The treaty on the 'Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization' was signed on 20 January 2012 by Australia's United Nations Ambassador Gary Quinlan on behalf of the Australian Government. The treaty is a product of Australia’s participation in the October 2010 Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Protocol establishes a legally-binding framework for access to genetic resources for biotechnology research and development and other research activities. It also establishes a framework to ensure compliance with the legislation of provider countries to promote the sharing of the benefits from utilising genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge.
Published Impact Analyses
Official website for Published Impact Analyses for decisions announced by the Australian Government, Ministerial Forums and National Standard Setting Bodies.
Consistent with the Government’s objective of improving transparency in relation to regulatory decisions, the Office of Best Practice Regulation monitors and reports on compliance with the best practice regulation requirements. This includes reporting on post-implementation review compliance. Post-implementation reviews are required either because a significant regulatory decision was made without an adequate Regulation Impact Statement (RIS), or because the Prime Minister has granted an ‘exceptional circumstances’ exemption from the RIS requirements. Post-implementation reviews are required to commence within 1–2 years of the relevant measure being implemented and to be completed within 3-6 months.
On 23 September 2011, the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing made the User Rights Amendment Principles 2011 (No.3) (the Principles) to:
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.