Key Points:
The Tribunal's decision opens the door for the potential future declaration of services provided by other bottleneck facilities which offer no enforceable access rights, including other Australian ports or rail infrastructure.
Access seekers' ability to seek the declaration of services provided by means of "bottleneck" infrastructure facilities has been made considerably easier, following a decision of the Australian Competition Tribunal.
The Tribunal, in Application by Glencore Coal Pty Ltd [2016] ACompT 6, overturned the previous decision of the Acting Treasurer to not declare the shipping channel service at the Port of Newcastle.
While the Tribunal's decision will give greater hope to access seekers such as Glencore Coal Pty Ltd, this hope may be short-lived as the Commonwealth has previously indicated its intentions to amend the National Access Regime to narrow these rights, including the provisions considered by the Tribunal in this case.
