On 9 November 2012, the Department of Health and Ageing made regulations adopting a new sunscreen standard. The new standard allows products to be labelled with a sun protection factor (SPF) rating of up to SPF 50+, compared with the previous standard which limited claims to SPF 30+. The new sunscreen standard also requires greater protection from UVA radiation – which causes skin cancer – by setting out more stringent requirements for broad spectrum performance. It will cost industry $45,000-$175,000 to develop a new sunscreen in line with the new standard – a similar cost to the previous standard. It is likely that the price to consumers of a SPF 50+ sunscreen will be 15% to 30% higher than a typical SPF 30+ product. However, the products will deliver significantly better protection from harmful UV radiation than those currently available in Australia.
Published Impact Analyses
Official website for Published Impact Analyses for decisions announced by the Australian Government, Ministerial Forums and National Standard Setting Bodies.
Australia is proposing to become a party to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) by Sea (the HNS Convention). On 1 November 2012 the HNS treaty documents, including the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) and National Interest Analysis, were tabled in the House of Representatives.
On 30 October 2012, the Minster for Employment and Workplace Relations announced measures to reform the selection of default superannuation funds in modern awards. Modern awards are industry or occupation-based minimum employment standards. The measures are the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into default superannuation funds in modern awards. They include the following changes:
On 15 October 2012, the Minster for Employment and Workplace Relations announced the first tranche Government response to the Review of the Fair Work Act. The first tranche covers matters where there is broad support among stakeholders. Of the proposals, only two were identified as having a significant regulatory impact on employers and/or employees. These recommendations were to:
Post Implementation Review – Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Northern Territory Government has released a COAG Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) on options to continue its existing container deposit scheme to reduce the amount of litter from cans and bottles. Under national and international obligations, states and territories cannot restrict the sale of goods from other states, territories or New Zealand. Specifically, states and territories cannot require bottles and cans to be labelled in a certain manner, including requiring a label that informs consumers that a deposit refund is available. Northern Territory’s existing container deposit scheme is currently operating under a temporary exemption from these obligations.
On 22 October 2012 as a part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook measures, the Treasurer announced that financial planners who provide tax advice will be subject to the requirements of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA). The TASA had previously only applied to tax advice provided by tax agents and Business Activity Statement (BAS) agents. These changes provide that financial planners who offer tax advice must meet certain education and experience requirements; meet a fitness and propriety test; and follow an industry code of conduct. These requirements are to be introduced over a three-year period, commencing on 1 July 2013. It is expected that consumers who use tax advice provided by financial planners will benefit through increased protection.
Post-implementation Review - Australian Securities and Investments Commission
On 1 October 2012, the Government of Canada released the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan, which was a product of a year-long Red Tape Reduction Commission. The Red Tape Reduction Action Plan consists of six wide ranging reforms, supported by 90 department specific changes. The wide ranging reforms include:
- a one-for-one rule which requires regulators to offset new burdens imposed on business with equal reductions in compliance burden from the stock of existing regulation. This rule will be provided for in legislation;
- the publication of departmental Forward Plans, which will highlight upcoming regulatory changes over a 24 month period; and
- an annual scorecard will report publicly on implementation of systemic reforms, particularly the one-for-one rule.
On 12 October 2012 the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport announced the Government will sign the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (the Cape Town Convention) which creates a uniform international legal framework to protect investors in aircraft objects such as passenger airliners, helicopters and aircraft engines. As aircraft objects frequently move across borders, the rights and protection available to creditors may be subject to a variety of international laws. Where a debtor defaults on their loan or lease, creditors will likely have to undertake an exhaustive legal process to repossess their property, possibly involving a number of different jurisdictions. For this reason, creditors generally charge a premium for lending to protect themselves against the substantial risks and uncertainty involved.