Guidelines relating to deferral of arbitrations and backdating of determinations under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974

Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (formerly the Trade Practices Act 1974) establishes a legal regime to facilitate third party access to certain services provided by means of significant infrastructure facilities. It is also known as the National Access Regime. 

The purpose of these guidelines is to explain how the ACCC might apply the provisions on deferral of arbitrations and backdating of final determinations when making decisions under Part IIIA.

These guidelines were published prior to the commencement of legislative amendments to Part IIIA which took effect in 2010.  They should therefore be read in conjunction with Part IIIA as it is currently enacted, and parties contemplating notifying an access dispute should contact the ACCC in the first instance. 

Consultation process
These guidelines were published following a consultation process, and relevant documents from that process are available below.