NBN Update 6 - NBN Legislation Passed

In our NBN Update 3, we set out the then proposed framework for the NBN legislation. This legislation passed the Senate on 25th March and the lower house on 28th March, both after marathon extended sessions. We will focus in this update on the amendments that have been made to the bills since they were originally introduced.

National Broadband Network Companies Bill 2011

This bill establishes the regulatory framework covering NBN Co's ownership and operations. Only limited amendments have been made to this bill. The most notable are as follows:

• The period in which NBN Co has to complete the network has been extended by 2.5 years to 31 December 2020. The Government's reasoning for this extension is that the NBN fibre build will now cover 93 per cent of homes instead of the 90 per cent that was originally envisaged.