Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1998 (NO. 1) 1998 NO. 368

Statutory Rules 1998 No. 368

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts

Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989

Australian Postal Corporation Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 1)

Background

Section 102 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (the Act) provides for regulations to be made under the Act.

The Australian Postal Corporation Regulations (the Regulations) include procedures for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to inquire into disputes between Australia Post and users of its bulk interconnection service about mail rate reductions and to make recommendations to the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (the Minister) in relation to the amount of rate reduction which should apply to a bulk interconnection service.

Bulk interconnection services are provided for under section 32A of the Act. They allow competitors of Australia Post to carry bulk quantities of letters some part of the distance towards their destination. and to then lodge the letters with Australia Post for final delivery to the addressee. Under section 29 of the Act the carriage of these letters would, otherwise, be reserved to Australia Post.

The purpose of these Regulations is to include a note after regulation 21 of the Regulations which informs readers that a decision of the ACCC under regulation 21 may be a document which is discoverable under the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Subregulation 21(4) confers on the ACCC the power to decide whether or not to disclose information provided by one party to a dispute to the other party, based on its estimation of the commercially confidential nature of the information

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

ATTACHMENT

Details of amendments

Regulation 1 - Name of regulations

The regulation provides that these Regulations are the Australian Postal Corporation Amendment Regulations 1998 (No. 1)

Regulation 2 - Commencement

The regulation provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 - Amendment

The regulation provides that the Australian Postal Corporation Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

Regulation 4 - Regulation 1 (Citation)

The regulation omits Regulation 1 of the Australian Postal Corporation Regulations and replaces it with a regulation which provides that these regulations are the Australian Postal Corporation Regulations 1989. This is to update the style and citation of the Regulations.

Regulation 5 - Regulation 21 (Confidential information

The regulation inserts a note after regulation 21 which provides that a decision of the ACCC under regulation 21 may be a document discoverable under the Freedom of Information Act 1982, and that a decision to refuse access to a document is a reviewable decision which is reviewable by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.