Published Impact Analyses

On 9 December 2011, the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation (the Forum) announced its response to the recommendations of the Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy. The response included a decision to support a warning message about the risks of consuming alcohol while pregnant. While the industry is given an opportunity to introduce appropriate labelling on a voluntary basis, after a period of two years the appropriate labelling will be regulated. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) best practice regulation requirements apply to decisions by ministerial councils or other bodies where there is a reasonable expectation of widespread compliance.

On 27 February 2012, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport tabled a new vehicle standard - the Australian Design Rule (ADR) Harmonisation. Previously every time the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) improved their regulations Australian importers needed to wait on a costly and time consuming parallel process. This delayed the importation of vehicles with improved safety standards. The new standard will have benefits for business and consumers as it removes this time delay when importing latest release motor vehicles as the UNECE regulation will be automatically referenced in the relevant ADRs. Importantly, the rule harmonisation will provide increased certainty to vehicle importers as to when they can import new release vehicles. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and was assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 13 March 2012, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport tabled an update of Australian Design Rule (ADR) 4. The update re-aligns ADR 4 with the latest version of the international standard – the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Regulation 16. The re-alignment means it is now a requirement that new passenger vehicles are fitted with a seatbelt reminder for the driver’s position, and that any folding seats must be fitted with seatbelts. The RIS finds that the safety benefits of installing a driver’s seat belt reminder, over the life of a vehicle, outweigh the installation costs. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and was assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 12 January 2012, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) gazetted a Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seed Sprouts. The standard is intended to be implemented by state and territory food regulators and will introduce new requirements for seed sprout processors. The standard identifies hazard control measures for sprout production. As seed sprouts are commonly eaten raw, for example, in salads or sandwiches, FSANZ considered additional action was justified by the high food safety risk. The RIS concluded that regulatory measures applied to sprout processors only, were likely to deliver the greatest net benefit for the community. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared by FSANZ and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 21 March 2012, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced new Commercial Radio Standards that strengthen the rules on advertising and the disclosure of commercial influence on commercial radio programs. The ACMA reformed the Disclosure and Advertising Standards and chose to revoke the Compliance Program Standard. The ACMA’s reforms to the Disclosure Standard:

On 23 September 2011, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s recommendations on wheat export market reforms. The Government has agreed in-principle with the recommendations in the Productivity Commission’s report, including deregulating the wheat export market and reducing costs to growers and exporters. The recommendations are to be implemented through a staged process. The Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 30 January 2012, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) announced measures, aimed at protecting sea lions, that alter management arrangements in the Gillnet, Hook and Trap Sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF). The changes significantly reduce the number of fishing related Australian Sea Lion (ASL) deaths that will trigger the closure of the fishery to commercial net fishing. This will provide more protection to the many ASL colonies that gather food within the waters of the fishery.

On 27 February 2012, the National Transport Commission announced [] the release of a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) on the Rail Safety National Law fatigue risk management requirements relating to hours of work and rest for rail safety workers. The Consultation RIS outlines four options for the nationally consistent regulation of hours of work and rest for rail safety workers. It aims to support the objectives of the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) transport reform agenda, to develop a body of uniform rail safety national law that utilises a co-regulatory approach and:

On 4 November 2011, the Standing Council on Transport and Infrastructure agreed [] to implement the Rail Safety National Law. The objective of the law is to develop a seamless and coordinated national approach to rail safety regulation and improve safety outcomes. It utilises a co-regulatory approach to risk management between duty holders and the National Rail Safety Regulator. A national system of rail regulation is a significant advancement in transport policy and is expected to cut business compliance costs. This initiative follows the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the Australian Transport Council directing the National Transport Commission to consolidate the seven state and territory bodies of rail safety law into a Rail Safety National Law.

Australia has developed a capacity building project to conduct regulatory impact analysis training for APEC developing economies. APEC is funding the project, which involves a series of training courses in interested developing economies during 2012. The project was co-sponsored by Mexico, New Zealand and the Russian Federation. The regulatory impact analysis training program supports the initiative from Australia, New Zealand and the United States on Good Regulatory Practices agreed by APEC Leaders in Honolulu in November 2011. Australia, Mexico and New Zealand will provide the training, and will be paired with interested developing economies. The training is aimed at senior economic ministry and regulatory officials. The first training course was provided by the Office of Best Practice Regulation to approximately 60 Russian officials on 9 and 10 February in Moscow.