AGY-5354 | Better Regulation Office

Full description

In 2006, the New South Wales Government requested the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) investigate any unnecessary regulatory burden imposed on business and the community and to make recommendations to reduce that burden. One of the Tribunal’s recommendations was the establishment of a Better Regulation Office and on 9 November 2006, the New South Wales Government announced the creation of the Better Regulation Office to be an advocate for best practice regulation making across government. (1)

The Better Regulation Office was established administratively in January 2007 within the Cabinet Office as a special unit - which were created from time-to-time to facilitate the achievement of Government objectives in certain areas. (2) The Better Regulation Office was fully operational by June 2007 and supported the Minister Assisting the Treasurer on Business and Economic Regulatory Reform. (3)

The Better Regulation Office was established to:
i) provide ongoing advice and practical tools to agencies to assist in meeting the requirements of good regulatory process, including guidance on alternative regulatory forms, risk analysis and cost-benefit analysis;
ii) provide a central source of information on best practice regulation;
iii) conduct targeted reviews into identified areas where reduction of regulatory burden would have benefits across the State’s economy or multiple industries within the State’s economy;
iv) provide an annual report on compliance with the Government’s regulatory process requirements;
v) review and advise the Minister on the implementation of good regulatory processes across government;
vi) provide technical and analytical support to the Minister. (4)

The Better Regulation Office was responsible for developing reforms to the broader processes around regulatory impact assessment and regulation making, and would develop enhanced requirements for post-implementation review. These reforms would include:
i) a new guide to best practice regulation, including a whole-of-government consultation policy, to replace the current guide “From Red Tape to Results – Government Regulation: A Guide to Best Practice”;
ii) enhanced requirements for regulatory impact assessment, including a new requirement for a formal ‘decision making’ Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for significant proposals. The Minister will certify the adequacy of ‘decision making’ RIS;
iii) an enhanced program of rolling review of the stock of regulation in New South Wales, with strengthened and better co-ordinated processes. (5)

The Better Regulation Office was transferred to the Department of Premier and Cabinet when the Cabinet Office was abolished and its branches transferred to the Department of Premier and Cabinet on 27 April 2007. The efficacy of the Better Regulation Office was to be reviewed within three years of its commencement of operations. (6)

In 2010 the Better Regulation Office was located in the General Counsel Division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. (7) The first Annual Update was released in October 2008. The Better Regulation Office's role was to drive regulatory reform that would benefit the NSW economy and the Office was an advocate for better practice regulation making across government. (8)

The DPC restructured from October 2012 creating 'central agency groups' rather than divisions. The General Counsel Division was ceased and the Better Regulation Office was moved into the Strategic Initiatives & Performance Group within DPC. (9)

By September 2013, the Better Regulation Office appears to have ceased under a DPC restructure. (10)

Endnotes
1. Policy Statement, Final Government Response to IPARTs [Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal] “Investigation into the Burden of Regulation and Improving Regulatory Efficiency”: Recommendations 1-16, 13 February 2007, NSW Government, accessed on Cabinet Office website www.cabinet.nsw.gov.au/better_regulation_office, accessed 6 August 2007.
2. loc. cit.; also www.cabinet.nsw.gov.au/about_us, accessed 6 August 2007.
3. Cabinet Office website, www.cabinet.nsw.gov.au/better_regulation_office, accessed 12 June 2007.
4. loc. cit.
5. loc .cit.
6. Recommendation 14 in Policy Statement, Final Government Response to IPARTs [Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal] “Investigation into the Burden of Regulation and Improving Regulatory Efficiency”: Recommendations 1-16, 13 February 2007, NSW Government, accessed on Cabinet Office website www.cabinet.nsw.gov.au/better_regulation_office, accessed 6 August 2007.
7. Better Regulation Office website http://www.betterregulation.nsw.gov.au/, accessed 16 June 2010.
8. Better Regulation Office website, About Us http://www.betterregulation.nsw.gov.au/about_us, accessed 16 June 2010.
9. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Annual Report 2011-2012, pp.8-9.
10. Department of Premier and Cabinet, Organisational Department Structure, 10 September 2013.