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Pursuant to the Barley Exporting Act 2007, the Commission is the licensing authority for the newly liberalised barley exporting market in South Australia.
Since 1 July 2007 the Commission has been responsible under the Barley Exporting Act 2007 for the issue of barley exporting licences in South Australia. The Barley Exporting Act 2007 is to expire on the 3rd anniversary of its commencement, 1 July 2010. It was enacted in accordance with the recommendations of the Barley Marketing Working Group which reported to the SA Government in late 2006.
The licensing scheme facilitates a 3 year transition period prior to full deregulation of the barley exporting industry in South Australia. The purpose of the transition period is to provide barley growers with an appropriate time to consolidate their risk management and grain marketing skills.
During the transition period, the Commission assesses the fitness and propriety of applicants intending to export barley and issues licences in accordance with the requirements of the Barley Exporting Act 2007 and the Essential Services Commission Act 2002.
Section 5 of the Act declares barley exporting as a regulated industry for the purposes of the Essential Services Commission Act 2002. Part 2 of the Act establishes a licensing regime to be administered by the Essential Services Commission of SA.
The administration of the Barley Exporting Act is a function of the Commission for the purposes of the ESC Act. As a result, the Commission is required to have as its primary objective, in administering the Barley Exporting Act, the protection of the long term interests of the consumers of barley export services (i.e. South Australian barley growers) with respect to the price, quality and reliability of barley export services. At the same time, the Commission is also required to have regard to a number of other matters, namely the need to:
promote competitive and fair market conduct; and
prevent misuse of monopoly or market power; and
facilitate entry into relevant markets; and
promote economic efficiency; and
ensure the consumers of barley export services benefit from competition and efficiency; and
facilitate maintenance of the financial viability of regulated industries and the incentive for long term investment; and
promote consistency in regulation with other jurisdictions.
In establishing and administering the regulatory regime for barley exporting in South Australia, the Commission has had regard to all of those matters but has done so with clear understanding that the legislative intention is that the regime is a transitional step to full market liberalisation.
Barley Exporting
The Barley Exporting Act 2007 ("the Act") declares the South Australian barley exporting industry to be a regulated industry for the purposes of the Essential Services Commission Act 2002. The Act establishes a regime, administered by the Commission, under which barley exporters must be licensed.
In accordance with the recommendations made to the South Australian Government by a Barley Marketing Working Group, the Act establishes the licensing scheme for a three-year transitional period. This transitional period is intended to allow growers time to consolidate their risk management and grain marketing skills. For this period, the Commission will assess the fitness and propriety of applicants intending to export barley and issue licences in accordance with the Act.
