On 12 September 2023, the AER published the final Pipeline Regulatory Determinations and Elections Guide (Final Guide) and accompanying explanatory statement.

The Final Guide outlines the AER’s functions and powers under Part 4 of the NGR and Chapter 3 of the NGL, how the level of regulation for gas pipelines is determined and sets out the processes for making and assessing regulatory applications for pipelines. The explanatory note covers issues raised by stakeholders during consultation, explains our responses to these issues and how we have addressed them in the Final Guide, where appropriate.   

On 16 May 2024, we published a new verson of the Final Guide which contains a number of amendments. 

On 15 March 2024, we published a draft of a revised Guide, which contained a number of minor amendments to the Guide for consultation.

The amendments were made in relation to guidance about information requests during form of regulation reviews and the timing for stakeholders to make written submissions during these reviews. 

The amendments:

• clarified the scope of information we can ask under rule 16 of the National Gas Rules 
• included new information about the use of compulsory notices under section 42 of the National Gas Law in a form of regulation review
• updated the consultation process and the timing for stakeholders to provide written submissions
• reflected the new National Gas Objective 
• made minor amendments to terms to reflect amendments to the National Gas Law on 7 March 2024 to cover hydrogen, biomethane and other renewable gases under the national gas regulatory framework.  

The proposed changes were extracted in a single document, and shown in yellow highlight in the draft of the revised Guide. We invited stakeholders to provide submissions by 5 April 2024 and received three submissions. 

The finalised revised guide and explanatory note were published on 16 May 2024. The finalised explanatory note explains our responses to submissions raised by stakeholders and the changes that we have made.     

Interested parties were invited to make a submission on the amendments to the Guide by close of business on 5 April 2024. We received the following submissions.