1. Recommendations on declaration applications made within statutory time limits (consideration period of 180 days) and meet the advice requirements of Ministers

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 262).

The Council had no ongoing applications for declaration at the start of the 2019-20 year, and did not receive any new applications for declaration during 2019-20.

2. Recommendations on certification applications made within statutory time limits (consideration period of 180 days) and meet the advice requirements of Ministers

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 262).

The Council had no ongoing applications for certification at the start of 2019-20, and received one new application for certification during 2019-20. The Council completed its consideration of the matter within the prescribed timeframe (within 174 days, excluding clock stoppers).

3. Recommendations and decisions under the NGL made within specified time limits and recommendations under the NGL meet the advice requirements of Ministers

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-2020 Portfolio Budget Statements p 262).

The Council had no ongoing applications under the NGL at the start of 2019-20, and did not receive any new applications under the NGL in 2019-20.

4. Accessible information on all access regulation matters for which the NCC is responsible is provided on the NCC website

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 263).

The Council’s principal website (www.ncc.gov.au) contains information on the Council’s responsibilities and roles concerning third party access to infrastructure under both the CCA and the NGL. The website aims to provide ready access to:

· information on current applications, including copies of the application and submissions and timing matters

· information on past applications

· Council guides and other publications and resources, and

· details of the Council’s operations.

The Council has established a webpage on its website in relation to its recent consideration of the NSW water infrastructure access regime. The webpage contains relevant background information to the matter, public submissions and the Council’s Draft and Final recommendations.

All Council submissions made in response to policy reviews during 2019-20 have been published on the Council’s website.

During 2019-20 there were over 68,000[1] visits to the Council’s website (2018-19: 78 031 visits).

The Council has a second website incorporating the material from its previous role and work on the National Competition Policy (NCP) reform program (www.ncp.ncc.gov.au). This website provides an historic record of governments’ development of, agreement to and implementation, and outcomes of the (now concluded) NCP reform program, the reforms under the program and the outcomes of the Council’s regular assessments of progress.

During 2019-20 there were 107 768 visits to the NCP website (2018-19: 93 531 visits).

[1] The number of visits to the Council’s website for 2019-20 is an approximate figure. The website was migrated to a new server during this May/June 2020 resulting in the loss of statistical usage information for the period.

5. Up to date and informative guidelines on all the NCC’s areas of responsibility are maintained on the NCC website

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 263).

The Council has published guides to declaration and certification under Part IIIA of the CCA and to coverage determinations and other Council responsibilities under the NGL. The current guidelines may be downloaded or printed from the Council’s website (www.ncc.gov.au).

The guides reflect the Council’s thinking as it has evolved through dealing with applications, and draws on relevant decisions of the Tribunal and the Courts. They are designed to be informative and assist prospective applicants to determine the merits of an application and, if appropriate, frame an application to the Council. They are also useful to service providers and other parties involved in declaration and similar processes under Part IIIA of the CCA and the NGL.

As detailed in other parts of this report, while there have been recent policy reviews in relation to the regulation of airports and gas pipelines, at this time there is no policy decision to change the declaration process under Part IIIA of the CCA as it applies to airports; or change the coverage criteria for gas pipelines[1] or any other mechanisms administered by the Council under the NGL. Nevertheless, the Council intends to follow ongoing and upcoming policy reviews in relation to any matters related to the Council’s areas of responsibility under the Part IIIA of the CCA or the NGL. If appropriate, the Council may undertake further consultation with relevant policy makers; and where necessitated by legislation and/or policy change, the Council will update its guidelines accordingly.

[1] See also the ‘Coverage criteria under the NGL’ section on page 12 of this annual report.

6. Case law developments, legislative amendments and developments in the NCC’s processes or policies are reflected in the NCC’s information resources within 30 days

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 263).

There were no significant case law developments or legislative amendments that affected the Council’s work in 2019-20. The Council’s processes and other information resources remain up to date, and are expected to remain so until such time as legislative or other changes are made and brought into legal effect.

Developments in Council’s policies

In the post reporting period, the Council updated its Risk Management Plan and Fraud Control Plan, consistent with the requirements of the PGPA Act and Rules made under the PGPA Act. These updated documents were published on the Council’s website in August 2020, following approval by the Accountable Authority. This approval was based on the advice of the Council’s Audit Committee following its consideration of these policies during the 2019-20 financial year.

7. The NCC’s annual report to the Parliament includes a comprehensive report that meets the requirements of section 29O of the CCA and is provided within the timeframe required by the PGPA Act

(Corporate Plan 2019-20 and Program 1.1, 2019-20 Portfolio Budget Statements p 263).

Section 29O of the CCA requires the Council to report on various matters relating to the operation of the National Access Regime. The Council’s 2019-20 response on those matters follows below.