172Regulations

172 Regulations

(1) The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act (other than Schedule 2) to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act (other than Schedule 2) and, in particular, prescribing:

(a) matters in connexion with the procedure of the Tribunal, the Commission and the AER; and

(b) the fees and expenses of witnesses in proceedings before the Tribunal and the Commission; and

(c) matters for and in relation to the costs, if any, that may be awarded by the Court in proceedings before the Court under this Act; and

(d) the fees payable to the Commission on making a prescribed application, or giving a prescribed notice, to the Commission under this Act or the regulations.

(1B) Regulations made for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) or (b) do not apply in relation to the functions of the Tribunal under a State/Territory energy law or a designated Commonwealth energy law.

Note: See section 44ZZR.

(2) The regulations may, either unconditionally or subject to such conditions as are specified in the regulations, exempt from the application of this Act (other than Part IV or Schedule 2) or of specified provisions of this Act (other than Part IV or Schedule 2):

(a) conduct engaged in by a specified organization or body that performs functions in relation to the marketing of primary products;

(b) a prescribed contract or proposed contract, contracts included in a prescribed class of contracts, or prescribed conduct, being a contract, proposed contract or class of contracts made, or conduct engaged in, in pursuance of or for the purposes of a specified agreement, arrangement or understanding between the Government of Australia and the Government of a country outside Australia; or

(c) prescribed conduct engaged in in the course of a business carried on by the Commonwealth or by a prescribed authority of the Commonwealth.

(2A) The regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which the Commission may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, wholly or partly waive the fee that would otherwise be payable for an application referred to in subsection 89(1).

(2B) Subsection (2A) does not apply to an application for a merger authorisation, a minor variation of such an authorisation, a revocation of such an authorisation or a revocation of such an authorisation and the substitution of another authorisation.

(3) Strict compliance with a form of application or notice prescribed or approved for the purposes of this Act is not, and shall be deemed never to have been, required and substantial compliance is, and shall be deemed always to have been, sufficient.