Prime Minister’s exemptions
The Prime Minister can exempt the need to complete an IA in limited circumstances, including:
- when there are truly urgent and unforeseen events requiring a decision before an IA can be undertaken
- where there is a matter of budget or other sensitivity and the development of an IA could compromise confidentiality and cause unintended market effects or lead to speculative behaviour which would not be in the national interest.
When a decision subject to a Prime Minister exemption is publicly announced, the OIA website will note that the proposal was subject to a Prime Minister’s exemption and the reason. The Prime Minister’s exemption needs to also be noted in any relevant explanatory material and statements.
Reviews and impact analysis equivalent
Where a review or other existing analysis substantially addresses the IA questions, agencies can draw on this analysis to inform an IA. This may include policy whitepapers, royal commission reports or Productivity Commission reports. Agencies should summarise the relevant analysis and findings in the Dashboard IA to inform decision‑makers.
Where a Detailed IA has been required, agencies may certify a review, or other similar analysis has undertaken an equivalent process to that required by the IA framework and has substantially addressed the 7 IA questions. In these cases, agencies need to summarise the analysis and findings in a Dashboard IA. Where a review or similar analysis does not fully address the 7 IA questions, agencies should undertake proportionate supplementary analysis to address any gaps in the Dashboard IA, including providing a regulatory burden estimate. The review (or other similar analysis) needs to be published together with the Dashboard IA.
This approach avoids duplication between comprehensive review processes and IAs while ensuring the decision‑makers are informed of likely impacts.
Election commitments
IAs covering matters which were the subject of an election commitment will not be required to consider an alternative policy option. Only the specific election commitment relative to the status
quo needs to be considered as part of the IA.
Sunsetting legislative instruments
When remaking a sunsetting legislative instrument, agencies need to assess the instrument against the IA scope and thresholds (step 1) and, if required, prepare and publish a Dashboard IA. Consistent with the sunsetting provisions in the Legislation Act 2003, the status quo for legislative instruments should assume the instrument would sunset.
Deviating from international standards
As outlined in the Best Practice Handbook on Standards and Conformance Policy, if mandatory standards are appropriate to meet a policy objective, then policymakers should use international standards, where one exists, unless demonstrably unsuitable for the Australian context. Policymakers should only deviate from existing standards, including international standards, if the benefit to the community outweighs the cost of deviating from existing standards.
For proposals to introduce a mandatory standard that deviates from an existing international standard that meets the IA thresholds, a Detailed IA is required.
Regulatory Impact Analysis Guide for Ministers’ Meetings and National Standard Setting Bodies
The IA framework applies only to Australian Government decisions, with joint decision‑making processes with states and territories having separate requirements.
Specifically, regulation impact statement arrangements apply under the Regulatory Impact Analysis Guide for Ministers’ Meetings and National Standard Setting Bodies to all ministers’ meetings and to those standard-setting bodies set up by the Australian Government and the states and territories.