Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008

If – a regulated entity contravenes this Act or a code, or a regulated entity's licence is suspended, cancelled or surrendered; and it is necessary, in the Regulator's opinion, to take over some or all of the regulated entity's operations to ensure that the regulated entity's customers receive an adequate provision of regulated services – the Minister, on receipt of the written advice of the Regulator, may make an order under this section (referred to as a "step-in-order").

Before a step-in-order is made under this section, the Minister must give the regulated entity a reasonable opportunity to make submissions in respect of the proposed order.

A step-in-order – authorises the Regulator to appoint a step-in-operator to take over the regulated entity's operations or a specified part of the regulated entity's operations; and may specify that – the step-in-operator has such functions and powers in relation to the regulated entity's operations as are specified in the order; and the regulated entity is to stop providing regulated services to specified customers on and from a specified date; and upon commencement of provision of water services and sewerage services by the step-in-operator, the specified customers become, in relation to the provision of any regulated services that are the subject of the step-in-order, the customers of the step-in-operator; and each customer referred to in subparagraph (iii) and the step-in-operator are taken to have entered into a special circumstances contract under such terms as are determined under subsection (4) for the purposes of this section or as otherwise specified in the order; and the step-in-operator must have access to, and take control of, the water infrastructure and sewerage infrastructure and other property, including intellectual property, licences and employees, of the regulated entity as is necessary for the purposes of carrying on the operations specified in the order; and may contain ancillary directions which may – contain directions about how the costs of carrying on the operations, and revenue generated from the operations, are to be dealt with; and specify the period for which the order under subsection (1) applies; and specify any conditions that may apply.

The Regulator may, by notice in writing given to a step-in-operator, determine the terms of a special circumstances contract between the step-in-operator and the customer.

A step-in-order operates to the exclusion of rights that are inconsistent with the step-in-order.