Consultation – Draft Access Policy Darwin Port Operations Pty Ltd (amended)

The ports access and price regulation regime is established and defined by the Ports Management Act (the Act) and Ports Management Regulations (the Regulations).  The Act establishes the Utilities Commission as the regulator for Part 11 of the Act.

The Commission’s role in relation to port access and price regulation commenced with the appointment of Darwin Port Operations Pty Ltd (DPO) as the private port operator on 16 November 2015. The Act requires a private port operator to prepare and comply with an access policy.

The Regulations requires a private port operator to submit a draft access policy to the Commission within four months of the port operator being appointed. DPO provided an initial draft access policy in March 2016 which was made available by DPO for stakeholder consultation.

DPO considered submissions received and has submitted an amended draft access policy.

An amended draft access policy is now available for comment.