On 15 December 2021 the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Water released the Post-Implementation Review (PIR) of the Competition (Industry Code – Sugar Regulations 2017.
The Department was required to prepare a PIR because the Prime Minister granted an exemption from the requirement to complete a Regulation Impact Statement due to urgent and unforeseen events in the export sugar industry.
The proposal was implemented in April 2017. A PIR was completed by the Department on 10 December 2021 and was assessed as compliant by the OBPR.
The PIR concluded that the Code provides a mechanism for resolving potentially lengthy and costly negotiation deadlocks but has increased financial costs to the industry. On balance the Code has delivered a net benefit to the Australian sugar industry.
The PIR estimates that the code has increased regulatory burden by $1.673 million annually.