Review of Enforcement Policy

Status

Current status is Final

Final

 Several legislative and regulatory changes have occurred, which have impact on the Commission’s roles and functions.  As a result, the Commission has reviewed the terms of its Enforcement Policy. 

After a period of public consultation, The Commission’s revised Enforcement Policy became effective from 1 July 2012.

The purpose of the Enforcement Policy is to outline the:

• statutory powers of the Commission relating to enforcement;
• range of available strategies and measures for promoting and facilitating compliance with the regulatory regime administered by the Commission;
• range of enforcement sanctions available to the Commission in the event of non-compliance and how and when they should be applied;
• criteria against which enforcement decisions are made to ensure fair, consistent and proper decision-making; and
• procedures that will be followed by the Commission in the event of an alleged breach of a statutory obligation.

Since the Enforcement Policy was last updated by the Commission in July 2009:

• the Commission’s powers under theBarley Exporting Act 2007 have expired;
• the Water Industry Act 2012 has been passed, conferring economic regulatory functions on the Commission;
• the Residential Energy Efficiency Scheme Penalty Regime has been given effect through amendments to the Electricity Act 1996 and the Gas Act 1997; and
• with the imminent commencement of the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF), the Commission’s retail licensing function under the Electricity Act 1996 and the Gas Act 1997 will cease.

As a result of the above changes, several administrative amendments were made to the Enforcement Policy.

The key amendments to the Enforcement Policy included:

•  the restructuring and reformatting of the content so that it is more logical and easier to follow. In particular, certain sections have been condensed so that the Policy becomes more focussed on the significance that the Commission attached to compliance and its enforcement processes;
• the removal of reference to the Commission’s powers under theBarley Exporting Act 2007, which have expired;
• the inclusion of reference to powers under theWater Industry Act 2012, which has been passed conferring certain economic regulatory functions on the Commission;
• the removal of reference to the Commission’s retail licensing function under the Electricity Act 1996 and the Gas Act 1997 which will soon cease; and
• amendments to the Glossary to reflect the changes made throughout the Policy.