Published Impact Analyses

On 26 March 2014, the Australian Government tabled legislation aimed at protecting the images and indicia associated with major sporting events. The legislation would extend the existing trademark and copyright protection offered to organisers and sponsors of major sporting events by protecting certain words, phrases and images associated with these events in an effort to reduce the likelihood of ambush marketing. Remedies available for event organisers include injunctions, damages, corrective advertisements and the seizure of offending goods. Initially, the events protected would be the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup 2015, the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup 2015, and the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. The proposal is likely to have a measurable but contained impact on the economy.

Intellectual Property Australia has released the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2014 for consultation. The amendment will enable the Australian Federal Court in limited circumstances to grant a license to export patented medicines to countries experiencing a serious epidemic, in cases where negotiations with patent owners have failed. The legislation implements article 31 of the World Trade Organisation ‘Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights’ to which Australia is a signatory.

On 19 March 2014, the Government announced that it would revoke the Fair Work Principles (‘Principles’) and the Commonwealth Cleaning Service guidelines (‘Guidelines’). The aim of the Principles is to ensure Government procurement decisions are consistent with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act). The Guidelines contain mandatory requirements that relate to Australian Government Cleaning Services tenders and contracts, and set out minimum rates of pay and a number of cleaning services industry workplace relations mandatory practices. The revocation of the principles and Principles and Guidelines are expected to reduce compliance costs for firms tendering for and providing goods and services to the Commonwealth Government. These costs are estimated to be in the order of $5 million per year over 10 years.

On 6 March 2014 the Qantas Sale Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced into Parliament. The purpose of the Bill is to amend the Qantas Sale Act 1992 (‘the Act’) to remove the foreign ownership and other restrictions that apply to Qantas but do not apply to other airlines based in Australia. The Bill also amends the Air Navigation Act 1920 to allow Qantas to be included in the definition of an Australian international airline, meaning that Qantas will be subject to the same regulatory framework, including foreign ownership limits, as other ‘Australian international airlines’. The Prime Minister granted an exemption from the Regulation Impact Statement requirements because urgent and unforeseen events arose, requiring a decision before an adequate RIS could be prepared.

On 19 March 2014, the Prime Minister announced the repeal of the Australian Charities and  Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). This announcement gives effect to an election commitment and is part of the Government’s broader deregulation agenda. The announced repeal of the ACNC is the first stage of a two-stage process. The first Bill proposes to repeal the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012, while the substance of replacement arrangements will be dealt with in a later Bill. A further Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) will inform and accompany the second substantive Bill. Because the repeal of the ACNC does not take effect until the replacement arrangements have been determined, and been passed through the Parliament, there are no impacts or compliance costs arising directly from this announcement.

Australia’s financial services industry is a significant part of the Australian economy.  It employs more than 400,000 people and is expected to continue growing, driven by Australia’s ageing population and increasing pool of superannuation funds. As part of its commitment to reducing the regulatory burden on business, the Government has announced changes to the regulation of the financial products and services sector. The key reforms include:

On 19 March 2014 the Prime Minister announced changes to the rules that relate to when a lease may need to be registered on the Personal Property Securities Register.  The changes will simplify the requirements for leases of less than 12 months. Business will no longer need to consider two timeframes: one for goods generally and one for serial numbered goods, such as motor vehicles. The changes will also minimise the need for businesses to consider whether to register leases that are for a term of less than 12 months.

On 27 February 2014, the Department of Employment tabled amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009. Among other changes, the amendments seek to introduce good faith bargaining arrangements for greenfield employment agreements, and amend the existing rights of employee organisations to enter workplaces. The main impact of these changes is to reduce compliance costs for business. The greenfields changes seek to limit the length of employment agreement negotiations before new projects can begin and also to limit the right of unions to enter workplaces. The Department estimates that the total reduction in regulatory burden will be approximately $70 million per year and these costings have been agreed with the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The proposal has been assessed as likely to have a measurable impact on the economy with no impacts on competition.

On 28 February 2014, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Industry announced that environmental approvals for offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas activities would be solely undertaken by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environment Management Authority (NOPSEMA). Previously, petroleum and greenhouse gas activities in Commonwealth waters that were likely to impact on matters of national environmental significance were subject to regulation under both the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (OPGSS) Act 2006 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Now offshore environment activities will only be regulated through the OPGGS Act and administered by NOPSEMA.

On 19 March 2014, the Prime Minister announced the amendments to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. Among other changes, the amendments seek to allow greater access by national employers to the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme, and coverage under the Commonwealth workplace health and safety regime. These changes would allow the option for national employers (those with employees in 2 or more states or territories) to self-insure under the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation scheme, and be covered by a single workplace health and safety regime. This would eliminate the need for such firms to deal with multiple regulations and regulators.