On 3 December 2010, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced that the Government will pursue the 22 recommendations put forward by the Media Access Review Final Report. The aim of these changes is to improve access to electronic media for people with hearing and vision impairment. The RIS has been approved by the OBPR.
Published Impact Analyses
Official website for Published Impact Analyses for decisions announced by the Australian Government, Ministerial Forums and National Standard Setting Bodies.
On 10 December 2010 the Ministerial Council on Energy agreed to phase-out Greenhouse-Intensive Water Heaters in class 1 buildings (eg houses) through prohibiting the installation of electric water heaters in existing Australian homes. The phase-out will apply to all states and territories except Tasmania and will be implemented in two stages; the first stage will commence in 2010, and the second stage will commence in 2012. A separate RIS was prepared and agreed to by the Building Ministers Forum in 2009 for the phase-out of Greenhouse-Intensive Water Heaters in new homes. The OBPR assessed the Decision RIS as adequate.
On 12 December the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan, announced a package of measures relating to the banking system. One part of the package was changes to the Trade Practices Act 1974 that will empower the ACCC to investigate and prosecute anti-competitive price signalling in specific sectors. The details of the legislative changes are still being finalised, but the first sector that the provisions will apply to is the banking sector. The Prime Minister granted an exemption from the need to prepare a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for initial consideration of this issue, but a RIS was prepared for the final decision.
On 12 December the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan, announced a package of measures relating to the banking system. One of these measures was the requirement for lenders to provide a key fact sheet for new home loan customers. The sheet is expected to contain information on the fees and interest that the consumer is signing up to over the life of the loan, as well as the lowest published competitor rate. Lenders will be required to clearly explain to customers what is meant by every item on the fact sheet. The Prime Minister granted an exemption from the need to prepare a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for initial consideration of this issue, but a RIS was prepared for the final decision.
On 12 December the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan, announced a package of measures relating to the banking system. One part of the package was a undertaking to develop a ‘deep and liquid’ corporate bond market by facilitating the trading of Commonwealth Government Securities on a security exchange, and simplifying the disclosure and prospectus liability regulations associated with issuing corporate bonds to retail investors. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required for this undertaking, but the Prime Minister granted an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances. A post implementation review will be required within 1 to 2 years of its implementation.
On 12 December the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan, announced a package of measures related to banking system. One of these measures was a prohibition on exit fees on all new home loans issued after 1 July 2011. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required for this measure, but the Prime Minister granted an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances. A post implementation review will be required within 1 to 2 years of its implementation.
On 12 December the Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan, announced a package of measures relating to banking system. One of these measures was to allow Australian banks, credit unions and building societies to issue covered bonds. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required for this measure, but the Prime Minister granted an exemption on the basis of exceptional circumstances. A post implementation review will be required within 1 to 2 years of its implementation.
On 16 December 2010 the Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, announced the Government’s initial response to the Super System (Cooper) Review. In its response the Government stated that it will:
On 2 August 2010 the National Marine Safety Committee secretariat released a draft standard for public comment - NSCV – Part C Section 2 Watertight and Weathertight Integrity. The draft standard NSCV Part C Section 2 specifies minimum requirements for the watertight and weathertight integrity of vessels and supersedes the provisions and regulations for watertight and weathertight integrity presently contained in the Uniform Shipping Laws Code. The draft standard adopts a risk-based approach to bridge the gap between the International Convention on Load Lines requirements for watertight and weathertight integrity applicable to full seagoing vessels and those applicable to vessels in sheltered waters.
The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) issued amendments to the Australian Accounting Standards AASB 1 & 7 on 18 November 2010. These amendments change the disclosure requirements around the transfers of financial assets. A regulation impact statement was required to inform the decision to change the standards but was not prepared; as such the OBPR has assessed the proposal as being non-compliant with the Australian Government’s best practice regulation requirements. A post-implementation review is to be prepared one to two years from implementation of this decision. Businesses should be aware that this amendment applies for annual reporting periods that begin on or after the 1 July 2011, however businesses may apply the changed rules earlier if they wish to.