Gas Industry Act 2019

Gas Industry Act 2019

This Act may be cited as the Gas Industry Act 2019.

The provisions of this Act commence on a day or days to be proclaimed.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – affected gas infrastructure means the gas infrastructure in respect of which a gas infrastructure planning corridor has been declared under section 49; approved form means a form approved by the Regulator;AS 2885 means AS 2885 Pipelines – Gas and Liquid Petroleum published by the Standards Association of Australia, as in force from time to time, and includes any code or standard having effect under that standard;AS 4645 means AS 4645 Gas Distribution Networks published by the Standards Association of Australia, as in force from time to time, and includes any code or standard having effect under that standard; authorised officer means a person appointed to be an authorised officer under section 65(1); available for supply– see subsection (3); business customer means a customer who is not a residential customer; business day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or statutory holiday within the meaning of the Statutory Holidays Act 2000; condition includes a limitation or restriction; customer means a person to whom gas is available for supply for consumption in a place, and includes the following:the occupier for the time being of a place to which gas is supplied for consumption in the place; a person to whom gas is available for such supply and who seeks such supply; a person whose supply of gas has been disconnected;Director of Gas Safety means the Director of Gas Safety appointed under the Gas Safety Act 2019; disconnect, in relation to a gas supply, includes to interrupt or discontinue the gas supply; discretionary development means a development or use to which section 57 of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 applies; distribution system means the whole or part of a pipe, or of a system of pipes and equipment, with an operating pressure not exceeding 1050 kPa, for use in, or in connection with, the distribution and delivery of gas to persons for consumption, but does not include the following:a transmission pipeline; a system of pipes and equipment – installed in a place for the conveyance and use of gas from a pressurised vessel situated in that place; and not extending to, or connected to, pipes in some other place in separate occupation; pipes or equipment declared by the regulations not to be, or not to form part of, a distribution system; function includes duty; gas means the following:natural gas; liquefied petroleum gas; any other substance declared by the regulations to be gas for the purposes of this Act; gas activity– see section 6; gas infrastructure means any part of a distribution system or a transmission pipeline but does not include a pipe, or system of pipes, that – is used to convey gas; and is not connected to some other place in separate occupation; gas infrastructure activities means the activities referred to in section 6(2); gas infrastructure land means land to which a gas infrastructure land interest relates; gas infrastructure land interest means an interest in land, including an easement, acquired for the construction, maintenance or operation of gas infrastructure; gas infrastructure licence means a licence that authorises the carrying out of gas infrastructure activities; gas infrastructure licensee means a person who holds a gas infrastructure licence; gas infrastructure planning corridor means a gas infrastructure planning corridor declared by an order in force under section 49; gas officer means a person appointed to be a gas officer under section 54; gas retail licence means a licence that authorises the carrying out of the activity of the selling of gas by retail; gas retailer means a person who holds a gas retail licence; land includes – an estate or interest in land (including an easement); and a right or power over, or in respect of, land; licence means a licence granted and in force under this Act; licensee means a person who holds or has held a licence, authorising the carrying out of a gas activity, and includes such a licence that is or has been suspended, has been cancelled or has expired; liquefied petroleum gas means a hydrocarbon composed predominantly of one or more of the following hydrocarbons:propane (C3H8); propene (propylene)(C3H6); butane (C4H10); butane (butylene)(C4H8); natural gas means a substance which – is in a gaseous state at standard temperature and pressure; and consists of naturally occurring hydrocarbons, or a naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons, the principal constituent of which is methane – and includes processed natural gas but does not include anything declared by the regulations not to be natural gas; occupier of land or a place means a person who has, or is entitled to, possession or control of the land or place; operational work, in relation to gas infrastructure, means – locating, inspecting, testing, operating, maintaining, repairing, altering, adding to, upgrading, replacing or removing the gas infrastructure; and excavating land in order to carry out work of a kind referred to in paragraph (a); owner of land means – if the land has been alienated from the Crown by the grant of an estate in fee simple or another estate or interest conferring a right to possession of the land – the person who holds the relevant estate or interest; or in any other case – the Regulator or an authority or other person responsible for the management of the land; permitted development means a development or use to which section 58 of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 applies; person includes – any body of persons, corporate or unincorporate; and any government department or other government body; planning authority means a planning authority within the meaning of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993; processed natural gas means a natural gas that has been processed to be suitable for consumption but does not include anything declared by the regulations not to be processed natural gas; protective work, in relation to gas infrastructure, means – work that is necessary or expedient for the protection of the infrastructure or public safety; and excavating land in order to carry out work of the kind referred to in paragraph (a); public land means land owned by – the Crown; or an instrumentality or agent of the Crown; or a council or other local government body; record includes – a record in the form of a book or document, or in the form of a map; and a record in the form of electronic data; regulated substance means – gas; and any other substance declared by the regulations to be a substance to which this Act applies; regulations means regulations made and in force under this Act;Regulator means the Tasmanian Economic Regulator appointed under section 9 of the Economic Regulator Act 2009; residential customer means a customer who purchases gas principally for personal, household or domestic use; safety condition means a condition, imposed on a permit for a permitted or discretionary development, in order to apply, adopt or otherwise give effect to a safety requirement contained in AS 2885 or AS 4645; sell includes – to barter or exchange; and to let on hire; and to advertise for sale or hire; and to offer or expose for sale or hire; small customer means – a residential customer; or a business customer whose consumption of gas is not more than one terajoule per annum; supply means the delivery of gas, by means of gas infrastructure, to a customer; transmission pipeline means – the whole or any part of a pipeline, with an operating pressure in excess of 1050kPa, for conveying a regulated substance from a point at or near the place of its production to any other place; and the whole or any part of a pipeline that forms part of a system of pipelines for that purpose; and tanks, machinery and equipment necessary for, or associated with, the operation of such a pipeline or system of pipelines – but does not include the following:a pipeline located wholly within the site of an industrial plant; a pipeline that forms part of a gas distribution system; a system of pipes and equipment – installed in a place for the conveyance and use of gas from a pressurised vessel situated in that place; and not extending to, or connected to, pipes in some other place in separate occupation; pipes or equipment declared by the regulations not to be, or not to form part of, a transmission pipeline; any part of a pipeline referred to in paragraph (d) or (e) for which a licence is required under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1982 of Tasmania or the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 of the Commonwealth; Tribunal means the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal; upgrading, in relation to gas infrastructure, includes the insertion of a new pipe inside any existing pipe that forms part of the infrastructure.

In this Act, a reference to the retailing of gas or the selling of gas by retail – is a reference to the sale of gas by a licensee to a person for consumption where the gas is to be conveyed (whether or not by the seller) to the person by a distribution system; but does not include an activity declared by the regulations not to be the selling of gas by retail.

For the purposes of this Act, gas is available for supply to a person if the gas infrastructure is technically suitable to meet the gas supply requirements of the person.

For the purposes of this Act, a person is related to another person if – they are both bodies corporate and they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Act; or where one of the persons is a natural person and the other is a private company – the natural person is a majority shareholder or director of the company or of another private company that is a related body corporate of the company within the meaning of the Corporations Act.

This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania, and so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.

This Act is in addition to, and does not derogate from, the Gas Safety Act 2019.

For the purposes of this Act, the following are gas activities:gas infrastructure activities; the selling of gas by retail; an activity prescribed in the regulations for the purposes of this section.

For the purposes of this Act – gas infrastructure activities includes the following:constructing or installing gas infrastructure; maintaining or altering gas infrastructure; operating gas infrastructure.

The Regulator has the following functions under this Act:the administration of the licensing system, for gas licensees, established by this Act; the establishment, monitoring and publication of standards and codes in respect of gas activities provided by gas licensees or arising from any functions performed for the purposes of this Act; any other functions assigned to the Regulator under this Act.

The Regulator must, in performing any functions of a discretionary nature, endeavour to act in a fair and equitable manner, taking proper account of – the interests of licensees; and the interests of customers.

Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) gives rise to, or can be taken into account in, any civil cause of action.

The Regulator may, by instrument in writing, delegate to any person who, in the Regulator's opinion, is competent and suitable, the exercise of the powers of the Regulator under this Act (other than this power of delegation) that are specified in the instrument of delegation.

The Regulator may, by notice in writing given to a person, require the person to give the Regulator, within a reasonable time stated in the notice, information in the person's possession that the Regulator reasonably requires for the administration of this Act.

A person required to give information by a notice under subsection (1) must provide the information within the time stated in the notice. Fine not exceeding 100 penalty units.

A person may not be compelled to give information in accordance with a notice under subsection (1) if the information might tend to incriminate the person.

A decision to impose a requirement under this section is not a reviewable decision under Division 1 of Part 7.

The Regulator may, by notice in writing given to a licensee, direct the licensee – to carry out, within a period specified in the notice, obligations under this Act, or the licence, that are specified in the notice; or to cease activities, specified in the notice, that constitute, or are likely to constitute, a contravention of this Act or the licence.

A licensee must comply with a direction given to the licensee in a notice under subsection (1). Fine not exceeding 1 200 penalty units and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding 500 penalty units for each day during which the offence continues.

If the licensee fails to comply with a direction given to the licensee in a notice under subsection (1), the Regulator may – take the action required to be taken for the direction to be complied with or arrange for the action, required for the direction to be complied with, to be taken; and recover from the licensee in any court of competent jurisdiction, as a debt due to the Crown, the cost of the taking of the action.

The Regulator may –

undertake surveys, and inspections, for the purpose of determining whether the terms and conditions of a licence are being complied with; and enter land for the purpose of undertaking such a survey or inspection.