Independent Review - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
On 9 December 2020, the Government introduced the Data Availability and Transparency Bill 2020 (the Bill).
The Bill establishes a new data sharing scheme which will serve as an alternative pathway and regulatory framework for sharing public sector data. It authorises the Commonwealth to share public sector data with accredited entities for three purposes, provided effective safeguards are in place. These three purposes are delivery of government services, informing government policies and programs, and research and development. The Bill also establishes an independent statutory office holder, the National Data Commissioner, to support best practice and regulate the data sharing scheme.
Consistent with the Government’s Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) requirements, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (the Department) certified that the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report Data Availability and Use (the Report) was produced using a process and analysis equivalent to a RIS.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess the quality of independent reviews used in lieu of a RIS, but does assess whether the options analysed in the independent review are relevant to the regulatory proposal. The OBPR assessed that the analysis in the independent review is sufficiently relevant to the Bill.
The Department estimated the average annual regulatory cost to be $105,165.