Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010: the National Access Regime
Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 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. One of the objects of Part IIIA is to promote the economically efficient operation of, use of and investment in infrastructure by which services are provided, thereby promoting effective competition in upstream and downstream markets.
Part IIIA is not limited to any particular industries. Services that may be covered under Part IIIA include those provided by facilities such as railway tracks, airports, port terminals or sewage pipes. Access matters involving telecommunications services are dealt with under Part XIC of the Act, and energy matters (gas and electricity) are dealt with by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) under the National Electricity Law and National Gas Law.
Part IIIA sets out a number of mechanisms by which access can be sought to infrastructure services. These include declaration and arbitration, access undertakings and the certification of effective state access regimes.
ACCC roles
The ACCC has a role under Part IIIA to assess access undertakings put forward by owners/operators of infrastructure facilities. Part IIIA also provides a role for the ACCC to arbitrate access disputes where a service has been ‘declared’.
In recent years the ACCC has accepted access undertakings in relation to:
the Interstate and Hunter Valley rail networks operated by the Australian Rail Track Corporation Ltd (ARTC);
bulk wheat export terminals operated around Australia by Australian Bulk Alliance Pty Ltd, Cooperative Bulk Handling Limited, GrainCorp Operations Limited, and Viterra Operations Limited.
In 2007 the ACCC made a final arbitration determination in relation to a dispute between Services Sydney Pty Limited and Sydney Water Corporation Limited.
The National Competition Council performs roles under Part IIIA in relation to the declaration of services and the certification of effective state access regimes. See www.ncc.gov.au for more information on the NCC.
Further guidance on Part IIIA matters
Further information on the ACCC’s role in relation to access undertakings and access disputes under Part IIIA is available at the links below.
If you have a query about the ACCC’s roles under Part IIIA, please contact:
General Manager Fuel, Transport and Prices Oversight Branch Regulatory Affairs Division Australian Competition and Consumer Commission GPO Box 520 Melbourne VIC 3000 Email: transport@accc.gov.au
