Regulation and its review 2002-03
Annual report series
Regulation and its Review 2002-03 was released on 7 November 2003. The report forms part of the Commission's annual report series and meets its obligation to report annually on compliance by Australian Government departments and agencies with the Government's Regulation Impact Statement (RIS).
As in last year's report, RIS compliance information is provided for individual departments and agencies, with a focus on significant regulatory issues. The present volume also examines developments in regulatory policy in selected OECD countries.
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Individual chapters (ZIP 1.2 MB)An important element of the Australian Government's regulatory policy is the requirement to prepare Regulation Impact Statements (RISs) for proposed new and amended regulation which affects business.
Many OECD countries have similar processes for improving the quality of regulations. Some countries have recently strengthened their requirements. The Australian Government's processes have a high degree of consistency with OECD best practice principles.
Overall, the compliance of departments and agencies in 2002-03 with the RIS requirements at the decision-making stage of policy development was lower than the previous year:
- Adequate RISs were prepared for 81 per cent of 139 regulatory proposals (compared to 88 per cent in 2001-02).
- Compliance for regulatory proposals assessed as having a more significant impact on business and the community was noticeably lower at 46 per cent (compared to 70 per cent in 2001-02).
As in previous years, compliance with the Government's RIS requirements varied considerably both among and within portfolios. While 12 departments and agencies achieved compliance rates of 100 per cent, 11 did not comply fully.
In 2002-03, some departments and agencies took steps to integrate more effectively the RIS requirements into their broader policy development processes. However, others continue to treat the RIS process largely as an 'add-on'.
Over the last five years, the average RIS compliance rate was 82 per cent. Of the 33 departments and agencies responsible for preparing RISs over this period, five were fully compliant in all years, with a further 17 being fully compliant in one or more years.
In 2002-03, compliance by Ministerial Councils and national standard-setting bodies with the Council of Australian Governments' RIS requirements was 89 per cent, down from 97 per cent in 2001-02.
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