39Direction to conduct prescribed body inquiry

39 Direction to conduct prescribed body inquiry

(1)  The Minister may direct the Regulator to inquire into and report to him or her on a matter relating to or affecting the pricing policies of a prescribed body.

(2)  The Minister may make a direction at his or her own discretion or at the request of –

(a) the Regulator; or

(b) a Portfolio Minister; or

(c) a prescribed body.

(3)  The Minister is not to give a direction –

(a) [Section 39 Subsection (3) amended by No. 13 of 2015, s. 26, Applied:01 Jul 2015] unless satisfied that undertaking the proposed prescribed body inquiry would not interfere with the ability of the Regulator to exercise his or her other functions; and

(b) unless he or she has first consulted with the Portfolio Minister; and

(c) if the direction relates to one or more Local Government Bodies, unless he or she has first consulted with that body or such of those bodies, or the Local Government Association of Tasmania, as the Minister considers appropriate.

(4)  A direction –

(a) may be made in respect of one or more prescribed bodies; and

(b) is to be in writing; and

(c) is to specify the scope of the prescribed body inquiry; and

(d) may specify that the Regulator is not to inquire into, or publish to any person, the terms of a particular contract or a contract of a class of contracts; and

(e) is to specify the day by which the Regulator is to provide a report on the prescribed body inquiry to the Minister; and

(f) is to specify who is liable to pay the costs of the prescribed body inquiry and what proportion of those costs that person or body is liable to pay.

(5)  In determining the liability to pay the costs of a prescribed body inquiry, the Minister and Portfolio Minister, jointly, may determine that –