Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
On 31 March 2020, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment announced (https://www.agriculture.gov.au/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/information-exporters-industry/sheep-to-middle-east) new regulation to limit the risk of heat stress in live sheep exported to, or through, the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer, from 1 May to 31 October inclusive.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment released a draft Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for consultation on 20 December 2019 for a 6 week public consultation period. Stakeholder feedback was considered and consequential amendments made when preparing the RIS for publication.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the Regulation Impact Statement prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as compliant with the Government’s requirements but not consistent with best practice. The OBPR considers that the RIS was not able to clearly identify the option with the highest net benefit. In part, this is due to the challenge of framing the issue as needing to respond to a risk for exports of live sheep to the Middle East to be further constrained, when the magnitude of this risk is uncertain. It also reflects the limited and often conflicting data available. More details are provided in the OBPR’s assessment advice (link to below) to the Department.
The RIS estimates the average annual regulatory costs at $76 106. The OBPR agreed that, as the costs were less than $2 million per annum, regulatory costs could be self-assessed by the Department.