An agreement between Carnival Cruise Line and Port of Brisbane over its US$158 million Brisbane mega-terminal development was given the go-ahead by competition regulator.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced it had granted conditional authorisation for a deal over the access of Carnival to the long-awaited project.
Under the new agreement, the cruise line will be limited in the number of weekend days it is allowed to berth and can't be given the first option on which days to berth in case the terminal is expanded.
Carnival will pay to the port a fixed fee for 15 years in return for the preferential berthing rights.
According to ACCC Commissioner Roger Featherston, they had concerns that parts of the agreement between the port and Carnival would limit consumer choice and entrench the cruise company as the dominant operator. That's why they had approved the agreement with 2 conditions.
Currently, Carnival Cruise Line is the only cruise operator regularly running voyages from Brisbane.
According to Queensland's Tourism Minister Kate Jones, the terminal would open in 2020.