Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 sets out the general framework for access regulation. Access regulation aims to ensure businesses have access, on commercial terms, to the services provided by certain essential infrastructure facilities such as airports. It gives the minister the role of deciding whether a service should be covered by access regulation.
Under s. 192(1) of the Airports Act 1996, the minister has previously made determinations that 'airport services' at the privatised 'core regulated airports' are covered by Part IIIA. These determinations expired on 1 July 2002 for Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airports and expired on 1 July 2003 for Adelaide, Gold Coast, Hobart, Launceston, Alice Springs, Canberra, Townsville and Darwin airports.
On 19 July 2003 the then Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Hon. John Anderson MP, made a formal determination that s. 192(2) of the Airports Act applies to Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport, but that the determination expires 24 hours after publication of the notice in the Commonwealth Gazette (which occurred on 30 July).
When a facility is declared and an access seeker is unable to negotiate a satisfactory commercial agreement for terms of access, the ACCC may be asked to arbitrate.
In May 2002 the government indicated that airport-specific access regulation would not continue to apply. Accordingly, s. 192 of the Airports Act was repealed on 6 September 2003 by the Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment Act 2003.
Airports remain potentially subject to the general access provisions of Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act.
