157Arbitration where carriers cannot agree on variation of access agreement

##### 157 Arbitration where carriers cannot agree on variation of access agreement (1) Where: (a) 2 or more carriers are parties to an access agreement made for particular purposes; and (b) any or all of the carriers cannot agree on whether to vary the agreement, or on how to vary it; then, for the purposes of section 154, the carriers are taken to be unable to agree on terms and conditions for those purposes. (2) Where a matter is submitted to arbitration because of subsection (1), AUSTEL may: (a) decline to conduct, or to further conduct, the arbitration; or (b) decline to make a determination about the matter; if it is satisfied that there is no sufficient reason why the access agreement should not continue to have effect in its present form. (3) For the purposes of subsection (2), AUSTEL must have regard to: (a) how long it is since the access agreement was made, or last varied, as the case requires; and (b) the nature of the matters in dispute between the parties to the arbitration; and (c) such other matters as AUSTEL thinks relevant. (4) Where a matter is submitted to arbitration because of subsection (1), AUSTEL may make its determination about the matter in the form of a variation of the access agreement, but may only do so if: (a) the agreement, as varied by the determination: (i) will deal with all the matters that section 154 would require the determination to deal with if it were not made in that form; and (ii) will deal with those matters in accordance with section 154; and (b) the determination does not vary the agreement in relation to matters that the determination could not deal with if it were not made in that form. (5) A determination made as mentioned in subsection (4) has effect for all purposes (except those of subparagraph 141(1)(b)(ii)) as if it were a variation made by a contract between the carriers who were parties to the arbitration.