Senate Economics Legislation Committee, , 6:17:38 to 6:24:07
Updates on the national interoperability reform for e-conveyancing and efforts to abolish price parity clauses for online booking platforms through new ACCC regulations.
Topics: Infrastructure, Law reform
Speakers: Senator Dave Sharma, James Kelly, Dr Owen Freestone, Speaker 35, Unknown Speaker, Senator Andrew Bragg
Um just some questions about e-conveyancing. So you might be aware that in April of this year, um, state RNEC ministers paused the national interoperability reform program and formally requested engagement from the Commonwealth to deliver improved competition and more effective regulation of the e-conveycing industry. Um how is that request conveyed? Was that a letter to Treasurer, the Assistant Treasurer?
pricing this year. Uh so at the moment we are engaging relevant portfolios uh and agencies uh providing some advice, and that advice uh is still sitting with the Treasury to yet be provided to the Assistant Minister and Treasurer and provide a response uh to that letter.
So when was the letter received? Okay, so when do you expect to respond to it?
Uh well, as soon as those reports uh which as I understand uh have yet to engage with uh INAC in the next few weeks to understand when they expect
So when the third report is finalised, that's when you'll provide some advice to the minister to the Mr.
If it's delayed further beyond the end of this year, we we would look at the New South Wales inquiry and the IPAT report and then provide advice on the back of those.
Okay. Thank you. Um then just a separate issue. Um in 2022, the Assistant Minister for Competition Charities and Treasury announced a consultation process to look at price parity clauses, I think, Mr. Kelly. Well, Mr. McDonald, I asked you about this, the last estimates. I think it the consultation happened so long ago that you'd forgotten about it, or it was by the end. At the forefront of your mind. So it's now been scarred. I think four years since that media release, and at least three and a half years since the consultation period ended. Where is the promise to deliver on abolishing price parity clauses up to?
So Senator, I'm just going to look at my colleagues, but there was an answer given to questions taken on notice there. Which I think from memory referred to the fact that these things are already banned up. My memory is banned under the existing law, and what the government was progressing was uh changes to the regulation to allow ACC greater scope to get the information they needed from parties offshore So I think that's kind of the data reflects where it's where it's at.
The last answer to the question notice was the government is considering timing for publications. I'd asked how many submissions were received, why have they not been made public? You told me 27 submissions were received, nine confidential, the government was considering timely for complicate timing for publication. And I also asked, does it remain the policy of the government to address this issue? Or has the government abandoned its 2022 election commitments to put Aussie hotels back in control, quote unquote.
So Senator, I I think we should assume the answer is the kind of thought reflects the position of the government as it's been reflected many other discussions. Um usual practice is to um release um submissions at some point.
Um that's a matter for for the minister, so we can um Yeah, but the press relation the minister says that they'll conduct this consultation and identify if any action is required to address this. So have you identified if any action is required to address this is the answer? No, the problem's solved.
Unless the colleagues want to add something.
I think it's not reflected in our current priorities, Senator, given we have things of the United States.
But I would say if there's an answer which actually refers to something that the government's doing that's very relevant to it, and that reflects what the government is doing in response to those issues.
The answer you provided the question of notice just quoted me some existing law. You said that but you said this, Mr. Kelly, that there's something that the government is doing.
So Senator, the answer that I have says the government's progressing regulations to enable the ACC to gather information and evidence from people who are not present in Australia, which is very much these online booking platforms.
So where are the those regulations up to then?
That was from uh So I I don't know that level of details see if others do.
Dr. I want Freestone Assistant Secretary of Competition Reform Branch. I don't have a lot to add, but in terms of the regulations that uh Mr. Clee just mentioned, we consulted um I think about three weeks ago on uh reflecting that ability for the ACC to um issue notices to offshore um vendors. Um so that's that's the that's the reference that Mr. Kelly was referring to. Um so we're now looking at that feedback, and then the next step would be to issue the regulation. That's the timing for the government. That final step, but um I guess that's the main point that I wanted to clarify.
So you expect the government to issue regulations?
Well, again, we consulted on them for I think uh a three-week period. Um we had feedback through that consultation process. Uh and again, we've provided our feedback to the minister's office, and the next step would be to then have them issued uh again. It's something that sits in regulations within the competition consumer act. Uh so that would be a matter for government in terms of the timing.
Okay, thank you. Thanks in the interest of time, I'll happy to see the call.