20Costs of monopoly provider investigations

20 Costs of monopoly provider investigations

(1)  In this section –

estimated resident population, in respect of a municipal area, means the most recent estimated resident population for that area published from time to time by the Australian Statistician under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 of the Commonwealth;

investigated monopoly service means a monopoly service which is the subject of a monopoly provider investigation.

(2)  A monopoly provider that supplies an investigated monopoly service is liable for the whole or part of the reasonable expenses incurred by the Regulator arising from the conduct and reporting of the monopoly provider investigation (including expenses incurred in making a final report available to the public) as jointly determined by the Minister and Portfolio Minister by written notice provided to the Regulator and the monopoly provider.

(3)  If an investigated monopoly service is supplied by 2 or more Local Government Bodies, all of which are councils, the amount of the expenses each council is liable to pay is to be determined in accordance with the following formula:

where –

A is the amount to be paid by a council;

P is the estimated resident population of the municipal area in respect of which the council was established;

TA is the total amount determined under subsection (2) to be payable by all the councils supplying the investigated monopoly service;

TP is the total of the estimated resident populations of all the municipal areas in respect of which all those councils were established.

(4)  If more than one council supplies the investigated monopoly service, the amount of the expenses determined to be payable by each council is to be specified in the notice provided under subsection (2) .