Published Impact Analyses

On 9 December 2011, the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation (which has replaced the former Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council) announced that it had agreed to put in place a new food safety management Policy Guideline for the retail and food service sectors. The Policy Guideline is intended to guide Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) should it decide to make a new standard on food safety management in the retail and food service sector and also guide consistent implementation by the States and Territories.

On 12 December 2011, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published guidance (Regulatory Guide 230) on the use of financial information prepared other than in accordance with accounting standards; that is, non-International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) financial information. The guidance aims to assist directors and preparers of financial information in understanding how and when it is appropriate to use non-IFRS financial information in financial reports, transaction documents and other documents. The guidance covers:

On 16 December 2011, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy published instruments that alter the payphone arrangements in the Telecommunications Universal Service Obligation. The new arrangements increase the requirements for Telstra in relation to payphone fault repairs, installation, removal, public consultation on removal and complaints handling. Significantly the new arrangements are regulatory and enforceable, whereas the previous arrangements were not. These regulatory arrangements may be replaced by contractual arrangements in two years time, pending certain pre‑conditions being met. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and was assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

On 29 November 2011, the Product Stewardship (Televisions and Computers) Regulations 2011 were amended to include a ‘material recovery’ target. The target has been set at 90 per cent, and comes into effect in 2014–15. The target sets requirements for the minimum weight of materials that need to be recovered through the recycling process for further processing into useable materials. Together with the existing ‘recycling’ target, the material recovery target aims to maximise resource recovery and minimise waste to landfill. The Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. It was assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.

The Government has agreed to an initiative to improve the resources available to agencies when they prepare regulation impact statements (RISs). Under this initiative, the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) can provide outposted officers (on a cost offsetting basis) to assist agencies in the preparation of RISs and post-implementation reviews (PIRs). This will formalise arrangements which have been operating from time to time. The initiative covers Australian Government and Council of Australian Government best practice regulation requirements which are both administered by the OBPR. More information on this initiative is included in this attachment.

• OBPR Outposting Model RIS – RTF version [ 66KB]

A review of the Australian Government best practice regulation requirements was announced on 13 December 2011.  This review will enable an assessment of the effectiveness of new elements of the best practice regulation requirements introduced in 2010. The review will be conducted by Mr Robert Milliner and Mr David Borthwick AO PSM.  The review is due to report to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation by 20 April 2012. The Terms of Reference also provide for assessment of the extent to which the interpretation and administration by the Office of Best Practice Regulation of the Best Practice Regulation Handbook are consistent with the OECD’s Guiding Principles for Regulatory Quality and Performance.

• Terms of Reference RIS – RTF version [ 33KB]

On 10 July 2011, the Prime Minister announced that the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Program would be extended to energy transmission and distribution networks and major Greenfield and expansion projects. The Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006 and the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Regulations 2006 currently require corporations that use over 0.5 PJ of energy in a financial year to undertake a detailed energy assessment, identify and evaluate opportunities to improve their energy performance and publicly report on the results. A Regulation Impact Statement was required to inform this decision but was not prepared. Consequently, the Office of Best Practice Regulation has assessed the proposal as being non-compliant with the Australian Government’s best practice regulation requirements.

On 16 November 2011, the Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare made the Child Care Benefit (Eligibility of Child Care Services for Approval and Continued Approval) Amendment Determination 2011 (No. 2) to introduce tougher tests for child care services seeking to be eligible to provide government-assisted places. The Determination expands the definition of key personnel so that a wider range of persons can be assessed for their suitability. It also introduces a tougher suitability test, which will include:

On 23 November 2011, the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs introduced a bill into Parliament tackling priority issues in the Northern Territory, including alcohol related measures. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) and a Post-implementation Review (PIR) were prepared for this bill and were assessed as adequate.  The combined RIS and PIR is published here, however, it excludes information that was contained in the document considered by the decision-maker and consequently the Office of Best Practice Regulation have assessed the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs as non-compliant with the best practice regulation requirements for this proposal at the transparency stage.

On 14 November 2011, the Assistant Treasurer announced that the Government will implement requirements for insurers to provide customers with a Key Facts Sheet for all home building and home contents insurance policies. The announcement was part of the Government’s response to the recommendations in the Natural Disaster Insurance Review report.

The Key Facts Sheet will set out, on a single page, all key information about the features of the policy. The Key Facts Sheet will be required in addition to existing disclosure documents, such as Product Disclosure Statements.

Further consultation on the format and content of the Key Facts Sheet will take place in early 2012. Prototypes of the Key Facts Sheet will also be subject to consumer testing prior to being finalised.