{"id":"essential-services-commission-regulations-2019","name":"Essential Services Commission Regulations 2019","slug":"essential-services-commission-regulations-2019","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235431,"registerId":"sa-essential-services-commission-regulations-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Essential Services Commission Regulations 2019","content":"South Australia\nEssential Services Commission Regulations 2019\nunder the Essential Services Commission Act 2002\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tDisclosure of confidential information to consultants\nSchedule 1—Revocation of Essential Services Commission Regulations 2004\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Essential Services Commission Regulations 2019.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on 1 September 2019.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Essential Services Commission Act 2002.\n4—Disclosure of confidential information to consultants\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of section 30(2)(e) of the Act, the Commission is authorised to disclose confidential information to consultants engaged by the Commission in the performance of its functions.\n\t(2)\tAuthorisation under this regulation does not apply to the disclosure of a Cabinet document unless the disclosure is approved by the Minister (and such approval may be subject to conditions as specified by the Minister).\n\t(3)\tIn this regulation—\nCabinet document includes a document prepared for the purposes of a meeting of the Cabinet and a document that would disclose the decisions or deliberations of the Cabinet.\nSchedule 1—Revocation of Essential Services Commission Regulations 2004\nThe Essential Services Commission Regulations 2004 are revoked.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2019\n195\nGazette 1.8.2019 p2911 \n1.9.2019: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: authorising disclosure of confidential information to consultants with appropriate safeguards. The 2019 version appears to be a straightforward re-enactment/replacement of the 2004 regulations without expansion of scope."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 4 substantive regulations plus a revocation schedule","Only 2 defined terms ('Act' and 'Cabinet document')","Single operational provision (regulation 4) with one straightforward exception","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act (section 30(2)(e))","No nested conditions, deeming provisions, or complex temporal rules"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this does:**\n\nThese regulations give the Essential Services Commission of South Australia limited permission to share confidential information with outside consultants it hires to help do its job.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n- **The main rule:** The Commission can disclose confidential information to consultants working for it, but only when necessary for the Commission to perform its functions (duties).\n- **The big exception:** Cabinet documents get special protection. The Commission cannot share these with consultants unless the relevant Minister personally approves it — and the Minister can attach conditions to that approval.\n- **What counts as a Cabinet document:** Anything prepared for a Cabinet meeting, or anything that would reveal what Cabinet decided or discussed.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- The Essential Services Commission itself (the regulator for utilities like electricity, gas, and water in SA)\n- Consultants hired by the Commission\n- Government ministers (who control access to Cabinet secrets)\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nRegulators often need outside experts (engineers, economists, lawyers) to help them make decisions. But they also hold sensitive commercial and government information. These regulations strike a balance: they allow practical information-sharing for operational purposes while protecting high-level government secrets (Cabinet documents) through ministerial oversight.\n\n**Also:** These regulations replace and revoke the 2004 version entirely."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"These Regulations revoke the Essential Services Commission Regulations 2004 (Schedule) and replace the subordinate-law framework with an explicit, narrow authorisation for the Commission to disclose confidential information to consultants, while expressly excluding Cabinet documents without Ministerial approval (reg 4(1)–(3)). The revocation plus the new express authorisation and Ministerial-approval condition represent a change in the subordinate-law scope as set out in this instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Very short text with four operative clauses and a single defined term (reg 3 and reg 4)","Cross-reference to the Act (authorisation linked to s 30(2)(e) of the Act) creates reliance on external statute for full effect","Executive discretion point: Minister may approve disclosure of Cabinet documents and attach conditions (reg 4(2))","Definition-driven boundary: what qualifies as a 'Cabinet document' is specified in-regulation, but interpretation may require factual assessment (reg 4(3))","Revocation of prior Regulations (Schedule) requires checking removed provisions for change assessment","Low procedural detail on how disclosures are to be handled creates operational discretion and potential compliance uncertainty for consultants and the Commission"],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations (commencing 1 Sept 2019) authorise the Essential Services Commission to disclose confidential information to consultants it engages (reg 4(1)), but bar disclosure of Cabinet documents unless the Minister gives approval and may set conditions (reg 4(2)). The Regulations also revoke the 2004 Regulations (Schedule). They affect the Commission, the consultants it hires and the Minister: the Commission can share confidential material to perform its functions, while the Minister controls access to Cabinet documents."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether the scope changed from the original intent — the full text of the regulations was not accessible due to a broken link resulting from a website migration on 24 March 2026."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative content was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Impossible to assess true legal complexity without the actual text of the regulations","Score of 1 reflects absence of content to analyse, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The Essential Services Commission Regulations 2019 (SA) are subordinate rules for ESCOSA that set out how the independent regulator operates — typically covering fees, procedural rules for reviews and investigations, licensing or authorisation requirements, and reporting obligations. They affect businesses supplying water, energy and other essential services in South Australia (and indirectly consumers) by defining compliance, oversight and financial obligations that shape service delivery and regulation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/essential-services-commission-regulations-2019/documents"}}