Issued with Regulation and its Review 2005-06 on 1 December 2006. See also: key points.

In its annual publication Regulation and its Review 2005-06, released today, the Productivity Commission finds that compliance with the governments Regulation Impact Statement requirements for that year was lower than in previous years. The Commission also notes that the Government's New Regulation Framework is being implemented and that it aims to remedy the causes of poor regulatory performance.

The Commission reports that at the decision-making stage for new regulatory proposals in 2005-06:

• adequate RISs were prepared for 71 per cent of the regulatory proposals that required a RIS (compared with an average compliance rate of 85 per cent over the previous three years), and
• of the 21 departments and agencies that were required to prepare RISs, 10 were fully compliant.

The equivalent compliance rate for Ministerial Councils and national standard-setting bodies was 76 per cent in 2005-06, also somewhat lower than in preceding years.

Following the Australian Government's response to its Regulation Taskforce report, a number of reform measures are being implemented, including the strengthening of the RIS and related requirements. They involve a whole-of-government policy on consultation, more rigorous cost-benefit analysis, and quantification of business compliance costs.

The role and resourcing of the Office of Regulation Review have been enhanced, as the new Office of Best Practice Regulation, to enable it to become a 'one stop shop' on good regulatory practice. The new office will provide greater assistance and support to departments and agencies, as well as monitoring compliance with the requirements of the New Regulatory Framework.