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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
South Australia
Railways (Operations and Access) (Miscellaneous)
Amendment Bill 2010
A BILL FOR
An Act to amend the Railways (Operations and Access)
Act 1997.
Contents
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Short
title
2 Commencement
3 Amendment provisions
Part 2—Amendment of Railways (Operations and
Access) Act 1997
4 Amendment of section
3—Objects
5 Amendment of section 4—Interpretation
6 Repeal of
section 21
7 Amendment of section 22—Segregation of accounts and
records
8 Amendment of section 31—Access proposal
9 Insertion of
Part 5A
Part 5A—Confidential information
33A Confidential
information
10 Amendment of section 38—Principles to be taken
into account
11 Insertion of section 50A
50A Time limit for
arbitration
The Parliament of South Australia enacts as
follows:
This Act may be cited as the Railways (Operations and Access)
(Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2010.
This Act will come into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
In this Act, a provision under a heading referring to the amendment of a
specified Act amends the Act so specified.
Part 2—Amendment
of Railways (Operations and Access)
Act 1997
4—Amendment of
section 3—Objects
Section 3(c)—after "railway services" insert:
through the promotion of the economically efficient use and operation of,
and investment in, those services
5—Amendment of
section 4—Interpretation
(1) Section 4, definition of pricing principles—delete
the definition and substitute:
pricing principles—
(a) relating to the fixing of floor and ceiling prices—see
section 27;
(b) relating to the price of access to a railway service—see
section 38(2);
(2) Section 4, definition of railway
infrastructure—delete the definition and substitute:
railway infrastructure means—
(a) fixed railway infrastructure; and
(b) other installations, plant and equipment (whether fixed or moveable)
used or available for use in connection with the operation of the railway
network to the extent that it is brought within the ambit of this Act by
proclamation,
but does not include a private siding within the meaning of the Rail
Safety Act 2007, other than a private siding prescribed by the
regulations to be railway infrastructure for the purposes of this Act;
Section 21—delete the section
7—Amendment of
section 22—Segregation of accounts and records
Section 22—after subsection (1) insert:
(1a) An operator whose railway service business includes providing (or
providing and operating) railway infrastructure for another industry participant
must keep accounts and records of that part of its railway service business so
as to give a true and fair view of that part of the business as distinct from
the remainder of its railway service business.
8—Amendment of
section 31—Access proposal
Section 31—after subsection (3) insert:
(3a) Despite subsection (3)(a), notice is not required to be given to
the regulator if the contract giving access to the service would, if
executed—
(a) be of an annual value of less than $50 000; or
(b) be for a term of less than 2 months.
After Part 5 insert:
Part 5A—Confidential
information
33A—Confidential information
(1) Information obtained under section 29 or Part 5
that—
(a) could affect the competitive position of a proponent or a respondent;
or
(b) is commercially valuable or sensitive for some other reason,
is to be regarded as confidential information.
(2) A person who obtains confidential information must not disclose that
information unless—
(a) the disclosure is reasonably required for the purposes of this Act;
or
(b) the disclosure is made with the consent of the person who supplied the
information; or
(c) the disclosure is required or authorised by law; or
(d) the disclosure is required by a court or tribunal constituted by law;
or
(e) the disclosure is in prescribed circumstances.
Maximum penalty: $15 000.
(3) A person who obtains confidential information must not (unless
authorised by the person who supplied the information) use the information for a
purpose which is not authorised or contemplated by this Act.
Maximum penalty: $15 000.
(4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not prevent or restrict the
disclosure of information to the regulator.
(5) Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), the regulator may, if
the regulator considers it is in the public interest to do so, disclose
confidential information to either or both of the following:
(a) the Minister;
(b) the public.
(6) A person who obtains confidential information must not use the
information for the purpose of securing an advantage for himself or herself or
for some other person in competition with the person who provided the
information.
Maximum penalty: $100 000.
(7) An operator must, in connection with the operation of this section,
develop and maintain a policy to ensure that confidential information obtained
by the operator is not disclosed or used except as authorised by this
section.
(8) The operator must provide a copy of a policy developed under
subsection (7) to the regulator and to any other person who requests a copy
from the operator.
10—Amendment of
section 38—Principles to be taken into account
(1) Section 38(1)—delete paragraph (g) and
substitute:
(g) the pricing principles—
(i) relating to the fixing of floor and ceiling prices specified in
section 27; and
(ii) relating to the price of access to a railway service specified in
subsection (2); and
(2) Section 38(1)—after paragraph (m) insert:
and
(n) other matters the arbitrator considers appropriate.
(3) Section 38(2)—delete subsection (2) and
substitute:
(2) The pricing principles relating to the price of access to a railway
service are as follows:
(a) that access prices should allow multi-part pricing and price
discrimination when it aids efficiency;
(b) that access prices should not allow a vertically integrated operator
to set terms and conditions that would discriminate in favour of its downstream
operations, except to the extent that the cost of providing access to others
would be higher;
(c) that access prices should provide incentives to reduce costs or
otherwise improve productivity.
Before section 51 insert:
50A—Time limit for arbitration
(1) An award must be made within the period of 6 months from the date
on which the dispute is referred to arbitration (the standard
period).
(2) However, if after the commencement of the standard period the
arbitrator exercises a power under this Part in relation to the provision of
information or documents, any period between the date of the exercise of the
power and the date of compliance is not to be taken into account when
determining the end date of the standard period.