Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The parties to a registered conference agreement shall:
(a) take part in negotiations with a relevant designated shipper body in relation to negotiable shipping arrangements (including any provisions of the agreement that affect those arrangements) whenever reasonably requested by the shipper body, and consider the matters raised, and representations made, by the shipper body;
(b) if the shipper body requests the parties to make available for the purposes of the negotiations any information reasonably necessary for those purposes and itself makes available for those purposes any such information requested by the parties--make the information available to the shipper body; and
(c) provide an authorised officer with such information as the officer requires relating to the negotiations, notify an authorised officer of meetings to be held in the course of the negotiations, permit an authorised officer to be present at the meetings, and consider suggestions made by an authorised officer.
(2) The parties to the agreement shall give each relevant designated shipper body at least 30 days notice of any change in negotiable shipping arrangements unless the shipper body agrees to a lesser period of notice for the change.
(3) In this section:
"eligible Australian contract" means:
(a) a contract entered into in Australia; or
(b) a contract where questions arising under the contract are to be determined in accordance with Australian law.
"freight rates" includes base freight rates, surcharges, rebates and allowances.
"negotiable shipping arrangements" :
(a) in relation to an outwards conference agreement--means the arrangements for, or the terms and conditions applicable to, outwards liner cargo shipping services provided, or proposed to be provided, under the conference agreement (including, for example, freight rates, charges for inter - terminal transport services, frequency of sailings and ports of call); or
(b) in relation to an inwards conference agreement--means:
(i) the arrangements for, or the terms and conditions applicable to, inwards liner cargo shipping services provided, or proposed to be provided, under the conference agreement (including, for example, freight rates, charges for inter - terminal transport services, frequency of sailings and ports of call), where those arrangements or those terms and conditions, as the case may be, are embodied in an eligible Australian contract; or
(ii) the arrangements for, or the terms and conditions applicable to, the parts of the inwards liner cargo shipping services provided, or proposed to be provided, under the conference agreement that consist of activities that take place on land in Australia (including, for example, terminal handling charges and charges for inter - terminal transport services).
"relevant designated shipper body" :
(a) in relation to an outwards conference agreement--means:
(i) a designated outwards peak shipper body; or
(ii) a designated outwards secondary shipper body nominated by the Registrar (by written notice given to the parties to the agreement) for the purposes of the agreement for the purposes of this section; or
(b) in relation to an inwards conference agreement--means:
(i) a designated inwards peak shipper body; or
(ii) a designated inwards secondary shipper body nominated by the Registrar (by written notice given to the parties to the agreement) for the purposes of the agreement for the purposes of this section.