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Certification

A Premier or Chief Minister may apply to the Council for a State or Territory access regime to be certified as effective. The Council’s recommendation on the matter is forwarded to the designated Commonwealth Minister, who must decide whether to certify the regime as effective and specify the period for which certification, if granted, will be in force.

The purpose of certification is to provide immunity from declaration under Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). Once a State or Territory access regime is certified as effective, access to relevant services is exclusively governed by that regime and the declaration provisions of Part IIIA are unavailable.

The Council has considered applications to certify State and Territory access regimes for gas pipeline services, electricity network services, port services, rail services and water services.

The Council has prepared a Guide to the certification of State and Territory Access Regimes and a 
Guide to making an application for certification to assist parties interested in certification applications. The Council plans to update the guides periodically, with the latest versions available on this website.