Published Impact Analyses

The South Australian Minister for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade, as chair of the Competitiveness Council released a report on reducing red tape for business in South Australia. The South Australian State Government program to cut bureaucratic red tape is being carried out in two phases. The first phase to reduce red tape finished $18 million ahead of target with net annual savings to business of $168 million. The second phase of an additional $150 million a year in net cost reductions by April 2012 is well on its way. The costs that the South Australian Government included as red tape include such things as:

On 15 December 2011 the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer announced amendments to personal and corporate insolvency laws. 

The amendments address a wide range of issues that have had a negative impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the insolvency system.  The regulation of insolvency practitioners has been the subject of a number of reviews. The Senate Economics References Committee inquiry The regulation, registration and remuneration of insolvency practitioners in Australia: the case for a new framework (September 2010)  was critical of a number of areas of the current regulatory framework for corporate insolvency, including the current registration and discipline frameworks, insurance obligations, and remuneration of registered liquidators.

On 12 December 2011, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced reforms to the sanctions regime for allowing non‑citizens to work (or referring for work) who do not have permission to work in Australia or who are working in breach of a visa condition. The existing criminal penalties will be supplemented with new ‘non-fault’ based civil penalty provisions and infringement notices. The proposal will establish an employer sanctions framework designed to maximise voluntary compliance and a graduated series of sanctions where the response can be tailored to the level of non compliance—from education and information, warnings, infringements and civil penalties to criminal prosecution for the most serious of breaches. Defences will be available where an employer/referrer took ‘reasonable steps’ to verify the employee’s work entitlements.

On 22 December 2011, the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) received correspondence from Senator the Hon Abetz requesting that the OBPR review the Terms of Reference for the Fair Work Review, which is intended to be the Post‑implementation Review for the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008. Senator Abetz’s letter expressed concerns that the Terms of Reference were narrow and should be broadened, in line with the requirements for a Post‑implementation Review in the Australian Government’s Best Practice Regulation Handbook. The OBPR has written a letter responding to Senator Abetz concerns with the Terms of Reference for the Fair Work Review, clarifying that the OBPR:

On 4 January 2012, the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations registered  new standards for higher education providers on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI). The standards known as the Threshold Standards will be used by the new national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). The Threshold Standards include the:

• Provider Registration Standards;
• Provider Category Standards;
• Provider Course Accreditation Standards; and
• Qualification Standards.

 The Qualification Standards specify the requirements in relation to:

On 18 December 2011, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten MP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd MP, and the Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP released a joint media release, announcing a permanent Seasonal Worker Program will begin on 1 July 2012. The initiative builds on the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme and enables Australian farmers in the horticulture sector to employ workers from the Pacific Region and East Timor. The initiative is to provide access to seasonal employment opportunities in Australia which will deliver financial gains and employment experience to workers from the Pacific Region and East Timor. It will also help horticulturalists to meet unmet demand for seasonal labour.

While the Primary Industries Ministerial Council could not agree to introduce a national standard PIMC 21 Communique, all industries involved in the bobby calf supply chain (that is dairy farmers, livestock agents, calf buyers and transporters and calf processors) have agreed to implement a national industry standard that sets a limit of 30 hours TOF for calves aged 5 to 30 days being transported without mothers.  This cooperation will lead to an action plan to address risk areas for calves and encourage the adoption of better practice in calf transport.  Departments of Agriculture are considering a further review of bobby calf transport in 2014.

The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission has released its 2010-11 Annual Report. The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission has three core functions:

• Reviewing regulatory impact statements and advising on the economic impact of significant new legislation;
• Undertaking inquiries into matters referred to it by the Victorian Government; and
• Operating Victoria’s Competitive Neutrality Unit.

To improve the quality of regulatory impact assessment in Victoria three areas were identified as priorities for 2011-12. These were:

A Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) on the proposed introduction of a unique student identifier was released on 22 December 2011.  In December 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) asked that a business case be prepared for the introduction of a national unique student identifier for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.   The final business case is to be considered by COAG in early 2012.  Currently the National Centre for Vocational Education Research collects and holds unit level records of student enrolment and achievement in the VET sector but these records are not mapped to an individual over the lifetime. Four options are examined in the RIS:

On 15 December 2011, the Department of Broadband, Communications and Media Authority announced regulatory amendments to facilitate the rollout of the National Broadband Network and other next-generation broadband networks. These changes will facilitate the rollout of broadband infrastructure by including infrastructure used in an optical fibre network in the Telecommunications (Low-impact Facilities) Determination 1997.  As a result, these types of facilities will be installed on a nationally-uniform basis under Commonwealth law, rather than state and territory legislation. These changes will allow NBN Co Limited and other comparable carriers to readily deploy fibre in the street, connect premises and locate equipment in multi-unit buildings.