Published Impact Analyses

This measure was announced on 1 July 2010.  This regulation impact statement supports the introduction of a product safety standard for movable outdoor soccer goals. The standard was proposed in response to a number of injuries, and a few deaths in Australia and overseas. The majority of these incidents were associated with children climbing or swinging on unsecured goal posts. The standard reduces the risk of goal posts falling onto children. The new standard will be accompanied by a Government advertising campaign aimed at informing parents, guardians and children of the risks of movable soccer goal posts. The RIS has been approved by the OBPR.

The first instance of non-compliance on our website relates to the Telecommunications Service Provider (Mobile Premium Services) Determination 2010 (No.2). The Determination was announced in the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Media Release 98/2010. From 3 November 2010, ACMA will be able to issue a temporary Do Not Bill order to stop suspect content providers from charging customers while it investigates a service. The effect of this proposal is to transfer risk from customers to content service providers. A regulation impact statement was required to be prepared to describe the impact on affected businesses but none was prepared. Accordingly this proposal is assessed as non-compliant against Australian Government best practice regulation requirements. A post-implementation review will be required to be started by ACMA before 3 November 2012.

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is looking at options to reduce the potential for saline soils to weaken building structures. In this consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) the ABCB considers options including requirements to:

• limit the types of materials for use as damp proof courses;
• increase resistance requirements for vapour barriers; and
• strengthen requirements for concrete slab construction.

The ABCB released the RIS for public consultation over 3 August 2010 to 10 September 2010. The information provided in the submissions received during consultation will help guide the development of the decision RIS and the Building Code. The ABCB will need to provide the OBPR with the decision RIS for approval before it decides on the proposed changes. The OBPR has approved the consultation RIS.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is looking at options to address food-borne illness caused by the consumption of seed sprouts. In this consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) FSANZ identifies potential regulation and other options to address the problem. The analysis indicates that the costs of regulation to address food-borne illness caused by the consumption of seed sprouts may outweigh the benefits. FSANZ released the RIS for public consultation on 6 September 2010. If interested, please make a submission to FSANZ by 18 October 2010. The information provided to FSANZ in submissions will help guide the development of the decision RIS and the Food Standard.  After consultation has closed FSANZ will need to provide the OBPR with the decision RIS for approval before it makes a decision on the proposed changes.

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is looking at options regarding the regulation of private bushfire shelters. In this consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) the ABCB investigates the following options:

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is looking at options to reduce the risk of cyclone damage to buildings in cyclone affected regions. In this consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) the ABCB considers options regarding regional boundaries and design requirements which could reduce the risk of damage to buildings. The ABCB released this RIS for public consultation over 30 July to 10 September 2010. The information provided in the submissions received during consultation will help guide the development of the decision RIS and the Building Code. The ABCB will need to provide the OBPR with the decision RIS for approval before it decides on the proposed changes. The OBPR has approved the consultation RIS.

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is looking at options to reduce the risk of people slipping, tripping and falling in buildings. In this consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS), the ABCB reviews:

COAG agreed on 16 August 2010 to publish COAG Regulation Impact Statements (RISs) on the Best Practice Regulation Updates website from 1 July 2010. When COAG, Ministerial councils or national standard setting bodies develop regulatory proposals with significant impacts on businesses and individuals COAG’s Best Practice Regulation Requirements must be satisfied, and a RIS must be prepared for both the consultation and decision-making stages. The OBPR will publish COAG RISs and the OBPR’s assessment of the RISs as soon as practicable after the release of the RIS for consultation or the announcement of a policy decision. Where no RIS is prepared this will be reported on Best Practice Regulation Updates as soon as practicable after announcement of the policy decision.

The first RIS to be published on our new web site relates to changes to product disclosure statements. These changes were announced on 23 June. The changes will limit the number of pages in product disclosure statements for superannuation, managed investment schemes, and margin loan products. These measures have been spurred by various independent reports which indicated that under the current arrangements product disclosure statements lacked clarity and contained irrelevant information which was not helpful to investors. The OBPR has approved the RIS.

The new best practice regulation system came into effect on July 1st.  With it comes a new Handbook.  There are a number of changes to the system but the main change is this web site. RISs will now be all in the one spot and they will be put up on this web site shortly after the decision is announced.  Compliance with the best practice requirements will also go ‘live’ with non-compliance reported on this web site. The web site also provides a ‘blog’ facility for you to comment on regulation news items especially RISs.