1. If an access agreement and/or supplemental agreement has already been registered by the Commission prior to the Effective Date, are the parties to the agreement required to submit the same access agreement and/or supplemental agreement to the Commission for lodgment to fulfil the requirement under the amended section 150 of the CMA 1998?

The access provider and the access seeker (collectively referred to as “Parties”) are not required to submit the same access agreement and/or supplemental agreement that has been registered by the Commission before the Effective Date.

Pursuant to subsection 121(4) of the Amendment Act (which addresses the saving and transitional provisions), any access agreement and/or supplemental agreement registered before the Effective Date continues to be governed in the manner as if the CMA 1998 has not been amended. For ease of reference, the said provision is provided below:

“Saving and transitional
121.
…
(4) Any access agreement registered under section 150 of the principal Act before the date of coming into operation of this Act shall, after the date of coming into operation of this Act, be dealt with as if the principal Act has not be amended by this Act.”.

Thus, the new lodgment requirement under the amended section 150 of the CMA 1998 does not apply to previously registered access agreements and/or supplemental agreements under the initial section 150 of the CMA 1998.

However, in the event that the parties make amendments to the registered access agreement and/or supplemental agreement after the Effective Date (e.g. amendments due to issuance of new instruments by the Commission), the Parties shall lodge the amendments made with the Commission within 30 days from the date of the said amendments, in accordance with the amended section 150 of the CMA 1998.