The ACCC has determined that CHSB Bulk Terminal Pty Ltd (CHSB) is an exempt service provider under the Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat) Code of Conduct (wheat port code) in relation to its port terminal facility at Geelong, Victoria.
The determination was made by notifiable instrument and registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The instrument and CHSB’s exemption commenced on 18 December 2025.
The ACCC has released a final determination document that sets out the reasons why the ACCC decided to grant CHSB an exemption. These include the ACCC’s view that CHSB will face a high level of competitive constraint from GrainCorp Operations Limited and Riordan Grain Services at the Port of Geelong. The ACCC considered that CHSB will have incentives to provide exporters with fair and transparent access to its services following an exemption.
The exemption means that CHSB will not be required to comply with Parts 3 to 6 of the wheat port code in the course of providing port terminal services at the Port of Geelong.
The ACCC’s final determination document is available on the ACCC website. View the notifiable instrument on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Background
The wheat port code commenced on 30 September 2014. The code regulates bulk grain port terminal service providers to ensure that exporters have fair and transparent access to port terminal services.
Exempt service providers are not required to comply with obligations in Parts 3 to 6 of the wheat port code, including obligations not to discriminate against or hinder other exporters when providing access to port terminal services, or to submit port capacity allocation systems for ACCC approval. They are still required to deal with exporters in good faith and publish certain information, including a port loading statement and port loading procedures.