{"id":"F2008B00402","name":"Prices Surveillance Act 1983 - Direction No. 17 - Container Stevedoring Services","slug":"prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":73369,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2008B00402-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prices Surveillance Act 1983 - Direction No. 17 - Container Stevedoring Services","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n \n\nCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA\n\nPrices Surveillance Act 1983\n\nDIRECTION  NO 17\n\n(1) I, Peter Costello, Treasurer, pursuant to section 27A of the Prices Surveillance Act 1983, hereby direct the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to undertake monitoring of prices,\n\ncosts and profits relating to the supply of services by a container terminal operator company in ports at the following locations:\n\n(a)   Adelaide;\n\n(b)  Brisbane;\n\n(c)   Burnie;\n\n(d)  Fremantle;\n\n(e)   Melbourne; and\n\n(f)    Sydney.\n\n(2) In this direction, ‘container terminal operator company’ means a provider of container stevedoring services in ports at the locations listed in paragraph (1).\n\n(3) The ACCC is to report to me on its monitoring activities referred to in paragraph (1) within four months after the end of each financial year.\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n      20 January 1999­­­\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a specific, time-bound ministerial direction made under existing powers. It does not represent scope creep from the original Prices Surveillance Act 1983, which was designed precisely for this kind of targeted price monitoring. The direction applies the Act's framework to a particular industry sector (container stevedoring) at specific locations, which is consistent with the Act's intended purpose of allowing selective, targeted surveillance rather than economy-wide price controls."},"complexity_factors":["Very short document — only 3 operative paragraphs plus signature block","Only one defined term ('container terminal operator company')","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the empowering provision (section 27A)","Simple, direct command structure with clear geographic and temporal parameters","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a formal order made by the Treasurer (Peter Costello) in 1999 under the Prices Surveillance Act 1983. It tells the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to keep a close eye on the money side of container stevedoring services — that's the work of loading and unloading shipping containers at ports — at six major Australian ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Burnie, Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Directs the ACCC to monitor** the prices, costs, and profits of companies that operate container terminals at these specific ports.\n- **Defines who is being watched:** A \"container terminal operator company\" is any business providing container stevedoring services at the listed ports.\n- **Sets a reporting deadline:** The ACCC must report back to the Treasurer within four months after each financial year ends (so by the end of October each year).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- **Container terminal operators** at the six named ports — their pricing and financial performance is under scrutiny.\n- **The ACCC** — it has a new ongoing monitoring duty.\n- **Importers, exporters, and consumers** — indirectly, because this surveillance aims to ensure fair pricing in the supply chain that affects the cost of goods.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis direction was issued during a period of significant reform in Australia's waterfront industry. Container stevedoring is a bottleneck in international trade — if a few companies charge too much or make excessive profits, it pushes up costs for everyone who imports or exports goods. By requiring the ACCC to monitor and report annually, the government ensured transparency and accountability in a sector with limited competition, helping to protect against price gouging."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Direction establishes a specific monitoring task and scope under the Prices Surveillance Act: it instructs the ACCC to monitor prices, costs and profits for container stevedoring services at six named ports and to report annually (paragraphs (1)–(3)). In effect, it creates or specifies monitoring coverage for those services and locations rather than leaving monitoring scope unspecified in this instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Short, focused instrument with a single clear instruction — monitor prices, costs and profits for a defined service in specified ports (paragraph (1)).","Simple definitional provision that limits scope to 'container terminal operator company' meaning providers of container stevedoring services in the listed ports (paragraph (2)).","Clear reporting timetable (within four months after each financial year) reduces procedural ambiguity (paragraph (3)).","Lack of procedural detail about methodology or data sources increases implementation discretion for the ACCC, which can complicate execution though not the legal text itself (implicit across paragraphs (1)–(3)).","No ancillary or enforcement provisions in the Direction keeps statutory complexity low but shifts complexity to operational design within the ACCC."],"plain_english_summary":"The Treasurer, using a Prices Surveillance Act power, directs the ACCC to monitor prices, costs and profits of container terminal operator companies at six ports (Adelaide, Brisbane, Burnie, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney) and to report to the Treasurer within four months after each financial year. It tasks the ACCC and affects the named stevedoring firms; it creates ongoing information‑gathering and transparency but does not set prices or mandate enforcement."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services","history":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services/history","analysis":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/prices-surveillance-act-1983-direction-no-17-container-stevedoring-services/documents"}}