The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) is responsible for advising Australian Government agencies on whether Regulation Impact Statements (RIS) are required. To assist in improving the efficiency of this process the OBPR often grants carve-outs. In September 2012, the OBPR published a carve-out guidance note to increase the understanding of the process, in particular the criteria used by the OBPR to grant a carve-out and potential proposals which may be granted a carve-out. The OBPR also published a list of carve-outs that had been granted to help identify possible areas for agencies to request a carve-out and to make the initiative transparent for all stakeholders. The list has now been updated to reflect new carve-outs that have been granted since the list was published. If you have any questions about the revised list of carve-outs, please contact the OBPR.
Published Impact Analyses
Official website for Published Impact Analyses for decisions announced by the Australian Government, Ministerial Forums and National Standard Setting Bodies.
Financial Market Infrastructures include systemically important payment systems, central securities depositories, securities settlement systems, central counterparties and trade repositories. These entities are seen as having an increasingly important and expanding role in the financial system. At the international level, risk management principles for these entities are developed jointly by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Based on these principles, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) develops Financial Stability Standards for central counterparties (CCPs) and securities settlement facilities (SSFs) operating in Australia. These standards have been in place since 2003 and broadly require that CCPs and SSFs conduct their affairs in a prudent manner, so as to contribute to the overall stability of the Australian financial system.
The current regulatory framework for debit card interchange fees and access arrangements has been in place since 2006, and covers both the EFTPOS and international debit card schemes. Since that time, there have been some developments in relation to the EFTPOS system, including:
Most goods imported into Australia that are valued at $1000 or less (low value parcels) are not currently subject to GST. These arrangements are aimed at reducing compliance and administrative costs. However, this ‘low value threshold’ also means that significant GST revenue is foregone; and that Australian suppliers of goods are placed at a competitive disadvantage. In 2011, the Productivity Commission found that there was in-principle justification for reducing the threshold on the basis of tax neutrality but significant cost reductions in parcel processing would need to be achieved if a reduction in the GST threshold was to be feasible. The Low Value Parcel Processing Taskforce (the Taskforce) examined options to improve the efficiency of importation and handling procedures for low value parcels.
On 19 November 2012, regulation was tabled in the Senate, which sets out requirements for insurers regarding the content, presentation and provision of a one-page Key Facts Sheet for home building and home contents insurance policies – the Insurance Contracts Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2). In the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) the preferred option is likely to provide benefits for consumers in terms of improved access to key information and providing the most opportunities to compare similar insurance policies prior to entering into an insurance contract. As insurers are already required to provide a Key Facts Sheet for home building and home contents insurance policies under the Insurance Contracts Amendment Act 2012, costs are unlikely to be affected by imposing new requirements on the content and presentation of the Key Facts Sheet.
The Government has announced a package of reform measures to improve regulatory performance. As part of the reform package the Government has agreed to; - adopt a two-stage process for developing regulation impact statements (RISs); - strengthen the role of annual regulatory plans (ARPs); and - encourage better and more informed stakeholder consultation. The Office of Best Practice Regulation will be preparing revised guidance material to reflect the new arrangements. The current arrangements for Regulatory Impact Analysis are set out in the Government’s Best Practice Regulation Handbook and commenced operation on 1 July 2010. The Government committed to reviewing the framework within two years.
On 20 November 2012, the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation announced new market integrity rules. Broadly, the rules are in response to technological innovations such as automated and high-frequency trading; as well as the increasing significance of dark liquidity (that is, liquidity which is not publically disclosed). More specifically, the rules provide for:
On 20 November 2012, the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Minister for Finance and Deregulation Penny Wong released exposure draft legislation to consolidate the five current anti-discrimination acts into a single act. The consolidation project was established as a Better Regulation Ministerial Partnership between the Attorney-General and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. The main changes will be:
On 22 November 2012, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities announced that the final Murray-Darling Basin Plan was signed into law. This decision means that each year some 2,750 gigalitres of surface water, which would otherwise be used for consumptive purposes (such as irrigation and industrial use), will be returned to the environment to help restore the health of the Basin. The Basin Plan sets a long-term average sustainable diversion limit on the total volume of surface water diverted for consumptive use of some 10,873 gigalitres each year. The main benefits of the Basin Plan have been categorised into ‘use’ and ‘non-use’ benefits. Use benefits are estimated to approach $100 million per annum. These include benefits to tourism, floodplain agriculture and commercial fishing.