Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The Minister must ask the ACCC for advice about water charge rules the Minister proposes to make, or about proposed amendments or revocations of rules.
(2) The ACCC must give the Minister advice about the proposed water charge rules, or proposed amendments or revocations.
(3) In giving advice to the Minister about proposed water charge rules, or proposed amendments or revocations, in relation to regulated water charges payable to infrastructure operators, the ACCC must have regard to:
(a) the governance arrangements of those operators; and
(b) the current charging arrangements of those operators; and
(c) the history of the charging arrangements of those operators.
(4) The Minister must have regard to the ACCC's advice in making, amending or revoking the water charge rules.
(5) The regulations must provide for the process that the Minister is to follow in making, amending or revoking water charge rules.
(6) Without limiting subsection (5), the regulations must provide for:
(a) consultations with the Basin States and with infrastructure operators; and
as part of the process of making, amending or revoking water charge rules.
(a) the Minister makes, amends or revokes water charge rules; and
(b) the rules do not reflect the advice that the ACCC gave the Minister under subsection (2) in relation to the rules, or the amendments or revocations;
the Minister must, when the rules, amendments or revocations are laid before a House of the Parliament under the Legislation Act 2003 , also lay before that House a document that sets out:
(c) the respects in which the rules, amendments or revocations do not reflect the advice given by the ACCC; and
(d) the Minister's reasons for departing from that advice.