Today we released our compliance report for 2009-10, the Best Practice Regulation Report 2009-10. We produce this report each year. It’s our independent assessment of compliance with Australian Government and COAG best practice regulation requirements. Essentially it answers the question was a RIS done when it should have been and published when it should have been.
The 2009-10 report shows a sharp decline in compliance with the COAG best practice regulation requirements. Ten Ministerial Councils, including COAG itself, were non compliant in 2009‑10 concerning regulation in areas such as taxis, training standards, indigenous art, Director responsibilities, gambling and retail tenancy. Australian Government compliance is broadly unchanged in percentage terms on 2008‑09 although total numbers have increased. Australian Government non compliance included regulation in relation to accounting standards, telecommunications, energy, visas, procurement, pharmacies, foreign investment, tobacco and transport security.
While non compliance was an issue in 2009‑10 a number of key decisions were made in the COAG policy space with a RIS including regulation concerning child care, maritime safety, rail safety, a national construction code, and energy standards for a range of appliances and buildings. Equally the Australian Government prepared RISs on a number of issues including regulation concerning fisheries management, Telstra pricing, workplace relations, airport planning, passenger cars, financial services and consumer safety.