Commonwealth of Australia
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT FOR DECLARATION NO.
Issued by the Authority of the Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer
Competition and Consumer Act 2010
Price notification provisions are contained in Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (‘the Act’) and apply only to ‘notified goods or services’ and ‘declared persons’. The object of these provisions is to have prices surveillance applied only to those markets where, in the view of the minister, competitive pressures are not sufficient to achieve efficient prices and protect consumers.
This declaration made under section 95X of the Act provides for:
• the provision of letter services reserved to Australia Post to be notified services for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Act; and
• Australia Post to be a declared person for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Act.
This declaration means that, to avoid breaching section 95Z of the Act, Australia Post must notify the ACCC if it proposes to increase the price of a reserved (and therefore notified) service, or if it proposes to introduce a new service that would fall within the definition of reserved (notified) services, or if it proposes to provide an existing reserved (notified) service under terms and conditions that are not the same or substantially similar to the existing terms and conditions of that service.
The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, the Department of Finance and Deregulation, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have been consulted in the preparation of this declaration. Public consultation was not considered necessary because this declaration effectively reinstates the price notification arrangements contained in the lapsed Declaration no.75 (made in 1992 under section 21 of the Prices Surveillance Act 1983).
This declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
This declaration ceases to have effect on and from 25 February 2016, unless it is revoked earlier.