Licensing
The Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 provides a broad definition of the services that will require a licence from the Regulator. This approach was deliberate to ensure that all services are initially captured within the licensing framework. The Industry Act then provides the Minister with the power to issue an Exemption Order to exempt certain activities from being regulated activities or exempt certain persons from the requirement to obtain a licence under the Act. The Exemption Order, as issued by the Minister, took effect from 1 July 2009 and exempts all drinking water and sewerage service providers, aside from the three regional Corporations, from the new regulatory regime for a period of 12 months. After this time it is expected that a new Exemption Order will be issued, which is consistent with the final regulatory regime.
The general approach anticipated to be adopted in the licences will be the establishment of a framework that will be supplemented by various management plans. These plans will be developed by the relevant licensed providers of water and sewerage services. At the same time, the licences will provide a reporting framework allowing the Regulator to monitor their performance.
The full licence is to be developed by the Regulator, following consultation, and is due to commence from 1 July 2011.
The Industry Act allows the Minister to issue interim licences for a period of up to two years, until the full licences are developed and issued. In June 2009 the Minister granted interim licences to the new water and sewerage Corporations to apply from the commencement of their operations on 1 July 2009. |