Part XIC of the Trade Practices Act sets out a telecommunications industry-specific access regime. There is no general right of access to telecommunications services. The ACCC must first 'declare' the relevant service (Division 2 of Part XIC of the Act). Upon declaration, standard access obligations (Division 3 Part XIC of the Act) apply. The access provider is obliged to supply the service to an access seeker upon request.
Before it declares a service, the ACCC must hold a public inquiry and give access providers, access seekers and consumers the opportunity to comment.
The ACCC can also vary or revoke existing declarations. It must hold a public inquiry unless the change is of minor importance. The ACCC can also grant exemptions from standard access obligations for declared services following public consultation.
