Published impact analyses for decisions announced by the Australian Government, ministerial forums and national standard setting bodies.
On 2 December 2015 the Government introduced the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Access Regime and NBN Companies) Bill 2015. One element of the bill considers changes to authorisations to NBN Co. to engage in three specific forms of conduct for competition law purposes:
On 18 May 2016, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) wrote to the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) advising that the authority to certify Regulation Impact Statements (RISs) will be delegated to Deputy Commissioner-level officers in the ATO and to the Assistant Commissioner, Revenue Analysis Branch. This is consistent with recent changes to improve flexibility in the RIS process by allowing agencies to delegate the certification authority to any Senior Executive Services (SES) level officers. To ensure transparency, the ATO’s certification to delegate authority has been published on the OBPR website, and can be found below.
On 3 May 2016, as part of revenue measures announced in the Australian Government’s 2016-17 Budget, the Government announced changes to regulations to introduce a new mandatory export fodder levy. The changes commencing on 1 July 2016 will introduce a statutory levy (as a charge of $0.50 per tonne) on all hay and straw exported. The aim of the levy, which was proposed by the export fodder industry, is to secure ongoing funding to support export fodder research, development and extension. This levy replaces a voluntary levy arrangement. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) prepared by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has been assessed as compliant and consistent with best practice by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. The RIS estimates the average annual regulatory cost at about $2000 per annum. The OBPR has agreed to the regulatory burden estimate.
In April 2009, the then Government announced the establishment of the National Broadband Network (NBN). In December 2010, the then Government announced its response to the NBN Implementation Study. Both announcements were exempted by the then Prime Minister from the Government’s RIS requirements, on the basis of exceptional circumstances. As a result, under the Government’s best practice requirements, the then Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy was required to complete a post-implementation review (PIR). Three separate reviews have been collectively used to meet the PIR requirements. These reviews included:
On 17 March 2016, the Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer introduced the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Choice of Fund) Bill 2016. The bill allows employees under enterprise agreements and workplace determinations to choose the fund into which their compulsory employer superannuation payments are made. A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was prepared by the Department of the Treasury and assessed as compliant and consistent with best practice by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. The RIS estimates the proposal will increase regulatory burden by $3.97 million per annum. The OBPR agreed to the regulatory costs and offsets.
On 10 February 2016 the Commonwealth Treasurer introduced the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill 2016. The bill amends the farm management deposit provisions in the income tax law to:
The Department of the Treasury was assessed as compliant with the Government’s RIS requirements and consistent with best practice by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The proposals are expected to increase regulatory costs by $854,000 per annum. The costs and offsets were agreed with the OBPR.