Facilities Access Code to apply from 13 October 1999

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today announced that its Facilities Access Code would come into effect from tomorrow (13 October 1999).

The Code establishes conditions of access and standards of practice that carriers must adhere to in providing facilities access to other carriers. It will apply from the date the formal making of the Code by the ACCC is notified in the Government Notices Gazette. This notice will appear in tomorrows Gazette of 13October 1999.

Being a disallowable instrument, the Code must be tabled in the Parliament for a 15 sitting day period. The Code was tabled last night and, providing it is not disallowed by the Parliament, it will remain in force in its current form until and when the ACCC makes a variation to it.

The Code has been developed following extensive consultation with industry and the Australian Communications Authority which has regulatory responsibility to enforce compliance with the Code by carriers. The ACA and the ACCC are currently developing guidelines on their respective regulatory roles in relation to the regulation of facilities access and plan to release a guide shortly.