Regulating third party access to privately operated infrastructure is often a key issue in rail PPPs, as this would have important implications for both the project itself and the broader economy. An open access regime exists on many railway lines in Australia. There are different track access regimes administered at the national and state levels. Broadly speaking, there are two alternative approaches to regulating access to rail networks:

North East Rail Link – principal project deed (executed in late 2014) between Transport for NSW (a government agency responsible for regulating and managing Sydney’s transportation networks) and a private consortium (which includes the MTR Corporation, Leighton, Plenary Group and Marubeni) for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a new rapid transit railway line running through Sydney’s north-western suburbs.  The agreement runs for a term of 15 years from the target date for completion (in 2019) and is structured on a BOT model.  The pro

In this report six case studies were selected:

1. The M7 Motorway in New South Wales, which opened in December 2005

2. The Southbank Institute of Technology in Queensland, which opened in October 2008

3. The Port of Melbourne Channel Deepening project, which opened in November 2009

4. The Northern Expressway in South Australia, which opened in September 2010 (note that Tiger Brennan Drive was not operational at the time of preparing this book.)

5. Tiger Brennan Drive, in the Northern Territory, which is due to open late in 2010

Australian governments have developed national guidelines for the delivery of infrastructure projects to promote cross-government consistency and the use of best practice approaches. These guidelines cover the main approaches to project delivery and include:

On 16 December 2017, the Victorian Government entered into a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Cross Yarra Partnership (Project Co) to deliver the Tunnel and Stations PPP work package of the Metro Tunnel Project. The Tunnel and Stations PPP was procured and will be delivered as an ‘availability-based’ PPP under the Partnerships Victoria framework.

Project Agreement (executed in late 2017) between a private consortium (which includes Lendlease, a major Australian infrastructure and property developer, and John Holland, a leading Australian engineering contractor) and the State of Victoria, for the design, construction and maintenance of 9km of underground railway tunnel running through the Melbourne central business district. The term of the contract is over 30 years (including design and construction), ending in September 2048.

West Gate Tunnel Project – Project Agreement between Transurban (an Australia based toll road operator with a substantial international footprint) and the State of Victoria in late 2017, for Transurban to design, construct, operate and maintain the upgraded West Gate Freeway and the new West Gate Tunnel (which connects several existing arterial roadways in the greater Melbourne area). The agreement is for a term of 28 years (including the design and construction phase) ending in 2045 and is structured on a Build Operate Transfer (“BOT”) model.

The objects of this Act are as follows:

(a) to promote the sound development of civil aviation in Australia;

(b) to establish a system for the regulation of airports that has due regard to the interests of airport users and the general community;

(c) to promote the efficient and economic development and operation of airports;

(d) to facilitate the comparison of airport performance in a transparent manner;

(e) to ensure majority Australian ownership of airports;

(f) to limit the ownership of certain airports by airlines;

 The following is a simplified outline of this Act:

• A universal service regime is established. The main object of the universal service regime is to ensure that all people in Australia, wherever they reside or carry on business, should have reasonable access, on an equitable basis, to:

              (a)     standard telephone services; and

              (b)     payphones.

• The universal service regime established by this Act is to be phased out and replaced by alternative contractual arrangements.

The Australian Procedures for the Coordination and Notification of Satellite Systems manual gives practical guidance to the satellite industry about the procedures the ACMA will normally take in relation to satellite filing and coordination in Australia.