Sch 1Competition principles

Schedule 1 Competition principles agreement extracts (see s 19C, s 19D and s 19J) Competition policy considerations Interpretation [competition principles agreement cl 1 (3) (d)-(j)] ... (3) ... (d) government legislation and policies relating to ecologically sustainable development; (e) social welfare and equity considerations, including community service obligations; (f) government legislation and policies relating to matters such as occupational health and safety, industrial relations and access and equity; (g) economic and regional development, including employment and investment growth; (h) the interests of consumers generally or of a class of consumers; (i) the competitiveness of Australian businesses; (j) the efficient allocation of resources.

Schedule 1 Competition principles agreement extracts Competitive neutrality principles Competitive neutrality policy and principles [competition principles agreement cl 3 (1) & (4)-(7)] 3 (1) The objective of competitive neutrality policy is the elimination of resource allocation distortions arising out of the public ownership of entities engaged in significant business activities: Government businesses should not enjoy any net competitive advantage simply as a result of their public sector ownership. These principles only apply to the business activities of publicly owned entities, not to the non-business, non-profit activities of these entities. (4) Subject to subclause (6), for significant Government business enterprises which are classified as “Public Trading Enterprises” and “Public Financial Enterprises” under the Government Financial Statistics Classification: (a) the Parties† will, where appropriate, adopt a corporatisation model for these Government business enterprises (noting that a possible approach to corporatisation is the model developed by the intergovernmental committee responsible for GTE National Performance Monitoring); and (b) the Parties† will impose on the Government business enterprise: (i) full Commonwealth, State and Territory taxes or tax equivalent systems; (ii) debt guarantee fees directed towards offsetting the competitive advantages provided by government guarantees; and (iii) those regulations to which private sector businesses are normally subject, such as those relating to the protection of the environment, and planning and approval processes, on an equivalent basis to private sector competitors.

Competition principles agreement extracts Schedule 1 (5) Subject to subclause (6), where an agency (other than an agency covered by subclause (4)) undertakes significant business activities as part of a broader range of functions, the Parties† will, in respect of the business activities: (a) where appropriate, implement the principles outlined in subclause (4); or (b) ensure that the prices charged for goods and services will take account, where appropriate, of the items listed in subclause (4) (b), and reflect full cost attribution for these activities. (6) Subclauses (4) and (5) only require the Parties† to implement the principles specified in those subclauses to the extent that the benefits to be realised from implementation outweigh the costs. (7) Subclause (4) (b) (iii) shall not be interpreted to require the removal of regulation which applies to a Government business enterprise or agency (but which does not apply to the private sector) where the Party† responsible for the regulation considers the regulation to be appropriate. ... Note [not included in the agreement]: † Party is defined in the agreement (cl 1 (1)) to mean the Commonwealth, a State, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory of Australia, if the jurisdiction concerned has signed the agreement and has not withdrawn. The Australian Capital Territory has signed the agreement and has not withdrawn from it; thus it is a party. Legislation review principles Legislation review [competition principles agreement cl 5 (1) & (9)] 5 (1) The guiding principle is that legislation (including Acts, enactments, ordinances or regulations) should not restrict competition unless it can be demonstrated that: (a) the benefits of the restriction to the community as a whole outweigh the costs; and