The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued for comment the draft Telecommunications Industry Regulatory Accounting Framework which sets out new record keeping rules for the telecommunications industry.
The new rules will assist the ACCC in investigating anti-competitive practices and in the arbitration of access disputes.
The new rules, which represent a significant change to the reporting requirements for the telecommunications industry, are intended to replace the existing financial reporting obligations set out in the AUSTEL Chart of Accounts and Cost Allocation Manual. That reporting regime only requires the provision of financial data by Telstra, Cable and Wireless Optus and Vodafone for each major retail service.
"The ACCC has already undertaken substantial industry consultation to develop the regulatory reporting framework", Mr Rod Shogren, Commissioner for Telecommunications, said today. "The ACCC has now implemented the framework in a draft legal instrument, on which it is seeking comment".
In particular, the ACCC is seeking comment on which telecommunications carriers and service providers the regulatory framework should apply to.
"The ACCC is wary of the time and effort that will be required by carriers and service providers to implement the new rules and seeks to limit that burden by only notifying the minimum number of carriers and service providers necessary".
The ACCC is currently developing criteria to assist it in selecting the carriers and service providers who will report under the new rules. These criteria include considering whether a carrier or service provider has market power in a market, its revenue and relative size and involvement in disputes over access.
The ACCC intends any criteria to provide a guide rather than a set of hard and fast rules by which it decides who is included or excluded from the regulatory accounting framework.
The ACCC's preliminary view is that Telstra, Cable and Wireless Optus, Vodafone, AAPT, Primus, Optus Vision and Foxtel should report to the Commission.
The ACCC invites comments from interested parties on the instrument and views on who should be required to report under the new framework. Written submissions should be provided to the ACCC by Friday 24 November 2000.
The ACCC expects to finalise the instrument by the end of the year.