Application for certification of the South Australian rail access regime

On 29 December 2010 the Council received an application under section 44M of the Trade Practices Act (TPA) from the Premier of South Australia, Hon Mike Rann MP, for certification of the South Australian rail access regime set out in the Railways (Operations and Access) Act 1997 (SA).  A copy of the application and the relevant legislation is available under the Application tab to the left.

The Council invited interested parties to make written submissions on the application with the submission period closing on 14 February 2011.  The Council received two submissions which are available for download under the Submissions on application tab.

On 16 March 2011 the Council released its draft recommendation on the application for certification of the South Australian Rail Access Regime. The Council's preliminary proposed recommendation to the Commonwealth Minister is that the Regime be certified as effective for a period of five years. The Council would likely recommend that the Regime be certified for 10 years in its final recommendation should the South Australian Government formalise certain arrangements for periodic review, as discussed in the draft recommendation.

The Council invited interested parties to make written submissions on the draft recommendation with the submission period closing on 18 April 2011. The Council received two submissions, from Asciano Limited and Gypsum Resources Australia Pty Ltd. The Council also received a letter from the South Australian Minister for Transport, Hon Patrick Conlon MP. These documents are available for download under the Submissions on draft recommendation tab.

The South Australian Minister for Transport indicated that, subject to South Australian Parliamentary processes, he would seek to amend the Railways (Operations and Access) Act 1997 (SA) to formalise a requirement for the Essential Services Commission of South Australia to periodically review the railway services covered by the access regime on a five yearly basis. This issue is discussed further on the ‘Submissions on draft recommendation' page, under the tab to the left.

On 27 May 2011 the Council provided its final recommendation to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Hon David Bradbury MP. The Council's final recommendation, taking into account the measures taken by the South Australian Government to insert a review mechanism into the Act, was that the South Australian Rail Access Regime be certified as an effective access regime for a period of 10 years (the Council's final recommendation was made public when the Commonwealth Minister released his decision).

On 26 July 2011 the Commonwealth Minister released his decision to certify the South Australian Rail Access Regime under the Competition and Consumer Act for 10 years, in accordance with the Council's final recommendation. The Council's final recommendation and the Minister's decision and statement of reasons are available for download under the ‘Final recommendation and decision' tab to the left. 

If you would like to be kept informed of developments with the application, please download and complete the Registration of Interest form below and email it to sarail@ncc.gov.au or fax it to (03) 9981 1650.

Registration of Interest (RTF, 327KB)