Published Impact Analyses

On 19 September 2012, the Government introduced a bill redesigning a Vocational Education and Training (VET) assistance scheme called VET FEE-HELP. VET FEE-HELP is an Australian Government assistance scheme introduced in 2008 to help vocational education students pay for the upfront costs of study. VET FEE-HELP is similar to other income‑contingent loans schemes offered by the Australian Government, where the student is required to pay back a loan only once their income is above a threshold level. The key elements for improving the VET FEE-HELP scheme that were examined in the Regulation Impact Statement, include:

Annual Regulatory Plans are published by agencies responsible for regulatory changes which may have a significant impact on business. They provide business and the community with information about recent and expected changes to Australian Government regulations, and give information about how to contribute to the development of regulation that is likely to affect them. Agencies are responsible for preparing and publishing their Annual Regulatory Plans. Links to the latest plans are provided below.

On 10 August 2012 the Australian Government released further information about the design features of carbon unit auctions, which will begin in the 2013-14 financial year.  From 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2015, the price for each tonne of carbon pollution will be fixed.  From 1 July 2015, the carbon pricing mechanism will transition to a ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading scheme and the carbon price will be set by the market.  The Australian Government will allocate some carbon units to businesses.  The remaining units will be sold at auction.

On 18 September 2012, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced the release of industry guidance on new disclosure benchmarks and principles for hedge funds. Hedge funds have a number of characteristics that distinguish them from other managed investment schemes.  These include use of leverage, derivatives and short selling. Consequently, investors in hedge funds can be exposed to more complex risks.  However, many funds which exhibit the characteristics of hedge funds may not provide sufficient transparency in their product offerings to make investors aware of the nature of these risks.

On 11 September 2012, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities announced plans to extend legislative powers available under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 that would enable the Minister to prohibit some new fishing activities from occurring in Commonwealth fisheries while a further assessment of all potential impacts is undertaken by an expert panel. A Regulation Impact Statement was required for this proposal but the Acting Prime Minister granted an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances. A post-implementation review will be required within 1 to 2 years of its implementation.

On 4 September 2012, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) announced amendments to the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 to introduce safety improvements in avionics equipment termed Airborne Collision Avoidance Systems which are carried on turbine powered commercial transport aircraft to detect and resolve potential conflict situations between two equipped aircraft.  CASA consider that the current technology of the air traffic management system used for navigation and surveillance is based on outdated radar and ground-based navigation aids. The proposed mandatory systems require all the affected aircraft to have the necessary equipment installed to provide for inter-operation with the air traffic management system. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by CASA and has been assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 16 August 2012, the Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water made a fuel standard and a fuel quality information (labelling) standard for Ethanol (E85) Automotive Fuel under the Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000. The standards will come into force on 1 November 2012. E85 is a fuel blend of between 70 and 85 per cent ethanol, with the remainder petrol. It is suitable for use in vehicles that are specifically built or modified to use it. The E85 fuel standard specifies the physical and chemical parameters for E85, as well as methods to test whether the fuel meets these parameters. The fuel standards are intended to reduce pollution that may cause environmental and health problems and allow engines to operate more effectively.

On 28 August, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the European Commissioner for Climate Change jointly announced that Australia and Europe will be linking their emissions trading systems. The Australian Government has agreed to enter into negotiations on a full-linking agreement that would allow businesses to use carbon units from the Australian Carbon Pricing Mechanism (CPM) or the European Union Emissions Trading System for compliance under either system, and the European Commission will seek a mandate to do so in coming months. As an interim arrangement and to simplify the pathway to full linking, the Australian Government will make two changes to the design of its CPM: the price floor will not be implemented; and an additional quantitative restriction will apply to the use of eligible Kyoto units.

On 17 August 2012, a COAG Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) on strategies to implement a national approach to poisonous chemical controls was released by the Standing Council on Health (SCoH).  The Consultation RIS examines options to improve national consistency of poisonous chemical regulation, as set out in the Standard for Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP).  The Consultation RIS identifies the problems associated with inconsistency of chemical and poisons regulation across States and Territories. It is argued that inconsistency creates an increase in compliance costs for business, and indirectly for consumers, without improving regulatory outcomes.

On 27 April 2012, the Standing Council on Health meeting as the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council approved new general registration standards for optometrists. Currently, optometrists are not required to hold qualifications in ocular therapeutics to be registered. However, this will become mandatory from 1 December 2014, with grandfathering provisions for existing optometrists. The Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) best practice regulation requirements apply to decisions by COAG, ministerial councils or other bodies where there is a reasonable expectation of widespread compliance.