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FACT SHEET
Gas Industry Bill 2018
The Gas Industry Bill 2018 (the Bill) combines the industry regulation provisions from the
Gas Act 2000 and the Gas Pipelines Act 2000 (the Acts) into one piece of legislation.
The Bill is primarily concerned with the licensing and regulation of the gas supply industry
in Tasmania.
The Bill modernises Tasmania’s gas legislation, which has not received significant review
since its inception in 2000. It also corrects a number of longstanding inconsistencies
between the Acts.
The Bill largely represents machinery of government changes however there is one new
key provision that is worth noting. The Bill creates a head of power for the Minister to
require a gas retailer to offer supply of gas for sale to a specified class of residential
customer. The Government has included this provision to ensure that vulnerable
customers are not refused a contract for sale of gas to their property on the basis of
previous bad debt or credit history. This provision has been developed following
consultation with TasCOSS in relation to the protection of vulnerable customers.
Currently only the Gas Act provides appropriate powers to curtail and control gas supply
in the event of a supply shortage or major disruption. The Bill now includes new provisions
that provide for a safe and efficient response to gas supply emergencies affecting either
the transmission or distribution systems.
The Bill is cognate with Gas Safety Bill 2018, which contains consolidated industry safety
provisions from the current Acts.
It makes practical sense to separate industry regulation from safety provisions. This will
lead to more efficient administration of the legislation.
The Bill repeals the Gas Act 2000 and the Gas Pipeline Act 2000.
The new arrangements will come into effect on the date to be proclaimed, once all
subordinate instruments have been finalised.
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