Amendments to Western Australia’s gas access legislation and regulations will:
- expand the enforcement powers of the Economic Regulation Authority (including enabling the regulator to require witnesses to attend for oral examination during investigations);
- amend the civil penalty framework by introducing a three-tier regime;
- increase the civil and criminal offence penalty amounts; and
- introduce a consumer price adjustment to penalty amounts every three years.
South Australia is the lead legislator for National Gas Law (NGL) changes, which apply automatically in all jurisdictions other than Western Australia, where a modified version of the NGL applies.
The reforms have commenced in other jurisdictions as a result of the Statutes Amendment (National Energy Laws) (Penalties and Enforcement) Act 2020 and the National Gas (South Australia) (Penalties) Variation Regulations 2021.
The reforms are to be adopted in Western Australia through:
- the National Gas Access (WA) Adoption of Amendments Order 2023;
- National Gas Access (WA) (Act Amendment) Regulations 2023; and
- the National Gas Access (WA) (Part 3) Amendment Regulations 2023.
An information paper with more detail on the reforms is available on the Energy Policy WA website. The purpose of the information paper is to advise stakeholders that the Western Australian Government intends to adopt these national reforms and to provide information about the mechanism for implementation of the reforms in Western Australia. While feedback on the policy is not required, Energy Policy WA welcomes stakeholder input on the draft regulatory instruments.
