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Removal of Australian Industry Participation Officers

Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Industry

The Minister for Industry has revised the Enhanced Project By-law Scheme (EPBS) Guidelines to remove the requirement for large construction projects to employ an Australian Industry Opportunity Officer. Under the requirement, construction projects over $2 billion that were receiving tariff concessions under the EPBS were required to employ an officer whose role was to promote procurement from Australian suppliers. To inform the initial decision on whether or not to maintain the requirement, the Department of Industry certified an options stage RIS, titled: Australian Industry Participation Officers, under the July 2013 RIS requirements. The RIS recommended the removal of the requirement and estimated that doing so would reduce regulatory burden by $3.9 million a year. To inform the final decision point on whether or not to maintain the requirement, the Department of Industry certified an earlier RIS, titled: Strengthening Australian Industry Participation that was developed in 2012 to examine ways to increase Australian suppliers’ involvement in large construction projects. The RIS Strengthening Australian Industry Participation recommended introducing the requirement that large construction projects employ an Australian Industry Participation Officer as well as undertake an Australian Industry Participation plan. In assessing the adequacy of the RIS Strengthening Australian Industry Participation under the Australian Government Guide to Regulation the OBPR relied heavily on the Department of Industry’s certification.