Clause 35 Insertion of new s 36B 11
After section 36A-- 12
insert-- 13
`36B Response to report of person carrying on 14
activity--monopoly business activity that is a 15
non-government business activity 16
`(1) This section applies to a report relating to a monopoly 17
business activity that is a non-government business activity. 18
`(2) Within 90 days after receiving the report, the person carrying 19
on the activity must give the authority the person's written 20
response to the report, including details of any action the 21
person will or may take in response to each recommendation 22
contained in the report. 23
Maximum penalty--500 penalty units.'. 24
Clause 36 Replacement of ss 3737B 25
Sections 37 to 37B-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
Page 22
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 36]
`37 Referral of particular accepted recommendations to 1
responsible Minister--monopoly business activity 2
that is government business activity 3
`(1) This section applies if the Ministers accept recommendations 4
about pricing practices relating to a monopoly business 5
activity that is a government business activity. 6
`(2) The Ministers must refer the recommendations, and any 7
qualifications on which the recommendations are accepted, to 8
the responsible Minister for the government agency carrying 9
on the monopoly business activity. 10
`37A Register of recommendations, and decisions or 11
responses, relating to monopoly business activities 12
involving the supply of water 13
`(1) The authority must keep a register of-- 14
(a) the authority's recommendations about pricing practices 15
contained in reports of the results of investigations about 16
monopoly business activities involving the supply of 17
water; and 18
(b) whichever of the following applies in relation to the 19
recommendations-- 20
(i) if the activities are government business activities 21
other than significant business activities--the 22
Ministers' decisions under section 36(2); 23
(ii) if the activities are significant business 24
activities--the decisions of the responsible local 25
governments under section 36A(2); 26
(iii) if the activities are non-government business 27
activities--the responses of the persons carrying 28
on the activities. 29
`(2) The register must include, for each recommendation, details 30
of the following-- 31
(a) the name of the government agency or other person 32
carrying on the monopoly business activity; 33
(b) the monopoly business activity; 34
Page 23
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 37]
(c) the reasons for the recommendation; 1
(d) the day the report in which the recommendation is made 2
is to be, or was, given to-- 3
(i) if the activity is a significant business activity--the 4
responsible local government for the local 5
government entity carrying on the activity; or 6
(ii) otherwise--the Ministers. 7
`(3) The register must also include, for each decision mentioned in 8
subsection (1)(b), details of the following-- 9
(a) the day the decision was made; 10
(b) the day the decision is to be, or was, notified under 11
section 36(4) or 36A(4).'. 12
Clause 37 Insertion of new pt 3, div 5 13
Part 3-- 14
insert-- 15
`Division 5 Miscellaneous 16
`37B Authority may give advice about pricing practices 17
`(1) The authority may, if requested by a government agency or 18
another person carrying on a monopoly business activity, give 19
the person advice about pricing practices relating to the 20
activity. 21
`(2) Advice given under this section is not binding on any person.'. 22
Clause 38 Replacement of pt 5, div 1 hdg (Interpretation) 23
Part 5, division 1, heading-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`Division 1 Preliminary'. 26
Page 24
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 39]
Clause 39 Insertion of new s 69E 1
Part 5, division 1-- 2
insert-- 3
`69E Object of pt 5 4
`The object of this part is to promote the economically 5
efficient operation of, use of and investment in, infrastructure 6
by which services are provided, with the effect of promoting 7
effective competition in upstream and downstream markets.'. 8
Clause 40 Amendment of s 72 (Meaning of service) 9
(1) Section 72(2)-- 10
insert-- 11
`(ba) a service-- 12
(i) provided, or to be provided, by means of a facility 13
for which a decision of the Australian Competition 14
and Consumer Commission, approving a 15
competitive tender process under the Trade 16
Practices Act 1974 (Cwlth), section 44PA, is in 17
force; and 18
(ii) that was stated under section 44PA(2) of that Act 19
in the application for the approval; or'. 20
(2) Section 72(2)(ba) and (c)-- 21
renumber as section 72(2)(c) and (d). 22
(3) Section 72(3), after `part'-- 23
insert-- 24
`and part 5A'. 25
Clause 41 Amendment of s 76 (Access criteria) 26
(1) Section 76(3)(a) to (g)-- 27
renumber as section 76(3)(b) to (h). 28
(2) Section 76(3)-- 29
Page 25
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 42]
insert-- 1
`(a) the object of this part;'. 2
Clause 42 Amendment of s 88 (Recommendation to revoke) 3
(1) Section 88-- 4
insert-- 5
`(1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the owner of the declared 6
service may ask the authority to recommend revocation of the 7
Ministerial declaration.'. 8
(2) Section 88(1A) and (2)-- 9
renumber as section 88(2) and (3). 10
Clause 43 Amendment of s 109 (Decision on application) 11
(1) Section 109(2)(a) to (c)-- 12
renumber as section 109(2)(b) to (d). 13
(2) Section 109(2)-- 14
insert-- 15
`(a) the object of this part; and'. 16
Clause 44 Insertion of new s 117A 17
After section 117-- 18
insert-- 19
`117A Period for making access determination 20
`(1) The authority must use its best endeavours to make an access 21
determination within 6 months from the day the access 22
dispute notice for the relevant access dispute was given to the 23
authority. 24
`(2) However, the 6 month period mentioned in subsection (1) 25
does not include any of the following-- 26
Page 26
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 44]
(a) if mediation of the access dispute is conducted under 1
subdivision 2A--a day earlier than the day the dispute is 2
referred by the mediator to the authority for arbitration; 3
(b) if a person is given a notice under section 205 requiring 4
the person to give information or produce a document 5
for the arbitration of the access dispute, a day in the 6
period-- 7
(i) starting on the day the notice is given to the person; 8
and 9
(ii) ending on the day the person complies with the 10
notice; 11
(c) if the authority invites the parties to comment, within a 12
period stated by the authority, on a draft determination 13
given to the parties under section 117(5)--a day in the 14
period for making comments stated by the authority; 15
(d) if the parties agree to a day not being included in the 6 16
month period--a day agreed to by the parties. 17
`(3) The authority must publish a notice on its website, for each 18
access dispute being dealt with by arbitration, stating-- 19
(a) the day the 6 month period mentioned in subsection (1) 20
started or will start; and 21
(b) the day the period will end; and 22
(c) for a day not included in the period under subsection 23
(2)--the reason the day is not included in the period. 24
Editor's note-- 25
The authority's website can be found at . 26
`(4) If the authority fails to make an access determination within 27
the 6 month period mentioned in subsection (1), it must, as 28
soon as practicable after the period ends, give written notice 29
of the reasons for the authority's failure to the parties and the 30
Ministers.'. 31
Page 27
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 45]
Clause 45 Amendment of s 119 (Restrictions affecting making of 1
access determination) 2
Section 119(1)-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`(1) The authority must not make an access determination that is 5
inconsistent with-- 6
(a) an approved access undertaking, or access code, for the 7
service; or 8
(b) subject to section 150K, a ruling relating to the service 9
that is in effect under division 7A.'. 10
Clause 46 Amendment of s 120 (Matters to be considered by 11
authority in making access determination) 12
(1) Section 120(1)(a) to (i)-- 13
renumber as section 120(1)(b) to (j). 14
(2) Section 120(1)-- 15
insert-- 16
`(a) the object of this part; 17
(k) the effect of excluding existing assets for pricing 18
purposes; 19
(l) the pricing principles mentioned in section 168A.'. 20
Clause 47 Amendment of s 134 (Consideration and approval of draft 21
access undertaking by authority) 22
(1) Section 134(1), `within the prescribed period'-- 23
omit. 24
(2) Section 134(2), `, within the prescribed period,'-- 25
omit. 26
(3) Section 134(4)-- 27
omit. 28
Page 28
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 48]
Clause 48 Amendment of s 138 (Factors affecting approval of draft 1
access undertaking) 2
(1) Section 138(2), before paragraph (a)-- 3
insert-- 4
`(aa) the object of this part;'. 5
(2) Section 138(2)-- 6
insert-- 7
`(da) if the service is a declared service-- 8
(i) the effect of excluding existing assets for pricing 9
purposes; and 10
(ii) the pricing principles mentioned in section 168A;'. 11
(3) Section 138(2)(aa) to (e)-- 12
renumber as section 138(2)(a) to (g). 13
(4) Section 138(3)(b) and (c)-- 14
renumber as section 138(3)(c) and (d). 15
(5) Section 138(3)-- 16
insert-- 17
`(b) it is satisfied the undertaking is not inconsistent with a 18
ruling relating to the service that is in effect under 19
division 7A; and'. 20
(6) Section 138-- 21
insert-- 22
`(4) Subsection (3)(b) applies subject to section 150K. 23
`(5) The authority may not refuse to approve a draft access 24
undertaking only because the authority considers a minor and 25
inconsequential amendment should be made to a particular 26
part of the undertaking. 27
`(6) In this section-- 28
minor and inconsequential amendment, in relation to part of 29
a draft access undertaking, means an amendment that, if 30
Page 29
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 49]
made, would have no real effect or consequence in relation to 1
that part of the undertaking and the undertaking as a whole.'. 2
Clause 49 Amendment of s 140 (Consideration and approval of draft 3
amending access undertaking by authority) 4
(1) Section 140(1), `within the prescribed period'-- 5
omit. 6
(2) Section 140(2), `, within the prescribed period,'-- 7
omit. 8
(3) Section 140(4)-- 9
omit. 10
Clause 50 Insertion of new s 147A 11
Part 5, division 7, subdivision 4-- 12
insert-- 13
`147A Period for approving draft access undertaking 14
`(1) This section applies to a draft access undertaking, whether or 15
not amending an approved access undertaking, given to the 16
authority by an owner or operator of a declared service or a 17
responsible person-- 18
(a) in response to an initial undertaking notice or initial 19
amendment notice; or 20
(b) without receiving an initial undertaking notice or initial 21
amendment notice. 22
`(2) The authority must use its best endeavours to decide whether 23
to approve, or refuse to approve, the draft access undertaking 24
within 6 months from-- 25
(a) if the authority decides, within 2 weeks from the day the 26
undertaking was given to the authority, to conduct an 27
investigation for making the decision--the last day of 28
the time for making submissions stated in an 29
investigation notice for the investigation under section 30
146(2)(c); or 31
Page 30
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 50]
(b) otherwise--the day that is 2 weeks from the day the 1
undertaking was given to the authority. 2
`(3) However, the 6 month period mentioned in subsection (2) 3
does not include any of the following days-- 4
(a) if the authority conducts an investigation for making the 5
decision and gives a notice under section 185 to a person 6
requiring the person to give information or produce a 7
document for the investigation--a day in the period-- 8
(i) starting on the day the notice is given to the person; 9
and 10
(ii) ending on the day the person complies with the 11
notice; 12
(b) if the authority publishes the draft access undertaking, 13
or another document about the undertaking, and invites 14
persons to make submissions on the undertaking or 15
document to the authority within a stated period--a day 16
in the period for making submissions stated by the 17
authority; 18
(c) if the owner or operator of the service, or the responsible 19
person, agrees to a day not being included in the 6 20
month period--a day agreed to by the person. 21
`(4) The authority must publish a notice on its website, while the 22
authority is considering a draft access undertaking, stating-- 23
(a) the day the 6 month period mentioned in subsection (2) 24
started or will start; and 25
(b) the day the period will end; and 26
(c) for a day not included in the period under subsection 27
(3)--the reason the day is not included in the period. 28
Editor's note-- 29
The authority's website can be found at . 30
`(5) If the authority fails to decide whether to approve, or refuse to 31
approve, the draft access undertaking within the 6 month 32
period mentioned in subsection (2), it must, as soon as 33
practicable after the period ends, give written notice of the 34
reasons for the authority's failure to-- 35
Page 31
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 51]
(a) the owner or operator of the service or the responsible 1
person; and 2
(b) the Ministers.'. 3
Clause 51 Insertion of new pt 5, div 7A 4
Part 5-- 5
insert-- 6
`Division 7A Rulings 7
`Subdivision 1 Preliminary 8
`150B Purpose of div 7A 9
`The purpose of this division is to enable the authority to 10
make a decision, on an application made by a prescribed 11
person, about how the authority intends to treat a matter 12
relating to access to a service for the purpose of-- 13
(a) if the service is or becomes a declared service--making 14
access determinations relating to the service; and 15
(b) deciding whether to approve draft access undertakings 16
relating to the service. 17
`150C Definitions for div 7A 18
`In this division-- 19
application see section 150D(2). 20
draft access undertaking includes a draft access undertaking 21
amending an approved access undertaking. 22
prescribed person means-- 23
(a) an owner or operator of a service that is a declared 24
service; or 25
(b) an owner or operator of a service that is not a declared 26
service; or 27
Page 32
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 51]
(c) a person who expects to be the owner or operator of a 1
service, whether or not the service is a declared service. 2
relevant assumption, for a ruling, means an assumption stated 3
under section 150F(6)(d) in the ruling notice given for the 4
ruling. 5
relevant circumstances, for a ruling, means the circumstances 6
stated under section 150F(6)(c) in the ruling notice given for 7
the ruling. 8
ruling means a ruling made by the authority under this 9
division about a matter relating to access to a service. 10
ruling notice see section 150F(5). 11
`Subdivision 2 Applying for and making rulings 12
`150D Application for a ruling 13
`(1) A prescribed person may, by written notice, ask the authority 14
to make a stated ruling relating to a relevant service for the 15
person. 16
`(2) A notice given under subsection (1) is an application for the 17
ruling stated in it. 18
`(3) The prescribed person may, by written notice given to the 19
authority, withdraw the application before the authority gives 20
the person-- 21
(a) a ruling notice for the ruling; or 22
(b) notice of the authority's decision not to make the ruling. 23
`(4) In this section-- 24
relevant service, for a prescribed person, means a service in 25
relation to which the person is a prescribed person. 26
`150E Authority must decide whether to make ruling 27
`If the authority receives an application for a ruling, it must-- 28
Page 33
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 51]
(a) decide whether to make the ruling stated in the 1
application; and 2
(b) if it decides not to make the ruling--give written notice 3
of its decision and the reasons for the decision to the 4
prescribed person who applied for the ruling. 5
`150F Requirements for making ruling 6
`(1) If the authority receives an application for a ruling, the 7
authority may, if the authority considers it appropriate, make 8
the ruling stated in the application. 9
`(2) However, the authority may make the ruling only if the 10
authority is satisfied-- 11
(a) it would not be prevented under section 119 from 12
making an access determination consistent with the 13
ruling; and 14
(b) it would not be prevented under section 138(3)(a) from 15
approving a draft access undertaking consistent with the 16
ruling. 17
`(3) In making the ruling, the authority must-- 18
(a) comply with natural justice; and 19
(b) have regard to the criteria stated in section 120(1) and 20
138(2). 21
`(4) In making the ruling, the authority may make assumptions 22
about future events or matters. 23
`(5) The authority makes the ruling by giving written notice (a 24
ruling notice) to the prescribed person who applied for the 25
ruling. 26
`(6) For subsection (5), a ruling notice must state each of the 27
following-- 28
(a) the service to which the ruling relates; 29
(b) the ruling and the reasons for it; 30
(c) the circumstances relating to the service-- 31
(i) existing at the time the ruling is made; and 32
Page 34
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 51]
(ii) considered by the authority to be material to the 1
ruling; 2
(d) if the ruling is made on the basis of assumptions about 3
future events or matters considered by the authority to 4
be material to the ruling--the assumptions made by the 5
authority; 6
(e) the period for which the ruling has effect. 7
`150G Period for which ruling has effect 8
`(1) A ruling has effect for the period stated under section 9
150F(6)(e) in the ruling notice given for the ruling. 10
`(2) A ruling relating to a service does not stop having effect only 11
because-- 12
(a) when the ruling was made, the service was not a 13
declared service; and 14
(b) the service is later declared. 15
`Subdivision 3 Investigations about rulings 16
`150H Authority may investigate 17
`For making a ruling, or deciding whether to make a ruling, 18
the authority may conduct an investigation. 19
`150I Notice of investigation 20
`(1) Before starting an investigation under this division, the 21
authority must give reasonable notice of the investigation to-- 22
(a) the prescribed person who applied for the ruling; and 23
(b) any other person the authority considers appropriate. 24
`(2) The notice must state the following-- 25
(a) the authority's intention to conduct the investigation; 26
(b) the subject matter of the investigation; 27
Page 35
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 51]
(c) an invitation for the person to whom the notice is given 1
to make written submissions to the authority on the 2
subject matter within the time stated in the notice; 3
(d) the authority's address. 4
`150J Procedures for investigation 5
`Part 6 applies to an investigation under this division. 6
`Subdivision 4 Other matters 7
`150K When a ruling does not apply 8
`(1) This section states the circumstances in which a ruling does 9
not apply for the purpose of-- 10
(a) the making by the authority of an access determination 11
relating to the relevant service; or 12
(b) the making of a decision by the authority about whether 13
to approve a draft access undertaking relating to the 14
relevant service. 15
`(2) The circumstances are-- 16
(a) information used by the authority to make the ruling was 17
false or misleading in a material particular; or 18
(b) the circumstances relating to the service existing when 19
the authority makes the determination or decision 20
mentioned in subsection (1) are materially different to 21
the relevant circumstances for the ruling; or 22
(c) if there is a relevant assumption for the ruling--the 23
event or matter to which the assumption relates has not 24
happened as assumed. 25
`(3) This section applies despite section 150G. 26
Page 36
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 52]
`150L Costs of making a ruling 1
`(1) In making a ruling, the authority may make any order it 2
considers appropriate about the payment, by the prescribed 3
person who applied for the ruling, of the costs, or part of the 4
costs, incurred by the authority in making the ruling. 5
`(2) The costs ordered to be paid by the prescribed person may be 6
recovered by the authority as a debt owing to the authority by 7
the person. 8
`(3) A reference in this section to making a ruling includes a 9
reference to deciding whether to make a ruling. 10
`(4) This section applies despite section 150D(3). 11
`150M Register of rulings 12
`(1) The authority must keep a register of rulings that are in effect. 13
`(2) The register must include, for each ruling, details of the 14
following-- 15
(a) the service to which the ruling relates; 16
(b) the period for which the ruling has effect; 17
(c) the ruling and the authority's reasons for it; 18
(d) the relevant circumstances for the ruling; 19
(e) any relevant assumptions for the ruling; 20
(f) the person who applied for the ruling. 21
`(3) The details in the register of the authority's reasons for a 22
ruling must not include details that are likely to damage the 23
commercial activities of the person who applied for the 24
ruling.'. 25
Clause 52 Insertion of new s 168A 26
After section 168-- 27
insert-- 28
Page 37
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 53]
`168A Pricing principles 1
`The pricing principles in relation to the price of access to a 2
declared service are that the price should-- 3
(a) generate expected revenue for the service that is at least 4
enough to meet the efficient costs of providing access to 5
the service and include a return on investment 6
commensurate with the regulatory and commercial risks 7
involved; and 8
(b) allow for multi-part pricing and price discrimination 9
when it aids efficiency; and 10
(c) not allow a vertically integrated access provider to set 11
terms and conditions that discriminate in favour of its 12
downstream operations, except to the extent the cost of 13
providing access to other operators is higher; and 14
(d) provide incentives to reduce costs or otherwise improve 15
productivity. 16
Note-- 17
The authority must have regard to the pricing principles when it makes 18
an access determination or decides whether to approve a draft access 19
undertaking. See sections 120 and 138.'. 20
Clause 53 Amendment of s 170R (Recommendation to revoke) 21
(1) Section 170R-- 22
insert-- 23
`(1A) Without limiting subsection (1), the water supplier carrying 24
on the monopoly water supply activity may ask the authority 25
to recommend revocation.'. 26
(2) Section 170R(1A) and (2)-- 27
renumber as section 170R(2) and (3). 28
Clause 54 Amendment of s 170ZA (Investigations by authority) 29
(1) Section 170ZA(1), from `either'-- 30
omit, insert-- 31
Page 38
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 55]
`an investigation about the pricing practices relating to the 1
activity.'. 2
(2) Section 170ZA(2), `investigations'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`investigation'. 5
Clause 55 Amendment of s 170ZI (Matters to be considered by 6
authority in making water pricing determination) 7
Section 170ZI(1)(d), `government'-- 8
omit. 9
Clause 56 Amendment of s 170ZZH (Matters to be considered by 10
authority in making a water supply determination) 11
Section 170ZZH(1)(d), `government'-- 12
omit. 13
Clause 57 Amendment of s 171 (Application of part) 14
(1) Section 171, before paragraph (a)-- 15
insert-- 16
`(aa) an investigation for part 3, division 2A;'. 17
(2) Section 171-- 18
insert-- 19
`(ea) an investigation for part 5, division 7A;'. 20
(3) Section 171(aa) to (i)-- 21
renumber as section 171(a) to (l). 22
Clause 58 Amendment of s 176 (Notice of hearings) 23
Section 176(3)(a), `carrying on the government'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`or other person carrying on the'. 26
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Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 59]
Clause 59 Insertion of new pt 11 1
After section 245-- 2
insert-- 3
`Part 11 Transitional provisions for 4
Queensland Competition 5
Authority Amendment Act 2008 6
`246 Making of particular access determinations 7
`(1) This section applies to an access dispute under part 5 if an 8
access dispute notice for the dispute was given to the authority 9
before the commencement of this section. 10
`(2) For the making of an access determination by the authority in 11
relation to the access dispute-- 12
(a) section 117A does not apply; and 13
(b) section 120, as it was in force immediately before the 14
commencement of this section, continues to apply; and 15
(c) without limiting section 120(2), the authority may take 16
into account the following matters-- 17
(i) the object of part 5; 18
(ii) the effect of excluding existing assets for pricing 19
purposes; 20
(iii) the pricing principles mentioned in section 168A. 21
`247 Decisions about whether to approve particular draft 22
access undertakings 23
`(1) This section applies to a draft access undertaking, whether or 24
not amending an approved access undertaking, given to the 25
authority under part 5, division 7 before the commencement 26
of this section. 27
`(2) For the making of a decision by the authority about whether to 28
approve the draft access undertaking-- 29
(a) section 147A does not apply; and 30
Page 40
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 60]
(b) sections 134, 138 and 140, as they were in force 1
immediately before the commencement of this section, 2
continue to apply.'. 3
Clause 60 Amendment of schedule (Dictionary) 4
(1) Schedule, definitions government monopoly business activity 5
and pricing practice-- 6
omit. 7
(2) Schedule-- 8
insert-- 9
`application, for part 5, division 7A, see section 150C. 10
draft access undertaking, for part 5, division 7A, see section 11
150C. 12
monopoly business activity means a government business 13
activity or non-government business activity declared to be a 14
monopoly business activity under a regulation or by the 15
Ministers. 16
non-government business activity means a business 17
activity-- 18
(a) carried on by a person other than a government agency; 19
and 20
(b) involving services provided by means of a facility. 21
part 3 Ministerial declaration see section 21D(1). 22
prescribed person, for part 5, division 7A, see section 150C. 23
price monitoring investigation see section 22. 24
pricing practice, for a monopoly business activity, means-- 25
(a) the level and structure of prices for the business activity; 26
or 27
(b) anything that affects the level and structure of prices for 28
the business activity, including, for example, the service 29
quality, costs of production and levels of performance 30
relating to the business activity. 31
Page 41
Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 60]
relevant assumption, for part 5, division 7A, see section 1
150C. 2
relevant circumstances, for part 5, division 7A, see section 3
150C. 4
relevant declaration criteria, for part 3, means the current 5
criteria for deciding whether to declare a government business 6
activity, or a non-government business activity, to be a 7
monopoly business activity, given by the authority to the 8
Ministers under part 3, division 1A. 9
Note-- 10
The criteria are given by the authority to the Ministers under section 14 11
for a government business activity or section 14A for a non-government 12
business activity. 13
ruling, for part 5, division 7A, see section 150C. 14
ruling notice, for part 5, division 7A, see section 150C.'. 15
(3) Schedule, definition investigation notice, before paragraph 16
(a)-- 17
insert-- 18
`(aa) for an investigation under part 3, division 2A--a notice 19
of the investigation given under section 21F; or'. 20
(4) Schedule, definition investigation notice-- 21
insert-- 22
`(ea) for an investigation under part 5, division 7A--a notice 23
of the investigation given under section 150I; or'. 24
(5) Schedule, definition investigation notice, paragraphs (aa) to 25
(i)-- 26
renumber as paragraphs (a) to (k). 27
(6) Schedule, definition register, paragraphs (a) and (b)-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
`(a) the register of recommendations, and decisions or 30
responses, relating to monopoly business activities 31
involving the supply of water;'. 32
(7) Schedule, definition register-- 33
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Queensland Competition Authority Amendment Bill 2008
[s 60]
insert-- 1
`(ea) the register of rulings under part 5, division 7A;'. 2
(8) Schedule, definition register, paragraphs (c) to (ea)-- 3
renumber as paragraphs (b) to (e). 4
(9) Schedule, definition revocation recommendation, paragraphs 5
(a) and (b)-- 6
renumber as paragraphs (b) and (c). 7
(10) Schedule, definition revocation recommendation-- 8
insert-- 9
`(a) for part 3--a recommendation made by the authority 10
under section 21D; or'. 11
© State of Queensland 2008
Page 43
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