Definition of terms

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K L M  N  O P Q  R  S  T  U V  W  X  Y  Z

A

Above rail services

• Rail transport services provided by passenger and freight transport operators.  Does not include ownership of rail tracks (see Below Rail Services)

ABS

• Australian Bureau of Statistics

ACA

• Australian Consumers Association

ACCC

• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ACMA

• Australian Communications and Media Authority

Access arrangement

• An arrangement for third party access to a pipeline provided by a service provider and approved by the relevant regulator in accordance with the gas code

Access arrangement information

• Information provided by the service provider to the relevant regulator pursuant to section 2 of the gas code

Access disputes

• The ACCC is vested with powers to arbitrate access disputes to certain essential facilities of national significance and make a final binding determination to resolve a dispute. For the ACCC to engage in arbitration, an access seeker and/or an access provider must notify the ACCC of an access dispute

Access regulation

• Arrangements to provide existing and potential competitors in an existing market with access to essential facilities at reasonable terms and conditions, for example, parts of the gas, electricity, and telecommunications industries

Access undertaking

• An instrument that gives the owners/operators of facilities (including proposed or new facilities) the opportunity to remove the uncertainty as to what access conditions will apply to the service, by agreeing to certain access arrangements with the ACCC in advance

ACMA

• Australian Communications and Media Authority

ADSL

• Asymmetrical digital subscriber line (also see broadband xDSL)

AEMC

• Australian Energy Market Commission

AER

• Australian Energy Regulator

AFP

• Australian Federal Police

AFTA

• Australian Federation of Travel Agents

ANT-1 device

• Analogue network terminating units (ANT-1) provide two phone lines to one customer, over one copper pair (standard phone line). As such, they are a form of ‘pair-gain’ technology (also see pair gain)

APRA

• Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

ARFF

• Aviation rescue and fire fighting

ASIC

• Australian Securities and Investment Commission

ATO

• Australian Taxation Office

Authorisation

• A process under which the ACCC can grant immunity on public benefit grounds from the application of the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act except for misuse of market power. The Commission will grant an authorisation only if it concludes that the proposed conduct will result in a benefit to the public that will outweigh the detriment from any lessening of competition

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B

B2B

• Business to business

Baird Committee

• The joint select committee of the Australian parliament on the retailing sector

Bait advertising

• Retailers advertising goods or services at a specified price when they know, or should know, that they are unable to supply reasonable quantities at that price for a reasonable period

Below rail services

• Provision of rail infrastructure services to freight and passenger rail transport operators, including rail tracks and associated infrastructure such as signalling

Blowing/inertia selling

• A consumer being supplied and billed for services or goods they didn’t order. Often, the supply is accompanied by a notice telling the consumer that if the offer is not rejected within a specified time, the seller will send an invoice or debit an existing account or line of credit. A common example of blowing is a person or business receiving an invoice for entry in an advertising directory when they had not previously asked for the entry

Boycott

• An action whereby a party takes action to disrupt a flow of goods and services to or from another party. (see also secondary boycotts and collective boycotts)

BPR 

• Basic postal rate—the rate that applies to the universal service (i.e. the full rate small letter service)

Broadband cable

• An internet connection via fibre optic cable (known as hybrid fibre cable) to the street and a coaxial cable to the house. It usually comes with pay TV services and provides high speed access to the internet via a permanently connected, cable modem

Broadband xDSL

• The ‘x’ stands for any type of digital subscriber line (DSL), for example,. asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) or high data rate digital subscriber line (HDSL). DSL typically provides high speed access to the internet with download speeds up to six megabytes per second. There is no need for an additional telephone line and the service is always on

BTRE

• Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics

Bulk Freight

• Freight consisting of commodities such as grain, fuel and minerals, mainly coal, iron ore and other minerals

Bundling

• Many telecommunications company’s ‘bundle’ their services. This means they will offer you an incentive in the form of a discount to get more than one of your phone services with them

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C

CAPEX

• Capital expenditure

CAPM

• Capital asset pricing model

Cartel

• A cartel is generally considered to include conduct by two or more competitive businesses and includes price fixing, market sharing (including bid rigging or customer sharing) and/or production or sales quotas

CBA

• Cost–benefit assessment

CCA

• current cost accounting

Churning

• Transfer of a telecommunications account from one supplier to another

CIS

• Competition impact statement

City-country differential

• The difference between city and country petrol prices

Code

• National Electricity Code

Collective bargaining

• Competing businesses come together to negotiate a joint agreement with a third party, generally a supplier or purchaser

Collective boycott

• An agreement between several competitors to abstain from commercial dealings with a particular business, generally a supplier or purchaser

Competition Rule

• The Competition Rule prohibits a carrier or carriage service provider from engaging in anti-competitive conduct. A carrier or carriage service provider breaches the Competition Rule if their conduct breaches ss. 45, 45B, 46, 47 or 48 of the Trade Practices Act and the conduct relates to a telecommunications market

Competition notice

• Is a notice that that the Commission may issue stating that a carrier or carriage service provider has or is contravening the Competition Rule.  A competition notice itself is prima facie evidence of the matters specified in the notice

Compliance program

• (see Trade practices compliance program)

Cramming

• Asserting the right to payment for unauthorised telecommunications services—often a consumer will only become aware of this practice when they receive a phone bill containing unexplained charges (also see internet dumping)

CRNP

• cost reflective network pricing

CSG (customer service guarantee)

• Any phone company that offers standard telephone services in an area must meet a certain maximum time frame for connecting standard service, repairing faults and attending customer appointments

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D

DAC

• Depreciated actual cost

Dawson report

• An independent review of the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act and their administration, submitted to the Australian Government in January 2003 and released in April 2003. Amendments were made to the Trade Practices Act commencing January 2007, which give effect to some of the recommendations from the Dawson Report

Dial-up

• Access to the internet via a modem which utilises the standard telephony service

DCITA

• Department of Communications Information Technology and the Arts

Direct marketing:

• Selling directly to customers and bypassing retailers by using direct means such as door-to-door selling, telemarketing, home parties and mailing lists

DNSP

• Distribution network service provider

Domestic PSTN

• Domestic public switched telephone network

DORC

• Depreciated optimised replacement cost

DOTARS

• Department of Transport and Regional Services

Draft determination

• Before the Commission can issue a final determination on an authorisation application it must first issue a draft decision. A draft decision will propose to grant the authorisation, grant with conditions or deny authorisation. A draft determination will outline the Commission’s reasons for its decision

DRP

• Draft statement of regulatory principles

DSL

• Digital subscriber line

DSLAM

• Digital subscriber line access multiplexer

DUOS

• Distribution use of system

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E

E10 

• Unleaded petrol with a blend of 10 per cent ethanol

EAG

• Energy Action Group

EBITA 

• Earnings before interest, tax, and amortisation expenses

EBITDA

• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation expenses

ECS

• Exceptional claims scheme

ESAA

• Electricity Supply Association of Australia

ESC

• Essential Services Commission

ESCoSA

• Essential Services Commission of South Australia

ESIPC

• Electricity Supply Industry Planning Council

EUAA

• Energy Users Association of Australia

EUG

• Energy Users Group

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F

Final determination

• This is the Commission’s final decision on an application for authorisation. The Commission will grant the authorisation, grant with conditions or deny authorisation. The final determination will outline the Commission’s reasons for its decision

FTTH/FTTP (fibre-to-the-home or fibre-to-the-premises)

• Optical fibre being carried all the way to a customer's home or premise, allowing for a high speed broadband connection

FTTN

• Fibre-to-the-node. FTTN is an optical fibre telecommunications network that brings fibre to a specified node closer to the customer’s premise

FTM

• Fixed-to-mobile. FTM refers to when a telephone call is made from a fixed line service to a mobile service

Full line forcing

• A supplier refusing to supply goods or a service unless the intending purchaser agrees to specified conditions. For a full line forcing arrangement to contravene the Trade Practices Act it must have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the relevant market. (also see Third line forcing)

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G

3G

• Third-generation mobile telephone services. 3G gives users greater data throughput and allows a greater range of communications options, for example, access to the internet, email and video data

GA 

• General aviation

General Freight

• Freight not defined in terms of the goods transported. Typically used to describe goods transported by both container and non-container traffic

Global roaming

• The capacity for a person to make and receive mobile calls as well as sending SMS (short message service) messages while travelling overseas

GRTKM

• Gross tonne kilometres. Standard of measure typically used in rail freight transport that combines weight and distance

GSM

• Global system for mobile communications

GST

• Goods and services tax

GWh

• Gigawatt hour

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H

HCCS

• High cost claims scheme

HPPA

• Hospital purchaser provider agreement. Refers to an agreement between a health fund and a hospital in relation to the price payable as full payment by the fund for the episode of care

HSAC

• Health Services Advisory Committee

I

ICAO 

• International Civil Aviation Organisation

ICB

• Initial capital base
  

ICPEN

• International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (formerly known as IMSN)

ICRC

• Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission

ICRC

• Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission

Imputation test

• A test designed to reveal whether there is a sufficient margin between an access provider’s retail prices and the prices it charges access seekers to use its network (plus related costs) to enable equally efficient access seekers to compete in retail markets

IMSN

• see ICPEN

International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network

• see ICPEN

Internet domain names

• These form the domain name system (DNS) and make using the internet easier by allowing names to be used for websites. Otherwise we would have to use, for each inter-connected computer the unique string of numbers that is its IP (internet protocol) address. Domain names need to be registered with a Domain Name Registrar

Internet dumping/modem jacking

• Modem-jacking or dumping changes the internet access and internet service provider (ISP) of victims without them knowing. They are disconnected from their current ISP and then reconnected to a new provider, and are often then charged hundreds of dollars per hour. This also often happens when consumers choose to make payments on the internet by a method other than by credit card. When they click to agree to an offer, a file downloads to their computer to disconnect the modem and reconnect it through a new number through which they are charged at exorbitant rates. Often scammers disclose the billing system in small print knowing that people will overlook it

Internet service provider

• see ISP

Invitation to treat

• An invitation to open negations with a view to forming a contract. Displaying goods for sale is an invitation to treat, not an offer

IPART

• Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal

IRPC

• Inter Regional Planning Committee

ISDN

• Uses a standard telephone line with a permanent connection with download speeds of up to 64 kilobytes per second. Comes with a service guarantee

ISP

• Internet service provider—a company that provides internet access usually for a fee

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K

Kbps

• Kilo bits per second

Kerbside facilities

• Space alongside airport terminal where vehicles can pick up and drop off passengers

kL

• Kilolitre = 1000 litres

KPI

• Key performance indicators

kW

• Kilowatt

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L

Landside facilities

• All parts of an airport that are not airside—includes terminals and the infrastructure within them and also facilities outside the terminal such as car parks and access roads

LSS

• Line sharing service

LTIE

• Long term interests of end users

M

MAR

• Maximum Allowable Revenue

Mbps

• Mega bits per second

MCE

• Ministerial Council on Energy

MCR

• Minimum capital requirement

M-commerce

• Use of handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones and palm pilots to interact and transact via high-speed connection to the internet

MEAV

• Modern Equivalent Asset Valuation

Minor variation (of an authorisation)

• A single variation that does not cause a material change in the effect of the authorisation. A person may apply for two or more minor variations at the same time, and the Commission may deal with all the variations together; if it is satisfied that the combined effect of those variations, if all were granted, would not involve a material change in the effect of the authorisation

Misrepresentation

• Conduct giving incomplete, false, or misleading information in breach of s. 53 of the Trade Practices Act

ML

• Megalitre = 1 million litres

MLF

• Marginal loss factor

Mogas

• Refined petrol bought on the Singapore spot market. The price of Mogas is used by Australian refiners to determine terminal gate prices

MNSP

• Market network service provider

MTAS

• Mobile terminating access service

MTM

• Mobile-to-mobile.  MTM refers to a call made from a mobile service to another mobile service

MTOW

• Maximum take off weight

MVA

• Megavolt ampere

MW

• Megawatt

MWh

• Megawatt hour

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N

NCC

• National Competition Council

NCP

• National Competition Policy

NDSC

• National Dispatch and Security Centres

NEDF

• National Electricity Distributors Forum

NEL

• National Electricity Law

NEM

• National Electricity Market

NEMMCO

• National Electricity Market Management Company

NER

• National Electricity Rules

NGF

• National Generator Forum

NGL

• National Gas Law

NGR

• National Gas Rules

Notification

• Provides immunity from exclusive dealing conduct under the Trade Practices Act from the time a notification is lodged with the Commission with the requisite information accompanied by the prescribed fee (or soon after in the case of third ling forcing conduct)

NRC

• National Rail Corporation

NSP

• Network Service Provider

NTC

• National Transport Commission

NWI

• National Water Initiative

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O

ODRC

• Optimised Depreciated Replacement Cost

ODV

• Optimised Deprival Value

Office of Fair Trading

• Each state and territory has a government agency that administers local consumer protection laws. The regulatory role and name of these agencies differs between each state and territory

OPEX

• Operation & maintenance Expenditure

ORC

• Optimised Replacement Cost

OTTER

• Office of the Tasmanian Energy Regulator

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P

Pair gain

• A pair-gain system is an electronic device that enables several subscribers to share a single physical telephone line. It has been extensively used in Australia for more than ten years, generally to enable additional standard telephone services to be provided quickly without the need to lay more copper. Phone lines subject to pair-gain systems are unable to be used for ADSL internet services because they are incapable of passing the high frequencies used by ADSL modems

PAF 

• Postal address file. This contains all the addresses to which Australia Post delivers and their associated delivery point identifier

PASA

• Projected Assessment of System Adequacy

PSC

• Passenger Service Charge (Aviation)

Passing off

• A business trading on the reputation or goodwill of another, for example, by using that business’ name or logo, or in some other way holding itself out to be associated with that business. Although this issue is most commonly dealt with under intellectual property laws, for example trademarks, a business may be able to take action against another business for passing off under s. 52 of the Trade Practices Act if it can be shown that the conduct was misleading to consumers generally

PBS

• Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

PC

• Productivity Commission

Postage stamp pricing

• A system of pricing whereby the same types of customers are charged the same price for the same service irrespective of their geographic location

Predatory pricing

• Predatory pricing is a possible breach of s. 46 of the Trade Practices Act, being a type of misuse of market power. It occurs when a business with substantial market power engages in strategic price cuts for the purpose of damaging or eliminating a competitor or preventing a competitor from entering the market or engaging in competitive conduct. It is difficult but important to distinguish predatory pricing from legitimate competitive conduct

Pre-decision conference

• A pre-decision conference provides the opportunity for the applicant or any interested party to make an oral submission in response to a draft determination

PSA

• Prices Surveillance Authority

PSS

• Premium support scheme

PSTN (also see domestic PSTN)

• Public switched telephone network

Public competition assessment

• A public competition assessment outlines the ACCC’s completed competition analysis for specific mergers and merger proposals

Puffery

• A term used to describe wildly exaggerated, fanciful or vague claims for a product or service that nobody could possibly treat seriously, and that nobody could reasonably be misled by

Pyramid schemes

• Schemes that aim to convince people that they can make money by recruiting people, rather than by selling a legitimate product or providing a service. Participation in such schemes is prohibited under s. 65AAC of the Trade Practices Act

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Q

QCA

• Queensland Competition Authority

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R

RAB

• Regulated Asset Base

RAF

• Regulatory accounting framework

Rail Gauge

• Measure of the distance between parallel rail tracks.  Narrow gauge track is 1067 mm, standard gauge track is 1435 mm and broad gauge track is 1600 mm

RailCorp

• Rail Corporation New South Wales

RBA

• Reserve Bank of Australia

Refiner margin

• The difference in price between Mogas refined petrol and Tapis crude oil

Refusal to deal

• The technical term for a firm refusing to supply goods and/or services to business (or consumer) customers

Retail margin

• The difference between retail petrol prices and terminal gate prices

Revocation and Substitution

• A person to whom authorisation was granted  may apply for, or the Commission may intitiate the process of, possible revocation and substitution of an authorisation. The Commission may initiate this process if, at any time after granting the authorisation, it appears to the Commission that: the authorisation was granted on the basis of evidence or information that was false or misleading; or a condition to which authorisation was expressed to be subject has not been complied with; or there has been a material change of circumstances since the authorisation was granted. The Commission must invite interested parties to make submissions in respect of the proposed action, issue a draft determination and invite interested persons and the applicant to request a pre-determination conference. The Commission may then revoke the existing authorisation and grant a substitute authorisation when the public benefit from the conduct proposed to be authorised (that is, under the substitute authorisation) outweighs the anti-competitive detriment. The Commission may also decide not to revoke the existing authorisation

Revocation

• A person to whom authorisation was granted, or another person on behalf of such a person, may apply to the Commission for a revocation of the authorisation. If, at any time after granting an authorisation, it appears to the Commission that: the authorisation was granted on the basis of evidence or information that was false or misleading in a material particular; or a condition applying to the authorisation has not been complied with or there has been a material change of circumstances since the authorisation was granted, the Commission may initiate the process of revocation. Before revoking an authorisation, the Commission must seek submissions from interested parties. If any interested party objects to the revocation, even if one of the above conditions is satisfied, the Commission may only revoke the authorisation if it is satisfied that the public detriment from the conduct given immunity by the authorisation outweighs the public benefit

RIEMNS

• Review of the Integration of Energy Markets and Network Services

RIM (remote integrated multiplexer)

• An example of a large pair-gain system. RIMs increase capacity to the areas they service, as a more economical alternative to putting in additional telephone exchanges, particularly on housing estates and condensed urban developments. RIMs do not in themselves prohibit the roll-out of ADSL. RIMs must be enabled for DSL before ADSL is available, just as telephone exchanges must first be DSL enabled before ADSL will be available (also see pair gain and ADSL)

Ring fencing

• The identification and separation of business activities, costs and decision making within an integrated entity. Ring fencing is applied when part of an entity is providing monopoly services and another part is providing services in a competitive market

RIS

• Regulatory Impact Statement

RKRs (record keeping rules)

• Under the Trade Practices Act the ACCC has the power to make record keeping rules (RKRs) for Australia Post and for telecommunication carriers and carriage service providers

ROCS

• Run-off cover scheme

Rolling Stock

• Vehicles used in rail transport, includes locomotives and carriages

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S

Seasonal water allocation

• An authorisation to extract or divert a nominated volume of water up to the volume or share of the consumptive pool stipulated in any one season

Secondary boycott

• A type of boycott whereby parties take action aimed at disrupting the flow of goods and services between an employer and another party. A secondary boycott may be illegal under the Trade Practices Act 1974

Section 87B undertakings

• The Commission may accept written undertakings given by a person for the purpose of s87B of the TPA in connection with a matter in relation to which the Commission has power or function under the TPA (other than Part X). An example of such an undertaking by a trader is an undertaking not to engage in certain conduct which may be a breach of the TPA and to undertake to enter into a compliance program. These undertakings are enforceable in the Court

Shaping

• Shaping means that the user’s internet speed is significantly reduced once a particular download limit is reached. Shaping policies are increasingly common among internet service providers (ISPs)

Slamming

• Unauthorised ‘churn’ or transfer of a customer from one telecommunications provider to another (also see churning)

Small claims court and small claims tribunal

• Each state and territory has a court or tribunal that provides an informal means of resolving disputes. These are usually referred to as the small claims court or the small claims tribunal. The cost of lodging a claim depends on the amount being claimed and differs between states and territories

SMS

• SMS (short message service, also known as text messaging): communicating via mobile phones by inputting a text message using the phone keys

Spam

• Unauthorised or unsolicited marketing material, usually received in the form of emails or SMS text messages

SCT

• Specialised container transport

SRP

• Statement of Regulatory Principles

Standard dial-up

• Residential customers dialling-up on a standard telephone line each time they access the internet. Has a download speed of up to 56 kilobytes per second

Statement of issues

• A statement of issues outlines the basis and facts on which the ACCC has come to a preliminary decision, after a first phase of market inquiries, that a proposed merger raises competition issues

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T

Tapis 

• Crude oil from Malaysia. It is the main feedstock for refineries in Singapore and therefore the most appropriate crude oil to compare with Mogas

TEU

• Twenty-foot equivalent—a unit of measurement equivalent to one 20-foot shipping container

TFP

• Total Factor Productivity

TGP

• Terminal gate price—the wholesale price for petrol purchased from a terminal
  

Third line forcing

• Third line forcing is a specific form of exclusive dealing prohibited outright by the Trade Practices Act. It is not subject to the substantial lessening of competition test. It involves the supply of goods or services on condition that the purchaser buys goods or services from a particular third party, or a refusal to supply because the purchaser will not agree to that condition. (also see Full line forcing). ). Third line forcing does not occur when a body corporate restricts the dealings of another body corporate and those bodies corporate are related to each other

TN

• Terminal navigation (Aviation)

TNSP

• Transmission Network Service Provider

Trade practices compliance program

• A trade practices compliance program consists of procedures to identify and reduce the risk of breaching the Trade Practices Act and to rapidly and effectively remedy any breach that may occur

TPA

• Trade Practices Act

TUOS

• Transmission Use Of System

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U

USO

• Universal service obligation. Australia Post must carry and deliver standard letters at a uniform postage rate

ULLS

• Unconditioned local loop service

Unconscionable conduct

• Conduct that goes against the ordinary dictates of conscience to such an extent that the law must intervene. The Trade Practices Act sets out a number of matters that help indicate whether conduct is unconscionable. These include inequality of bargaining power between parties, lack of good faith and unwillingness to negotiate

Uniform consumer credit code [UCCC]

• Uniform state and territory legislation that regulates consumer credit contacts and related transactions (including mortgages, guarantees, consumer leases and credit-related insurance)

Undertakings

• see Section 87B undertakings

Utility regulators forum

• A forum established in recognition of the need for cooperation between state-based regulators in a federal system. The forum consists of regulators operating in industries in which public utilities that traditionally operated as monopolies are being opened up to competition as a result of the competition reform process

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V

VDSL

• Very high speed digital subscriber line 

VENCorp

• Victorian Energy Networks Corporation

VoIP (voice over internet protocol)

• A technology used for transmitting standard telephone calls over the internet using packet-linked routes

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W

WACC

• Weighted Average Cost of Capital

WAP (wireless application protocol)

• A bridge between a mobile phone and the internet which allows a user to access information from their mobile handset

Water delivery entitlement

• An entitlement to have water delivered at specified times, rates and locations under specified circumstances

Water entitlement

• An entitlement to receive a periodic, seasonal or annual allocation of a volume of water (which under the NWI should be specified as a share of the consumptive water pool). The actual authorised volume received in a season will depend on the seasonal allocation of water

WiFi (wireless fidelity or wireless networking)

• A local area network using high frequency radio signals to transmit and receive data

WLR

• Wholesale line rental

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