Water Industry Competition Act 2006

On the transfer date of a declared failure, despite the other provisions of this Act—

the licence of the failed licensee, if then in force, becomes subject to a condition prohibiting the licensee from providing the essential service under the licence, and

if the last resort provider is a public water utility—the utility is taken to have been assigned the function of providing the essential service previously provided by the failed licensee.

If the last resort provider is a public water utility, the utility is, for the duration of a declared failure, to be regarded as the licensed operator or licensed retailer, as the case requires, of the essential service for the purposes of this Act and bound by the relevant licence and approval conditions imposed under this Act or the regulations, other than conditions specified by IPART by written notice given to the last resort provider.

The Minister may, on application by a last resort provider that is a public water utility, exempt the last resort provider from specified licence and approval conditions referred to in subsection (2).

An agreement between the failed licensee and a person other than the last resort provider, whether entered into before or after the declaration of a failure, is of no effect to the extent that it provides for a person other than the last resort provider to be, at any time during a declared failure—

if the last resort provider operates the essential infrastructure—the registered operator of the essential infrastructure, or

if the last resort provider sells the essential service—the registered retailer of the essential service.