Competition Policy in Victoria
The Victorian Government is committed to enabling competition that will improve the wellbeing of the Victorian community and the long term sustainability of Victorian industry. To this end, the Victorian Government applies the principles of National Competition Policy, particularly the application of the public interest test.
The National Competition Policy was the forerunner to the National Reform Agenda, which has reconfirmed the significance of effective and efficient regulation of infrastructure industries and on-going review and improvement of regulation.
Background
In April 1995 the Commonwealth and all State and Territory Governments signed an agreement to implement the National Competition Policy reform package. The Policy is underpinned by three Intergovernmental Agreements:
- Competition Principles Agreement;
- Conduct Code Agreement; and
- Agreement to Implement NCP and Related Reforms.
The agreements can be viewed in the
Guide to National Competition Policy (962 kb PDF).
In April 2007, the Council of Australian Governments reaffirmed its commitment to National Competition Policy and updated the
Competition Principles Agreement 
(COAG website).
These agreements commit Australian governments to implement the reforms agreed by the Council of Australian Governments. The National Competition Council was charged with assessing the progress of governments in implementing these reforms between 1995 and 2005.
More information on Victoria’s significant achievements in implementing the policy can be found on the following pages:
In June 2004,
Victoria's Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into National Competition Policy Arrangements (499 kb PDF) demonstrated that Victoria was the leader in implementing the policy. It also highlighted the permanent economic benefits generated from the reforms. Further, it showed that more than a third of the national gains from the policy were found to have resulted from reforms implemented in Victoria.
The submission noted that, while National Competition Policy had been a success, the time was approaching to consider a new national reform agenda. As a starting point, the submission set out preconditions that had to be met for any new reform agenda to succeed.
Victoria also prepared an outline of a possible new agenda that it presented to COAG in 2005:
A Third Wave of National Reform - A New National Reform Initiative for COAG (686 kb PDF). This underpinned the development of the New Reform Agenda as agreed at COAG in 2006.
Continuing Reforms
The competition and regulation stream of the National Reform Agenda continues many of the processes agreed under the National Competition Policy. Among other things, COAG has recommitted to competitive neutrality, revised the intergovernmental agreements and agreed to complete all outstanding NCP reviews. The matters agreed under the National Reform Agenda have been included in the COAG work programme since November 2007.
In February 2006, all jurisdictions signed the
Competition and Infrastructure Reform Agreement (CIRA) (54 kb PDF) to provide for a simpler and consistent national approach to the economic regulation of significant infrastructure. The CIRA calls for action on port regulation, consistent objectives and pricing principles for access regimes and enhanced reporting on competitive neutrality. Victoria has already met these obligations. As well as some other actions by the Commonwealth, the CIRA requires all stated-based access regimes to be submitted to the National Competition Council for certification by the end of 2010. Victoria has three regimes – grain handling, intrastate rail and port channels. These regimes will be reviewed before they are submitted for certification.
On 29 November 2008, COAG signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (National Partnership Agreement to Deliver a Seamless National Economy). The Agreement includes the
27 deregulation priorities agreed by COAG in March 2008, the
eight priority areas for competition reform agreed by
COAG in July 2008, and
regulatory reform that continues to develop and enhance existing processes for regulation making and review to increase the efficiency of regulation.
More information on the National Reform Agenda, COAG and other national initiatives 
(Department of Premier and Cabinet website)
Related websites
Contact
For more information on Victoria's implementation of National Competition Policy, contact:
Geraldine Anthony
Senior Economist
Competition and Regulation Policy
Economic and Financial Policy Division
Department of Treasury and Finance
MELBOURNE VIC 3002
Tel: (03) 9651 5587
Fax: (03) 9651 2048
