The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) has released its annual compliance report. It is the OBPR’s independent assessment of compliance with Australian Government and Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) best practice regulation requirements. Essentially, it considers whether a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared for each significant decision and whether it was published. It also includes information about post-implementation reviews.
The report shows that overall compliance with both Australian Government and COAG RIS requirements improved with no instances of non‑compliance being reported in 2014–15.
For Australian Government proposals, regulatory activity triggering the RIS requirements was higher in 2014–15, compared to 2013–14. At the decision-making stage, compliance was 100 per cent in 2014–15 (up from 98 per cent in 2013–14). Additionally, of the RISs required in 2014–15, 78 per cent were assessed by the OBPR as best practice.
Non-compliance with the Australian Government post-implementation review requirements decreased to six in 2014–15, compared with eight in the previous year. Each instance of non-compliance was because the post‑implementation review was not completed within the required timeframe in the context of the 2014-15 annual report.
The report also shows an increase in compliance at both the consultation and decision‑making stages to 100 per cent by COAG Councils and national standard‑setting bodies, compared to 88 per cent in 2013–14.