Regulation Impact Statement – Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
On 30 September 2020, the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP announced changes to streamline and simplify the drama, documentaries and children’s content ‘sub-quota’ Australian content rules for broadcasters.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (the Department) prepared a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) which identified the risks to Australian drama, documentaries and children’s content as a result of the changing dynamics in the media sector and the commercial reality faced by traditional broadcasters. The preferred option looks at reform to existing content obligations, supporting the creation of Australian drama, documentaries and children’s content while providing broadcasters with flexibility on the mix of content produced, based on their particular commercial circumstances and judgement of audience appeal.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the RIS as adequate against the Government’s impact analysis requirements.
The OBPR considers that although the RIS is adequate against the RIS requirements, a higher level of analysis would have been required for the RIS to be consistent with good practice. In particular, the RIS should have further explored what level of Australian drama, documentary and children’s content is sufficient to derive the cultural and public benefits sought, compared to what the market would provide without regulatory intervention. This would then inform whether the preferred points-based system is capable of achieving those aims. Noting this, OBPR acknowledges the extensive consultation that has occurred throughout the policy development process, providing stakeholders the opportunity to question and challenge the design of the policy and its impacts.
While noting a net regulatory saving from the preferred option, the RIS does not provide an estimate of these savings.