Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Youth and Employment Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

It is more important than ever to ensure our regulatory settings are the best they can be. The Morrison government is committed to implementing regulatory settings that cement our economic recovery that is led by business, and delivers benefits to all Australians.

The deregulation agenda is taking a whole-of-government approach to regulatory policy. This will make sure regulations are well designed, fit for purpose and support businesses to grow and create jobs.

Under the deregulation agenda, this government has:

Regulator performance

The government understands in relation to regulator performance that even well-designed regulation can be undone by poor implementation or culture.

The government's stewardship approach to regulatory reform is focused on maintaining essential regulatory safeguards while reducing the compliance burden on business and communities and administrative burden for government.

As part of its stewardship approach, in October 2020, the government established a regulator performance function in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

This function is working across Commonwealth agencies to increase accountability, promote best practice, build the professionalism of regulators and support cultural change.

The performance of our regulators is important. Regulator responsiveness throughout COVID-19 has showcased what can be achieved when regulators are flexible and pragmatic in delivering solutions while maintaining essential safeguards.

Through its regulator performance work program, the government has stepped up to make sure regulators are clear on what we expect from them and what best practice looks like.

In June last year, the government launched the new Regulator Performance Guide. The guide sets out the principles of best practice that underpin the government's expectations of regulators.

Regulators are required to demonstrate, in their performance reporting, how they are delivering against these expectations.

By being clear on what we expect from regulators, we hold them accountable and support them to demonstrate best practice.

As part of this approach, ministers are setting out tailored performance objectives for regulators within their portfolios through publicly available ministerial statements of expectations. These statements are issued by the responsible minister to a regulator. They provide clarity about government policies and objectives relevant to the regulator's statutory objectives and how it conducts its operations.

The regulator responds to a ministerial statement of expectation with a regulator statement of intent that identifies how it will deliver on the government's expectations.

These statements are now being integrated into performance reporting as required under the PGPA Act. This supports accountability, and builds trust and confidence in our regulatory settings.

The guide is just one of the important pieces of work under the deregulation agenda which will continue to have a positive impact on Australia's regulatory landscape for years to come.

Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill

Today I am introducing a further mechanism that supports best practice regulator performance: the Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill 2022.

This bill will fix a broad range of administrative or legacy laws that frustrate regulators, businesses and the community.

For too long, both businesses and regulators have been wading through a sea of unnecessary paperwork or process. It is time to update the laws which prevent our businesses and regulators from operating effectively in 2022.

This bill is the first of its kind in the Commonwealth to take a whole-of-government approach to regulator best practice and performance.

The bill responds to feedback received from the Regulator Leadership Cohort.

The cohort comprises senior Commonwealth regulatory leaders brought together by the Secretaries Board to provide a regulator's perspective on the government's program of work to lift regulator performance.

The cohort has identified that outdated administrative legislative provisions can be a constraint on regulator effectiveness. They can prevent regulators from engaging with business and supporting compliance in a modern and flexible way.

The bill brings together 46 administrative amendments across 18 Commonwealth acts, which will support best practice regulator performance by:

The measures in the bill are not controversial. This does not mean they are not significant. Collectively, the measures will help to reduce the regulatory compliance burden and support business investment and jobs growth.

Measures in the Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill

For example, the bill will streamline the indexation of certain thresholds and amounts under the Bankruptcy Act 1966.Indexation will now occur annually rather than biannually or quarterly, reducing the administrative burden on the regulator and regulated community.

The proposed amendments will mean the Australian Financial Security Authority can provide simpler and clearer information for debtors and creditors. Also, insolvency practitioners, and broader users of the system such as financial counsellors, will only need to update their systems and websites once a year.

The bill introduces more flexibility into how classes of products can be defined in a determination made under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012.

The proposed measure will allow the intended use of a product, rather than just the product's technical specifications, to be the basis for regulating a product class. The amendments will help to get more energy-efficient products onto the Australian market, enable better alignment with international standards, and could reduce double regulation of products.

Under the National Health Act 1953, a pharmacist can request that the Minister for Health and Aged Care exercise their discretion to approve the supply of pharmaceutical benefits at particular premises. This is currently a two-stage process, which can take up to six months. This is frustrating and time-consuming for the applicant. It also delays the community's access to pharmaceutical benefits in circumstances where the minister decides to exercise their discretion, and imposes an administrative burden on government resources.

In this bill, the two-stage process is proposed to be streamlined and condensed into a single-stage process of up to four months. This will help to reduce a significant administrative burden. And it will provide the community with more timely access to pharmaceutical benefits.

Finally, the bill gets rid of redundant legislation. For example, the bill proposes the repeal of the Cockatoo and Schnapper Islands Act 1949. Although the act is administered by the Department of Defence, they have not managed the Cockatoo and Snapper Islands for many years.

The repeal of this act will remove a piece of redundant legislation from the statute books. And it will create certainty for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and the Department of Finance about their current management of the islands.

Consultation on the Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill

The Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill is the first Commonwealth bill to take a whole-of-government approach to regulator practice and performance. It showcases listening to and acting on changes put forward across seven portfolios and 13 regulators.

An exposure draft of the bill was released for public consultation from 13 December 2021 to 14 January this year. This ensures that the bill is informed by business and community expectations of regulators.

Submissions on the exposure draft were supportive, with many stakeholders welcoming the proposed changes to legislation in their remit. Minor changes were made to the final version of the bill following consultation, to reflect feedback received.

States and territories were also consulted on amendments to the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 and the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012.

It is clear that all stakeholders are fed up with unnecessary red tape that costs them money and time. The Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill is a welcome mechanism for regulators and businesses alike.

Conclusion

The Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill is an important piece of the architecture that supports our regulatory stewardship approach.

If passed, it will be a key moment in the story of the Australian government's deregulation agenda.

The bill will make the jobs of regulators easier. It will make doing business easier. And it will support the growth of the Australian economy.

Let's get rid of unnecessary laws and get on with doing business.

Debate adjourned.