Published Impact Analyses

On 26 May 2021, the Australian Government introduced the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Titles Administration and Other Measures) Bill 2021 and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Regulatory Levies) Amendment Bill 2021 into Parliament.

As Australia’s oil and gas industry matures, there are an increasing number of projects and assets reaching end of life in the next 30 years, with an estimated decommissioning liability of A$60 billion. The regulatory framework and the posture of the regulator, will need adapt to meet the changing needs of the offshore industry, which is beginning to focus on mid-to-end of life activities, while also remaining attractive to encourage new investment in the regime.

A RIS, considering three options, was prepared to support the Australian Government in approaching this problem. The options considered were:

On 11 May, the Government announced a suite of Financial Market Infrastructure Regulatory Reforms.

Consistent with the Government’s Regulatory Impact Analysis requirements, a number of independent reviews have been certified by the Treasury as meeting the requirements of a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess the quality of independent reviews and RIS-like documents used in lieu of a RIS, but does assess whether the options analysed in the reviews are relevant to the regulatory proposal. The OBPR assessed that the options analysed in the materials certified by the Treasury are sufficiently relevant to the regulatory proposal.

The Treasury estimates the average annual regulatory cost at $0.3 million.

Please note: any accessibility queries should be directed to the Treasury.

On 2 June 2021, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced the implementation of reforms to spectrum pricing. The reforms include reducing tax rates for services above 5GHz, introducing a ‘systems price’ for co-located earth stations authorised under the same licence and introducing an additional price discount for ‘micro’ land-mobile services.

Consistent with the Government’s Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) requirements, the Spectrum Pricing Review has been certified by the ACMA as meeting the requirements of a RIS.

On 3 June 2021, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) published a final determination and rule titled National Electricity Amendment (Implementing a general power system risk review) Rule 2021.

The rule establishes an annual general power system risk review (GPSRR) in which the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) would identify and assess, in collaboration with Network Service Providers (NSPs), priority risks to power system security that it expects would be likely to lead to cascading outages or major supply disruptions. The rule requires AEMO to complete the first GPSRR by 31 July 2023.

The AEMC believes this would increase the transparency of emerging system security risks that may need to be managed, helping AEMO, NSPs and market participants better understand the nature of the new risks as they emerge.

On 21 April 2021, the Government announced a commitment to modernising laws within the Treasury portfolio so they are technology neutral.

The first phase of legislative reform will focus on the key areas raised by stakeholders which are implementation-ready. These include:

On 20 May 2021, the Australian Ministers responsible for work health and safety (WHS) considered the recommendations from the 2018 Review of the model WHS laws (the Review) and agreement was reached for action on all 34 recommendations of the Review.

Areas addressed by the Review included the legislative framework; duties of care; consultation representation and participation; compliance and enforcement; prosecutions and legal proceedings; and the Model WHS Regulations.

On 11 May 2021, as part of the 2021-2022 Budget, the Australian Government announced changes to the Prostheses List. The Prostheses List is the schedule to the Private Health Insurance (Prostheses) Rules made under the Private Health Insurance Act 2007. 

Through these reforms, the price paid by private health insurers for medical devices, known as prostheses, will be better aligned with the price paid in the public hospital system. Additional improvements will also be made, including better defining which prostheses are eligible for inclusion on the Prostheses List; regrouping the items on the Prostheses List; and updating cost recovery arrangements.

On 11 May 2021, in response to the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (Royal Commission), the Australian Government announced a package of support and reform to aged care as part of the 2021-22 Budget.

The Government’s response to the Royal Commission is a five year–five pillar aged care reform plan addressing home care, residential aged care services and sustainability, residential aged care quality and safety, the workforce, and governance.  

On 31 Jul 2019, the Government introduced regulations to establish a registration and accreditation scheme for Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) (commonly referred to as ‘drones’), model aircraft, and operators. The initial component of the regulations (affecting operators of RPA flown for business or as part of a job) came into effect on 28 January 2021.

The growing use of RPA in Australia directly correlates with a significant increase in RPA safety incidents reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau since 2012. The most concerning occurrences pose a risk for the safety of conventionally piloted aircraft and for people on the ground.

On 11 May 2021, as part of measures to improve the affordability and sustainability of private health insurance, the Australian Government announced improvements to the certification process for admitting patients to hospital for procedures normally provided out of hospital.

The Government will work with Australia’s medical colleges and other stakeholders to establish specific guidance around when hospitalisation is clinically required. Additionally, the Professional Standards Review will be allowed to review inappropriate practices around certifications by doctors or associated hospitals to ensure the integrity of the current arrangements that safeguard patients’ access to treatments needed to be delivered in hospital.