Port of Melbourne regulatory resources

The pricing order

The Port of Melbourne's prescribed services are regulated by a pricing order, which is made under section 49A of the Port Management Act 1995 (Vic). The pricing order sets out the requirements for the Port of Melbourne when setting prices for prescribed services, such as:

• how to calculate prices
• the extent prices can change between years
• when the Port of Melbourne needs to apply to us for variations.

The pricing order provides the Port of Melbourne a reasonable opportunity to recover the efficient costs of providing prescribed services such as:

• wharfage
• channel use
• berth or area hire
• other ancillary services.

Each year the Port of Melbourne must submit a tariff compliance statement to us, which explains how its prices for prescribed services comply with the pricing order. Every five years we are required to assess whether there has been any significant or sustained non-compliance with the pricing order.  

An amendment was made to the pricing order in May 2020.

Statement of Regulatory Approach

Our Statement of Regulatory Approach provides the Port of Melbourne and its users with guidance on how we approach our role in administering the pricing order (legislation that regulates how the Port of Melbourne sets its prices for prescribed services).

Our Statement of Regulatory Approach describes:

• the pricing compliance framework under the pricing order
• our proposed approach to administering key processes of the pricing order
• the 'accrual building block' method for setting allowed revenues (as described in the pricing order).

As part of our responsibility for regulating the Port of Melbourne, we conduct five-yearly reviews of the port licence holder’s compliance with pricing regulations. The Statement of Regulatory Approach also foreshadows how we will assess compliance in our five-yearly reviews of the Port of Melbourne against the pricing order. 

View more on our role in administering the Port of Melbourne pricing order.

Read our overview paper for more detailed information on our responsibilities in relation to the Port of Melbourne.