Regulation development and review
The Queensland Office for Regulatory Efficiency plays a central role in the Queensland Government’s regulatory development and review processes, including regulatory impact assessment.
Subordinate regulation
A Regulatory Impact Statement provides the means through which regulatory proposals and associated policy deliberations are clearly documented and subject to public scrutiny prior to implementation. It serves as a policy tool to assess systematically the impacts of proposed and existing regulations.
The 2009 Regulatory Impact Statement Procedures and Requirements provide useful guidance and information on the processes and procedures policy officers need to follow to ensure regulatory proposals meets statutory requirements and regulatory best practice.
The Regulatory Impact Statement Assessment Form enables officers undertaking regulatory development activities to self assess the need for undertaking a RIS process in line with requirements of Part 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1992.
Productivity Commission
The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government's independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues. To help implement the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) 2006 agreement on benchmarking and measuring the burdens of regulation on Australian business, the Commission was asked to examine the quantity and quality of regulation and benchmark the administrative compliance costs of business registrations.
In December 2008, the Commission released two companion reports addressing these areas.
On 24 October 2008, COAG's Business Regulation and Competition Working Group agreed that the Commission should study the regulation of food safety and, of occupational health and safety, for the next phase of the benchmarking program. It is intended that these studies will complement COAG's reform processes and initiatives, and those of the jurisdictions themselves.
The Queensland Office for Regulatory Efficiency is a member of the Productivity Commission's Advisory Panel on the performance benchmarking studies and acts as liaison between the Commission and the Queensland Government and agencies.
For further information about performance benchmarking, visit the Productivity Commission website.
Mutual recognition
All Australian governments entered into the Mutual Recognition Agreement in 1992, and together with New Zealand entered into the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement in 1996.
The Mutual Recognition Agreement and Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement seek to promote economic integration of the participating jurisdictions by reducing regulatory impediments to the movement of goods and provision of services across Australasia, through the implementation of mutual recognition principles that, subject to some exceptions:
- a good that may legally be sold in one participating jurisdiction can also be sold in another, regardless of differences in standards or other sale-related regulatory requirements
- a person registered to practise an occupation in one participating jurisdiction can practise an equivalent occupation in another, without the need to undergo further testing or examination.
Queensland Treasury administers the relevant Queensland mutual recognition legislation and provides advice and assistance to agencies on the application of mutual recognition in Queensland.
For further information about mutual recognition, visit the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) website.
Related links
Last reviewed 29 September 2009
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