On 9 October 2020, the National Gas Access (WA) Adoption of Amendments Order 2020 and the National Gas Access (WA) (Act Amendment) Regulations 2020 (Instruments) were published in the Government Gazette and came into effect on 10 October 2020. The Instruments amend the timeframe for when the AEMC must publish a final National Gas Rule determination when using the expedited process for making noncontroversial or urgent National Gas Rules.
On 20 September 2018, following approval of the former Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Energy Council, the South Australian Parliament amended the National Gas Law (NGL) by the Statutes Amendment (National Energy Laws) (Rules) Act 2018 (SA Act) to change the timeframe for publishing the final Rule determination from six to eight weeks when making non-controversial or urgent National Gas Rules. The SA Act also amended the timeframes in the National Electricity Law and the National Energy Retail Law, however, as these national electricity laws do not apply in Western Australia, the Instruments only relate to the NGL.
The timeframe change implemented by the SA Act automatically applied in all jurisdictions except Western Australia where a modified version of the NGL applies under the National Gas Access (WA) Act 2009. The Instruments are required for the timeframe change to apply in Western Australia.
Prior to the Instruments, as Western Australia had not adopted the timeframe change, the AEMC was required to work to the six-week timeframe to accommodate Western Australia’s legislative provisions. The Instruments enable the AEMC to utilise an eight-week timeframe.
