DEI Queensland Pipeline Pty Ltd v Australian Competition & Consumer Commission [2002] ACompT 2

DEI Queensland Pipeline Pty Ltd v Australian Competition & Consumer Commission [2002] ACompT 2

Section 58 of the Act deems Reference Tariff and Reference Tariff Policy to be approved by the Queensland Minister until the revised date, thereby displacing the ACCC’s powers over tariff elements. However, ACCC’s authority under s 3.17(ii) to specify major event triggers applies to non-tariff aspects and is not dependent on approval of review dates under s 3.17(i). The power is not confined to tariff matters, as the objectives in s 8.1 are not so limited. Accordingly, the ACCC had the power to require inclusion of major event triggers for non-tariff elements.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
19 May 2002
Procedural Posture
Application for Review / Final Determination
Outcome
application for review dismissed
Legal Topics
['access to Pipelines' 'review of Regulator Decision' 'statutory Interpretation' 'gas Market Regulation']
['competition Law' 'energy Law' 'administrative Law'] ['access to Pipelines' 'review of Regulator Decision' 'statutory Interpretation' 'gas Market Regulation']

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Procedural Posture

Application for Review / Final Determination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the ACCC had power to include in an access arrangement a provision requiring earlier submission of revisions upon specified major events under s 3.17(ii) of the National Third Party Access Code for Natural Gas Pipeline Systems, given the operation of s 58 of the Gas Pipelines Access (Queensland) Act 1998 (Qld).' 'Whether the objectives in s 8.1 of the Code are confined to tariff elements or also extend to non-tariff issues in access arrangements.' "Whether the reference in s 3.17 to s 8.1 limits the ACCC's power to trigger events concerning only Reference Tariff."]

Ratio Decidendi

Section 58 of the Act deems Reference Tariff and Reference Tariff Policy to be approved by the Queensland Minister until the revised date, thereby displacing the ACCC’s powers over tariff elements. However, ACCC’s authority under s 3.17(ii) to specify major event triggers applies to non-tariff aspects and is not dependent on approval of review dates under s 3.17(i). The power is not confined to tariff matters, as the objectives in s 8.1 are not so limited. Accordingly, the ACCC had the power to require inclusion of major event triggers for non-tariff elements.

Court Disposition

application for review dismissed

Orders

  • ['The application for review be dismissed.' 'The decision of the first respondent to draft and approve an Access Arrangement for the Queensland Gas Pipeline pursuant to s 2.20 of the Code be affirmed.']