Queensland Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers - Part 6 decision and exemption consultation

Overview

The ACCC invites you to have your say on the following:

• if the Queensland Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers is a Part 6 operator under the Water Charge Rules 2010
• in the event it is a Part 6 operator - if the ACCC should grant the department an exemption from requirements for the ACCC to determine or approve its infrastructure charges for the Queensland component of the Border Rivers Water Supply Scheme.

About the consultation

The Queensland Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers (the department) has notified the ACCC that it has become aware that it is a Part 6 operator under rule 23A of the water charge rules. Rule 23B of the water charge rules requires the ACCC to decide if the department is a Part 6 operator. 

The department has also applied for an exemption from the operation of requirements of divisions 2, 3 and 4 of Part 6 of the water charge rules.

In the event that the ACCC decides the department is a Part 6 operator, it will also decide whether to grant the exemption. If the exemption is not granted the ACCC will be required to regulate the department’s infrastructure charges for the Queensland component of the Border Rivers Water Supply Scheme.

The ACCC originally consulted on this question in September 2021. That consultation received no submissions. Since then, the ACCC has worked with the department to obtain information necessary to inform its decision-making.

The ACCC is again seeking stakeholder views on whether the department is a Part 6 operator, and in the event it decides it is, whether the ACCC should grant the department an exemption. Given the original consultation ran some time ago, this gives affected stakeholders another opportunity to make a submission.

Background

Part 6 operators

Under rule 23 of the water charge rules, an infrastructure operator is a Part 6 operator if:

• it is not required to have all its infrastructure charges determined or approved by a single State Agency under a law of the State in a way that is consistent with paragraph 29(2)(b) of the water charge rules (this paragraph relates to prudency and efficiency of costs requirements); and
• it levies an infrastructure charge in relation to either:
  • a bulk water service in respect of water access rights; or
  • infrastructure services in relation to the storage or delivery of water that is necessary to give effect to an arrangement for the sharing of water between more than one Basin State.

Exemption considerations

The ACCC may only grant an exemption if it is satisfied that the application of the Part 6 requirements would not materially contribute to the achievement of the Basin water charging objectives and principles set out in Schedule 2 of the Water Act 2007.

In making an exemption decision, the ACCC must consider:

• the total volume of water access rights in relation to which bulk water services are provided by the operator
• the total volume of water subject to water sharing arrangements in relation to which the operator provides infrastructure services
• the infrastructure services provided by the operator
• any preferences expressed by the operator’s customers to the ACCC
• any other views expressed by a State Agency to the ACCC
• whether the relevant law of a State is being transitioned so that the operator’s infrastructure charges will at a future date be determined or approved by a single State Agency in a way that is consistent with paragraph 29(2)(b) of the water charge rules
• the proportion of the infrastructure operator’s revenue to be recovered from infrastructure charges
• any other matters that the ACCC considers relevant.

The full Water Charge Rules 2010 and Water Act 2007 are available at the Federal Register of Legislation:

• Water Charge Rules 2010
• Water Act 2007

Confidentiality

Please note this consultation is being conducted publicly. Submissions will be treated as public documents and published unless a claim for confidentiality is made and accepted, or a submission is withdrawn.

Please mark any information that you believe to be of a confidential nature and provide reasons why this information should be treated confidentially. If the ACCC accepts your confidentiality claim, it will not publish or disclose the confidential information to third parties, other than advisors or consultants engaged directly by the ACCC, without first endeavouring to provide you with notice of its intention to do so, wherever possible, such as where it is compelled to do so by law.

If the ACCC rejects your confidentiality claim, you will be given the opportunity to withdraw your submission before it is published, or any information is disclosed.

The ACCC’s information policy includes information on the collection and disclosure of information.

How to make a submission

The ACCC prefers submissions to be provided online.

Submissions can be addressed to:

Director
Water Regulation
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
GPO Box 3131
CANBERRA ACT 2601