Our functions under the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission Act 1997 (the Act) include:
- investigating and reporting on competitive neutrality complaints; and
- investigating and reporting on government regulated activities.
Our powers to investigate regulatory references, comprising competitive neutrality complaints and government-regulated activities, are set out in the Act. The Act refers the Commission, in its consideration and investigation of these issues, to the Competition Principles Agreement (CPA) and in particular to the Competition Policy Considerations, the Competitive Neutrality Principles and the Legislation Review Principles.
Competitive Neutrality Policy and Complaints Handling
Competitive neutrality is about removing the potential advantages that government-owned businesses might have when they compete with the private sector by virtue of their public sector ownership.
Under the Competition Principles Agreement, Australian governments agreed to implement competitive neutrality principles for government-owned businesses, and to establish a complaints mechanism. The ACT Government has set out its policy in Competitive Neutrality in the ACT (October 2010).
Under the Act, investigations are either initiated by us, or conducted in response to regulatory references submitted to us by government or private businesses or individuals. Our activities in relation to competitive neutrality complaints and government-regulated activities are to investigate and report. Where a formal investigation has been conducted, we will publish our findings, and may make recommendations.
For further information on competitive neutrality issues or complaints please see our guideline below or contact us at:
GPO Box 158
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6205 0799
Fax: (02) 6207 5887
Email: icrc@act.gov.au
| Document Name | Type | Size | Published date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Competitive neutrality complaints - Guideline | 443 KB | 12 Aug 2015 |