15Conciliation and reference to arbitration

15 Conciliation and reference to arbitration (1) On receipt of a request to refer an access dispute to arbitration, the regulator must (subject to this clause): (a) if the parties to the dispute agree – attempt to settle the dispute by conciliation; or (b) if the parties do not agree or they agree but after making a reasonable attempt to do so the regulator fails to settle the dispute by conciliation – appoint an arbitrator or arbitrators and refer the dispute to them. (2) The regulator is not obliged to attempt to settle the dispute by conciliation or refer the dispute to arbitration if, in the regulator’s opinion: (a) the subject matter of the dispute is trivial, misconceived or lacking in substance; (b) the access seeker has not provided information reasonably requested by the access provider under clause 10(3); (c) the access seeker has not negotiated in good faith or has resorted to arbitration prematurely or unreasonably; or (d) the regulator is satisfied, on the application of a party to the dispute, that there are good reasons why the dispute should not be referred to arbitration. (3) A dispute cannot be referred to arbitration if: (a) the dispute involves only one access seeker and, before the appointment of the arbitrator, the access seeker notifies the regulator that the access seeker does not want to proceed with the arbitration; or (b) the dispute involves 2 or more access seekers and, before the appointment of the arbitrator, all access seekers notify the regulator that they do not want to proceed with the arbitration.

AustralAsia Railway (Third Party Access) Act 1999 15