Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

asked the Minister representing the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 19 December 2011:

With reference to the answer provided to question no. 72 taken on notice during the 2011 12 Supplementary Budget Estimates of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee:

(1) Can statistics be provided on the number of regulations promulgated for each of the past 5 calendar years, including a break-up by department.

(2) Does the department have information on where Australia fits in the world league table of regulation makers for example United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and the United States of America; if so, can a table detailing that information be provided.

(3) Does the department liaise with its state and offshore counterparts to benchmark the production of new regulations, and has it attended any conferences on this topic; if so, can the conference outcomes be provided.

(4) Has the department inquired into the level of powers conferred by regulation rather than by statute; if so, were these inquiries conducted internally and/or by external consultants to examine this matter and can a copy of the results/outcomes be provided.

(5) (a) What role, if any, does the department play in minimising the growth of regulations; (b) what checks and balances are in place; and (c) which branch and section of the department is responsible for recommending policy on growth of new regulations and/or administrative procedures relating to new regulations.

(6) What mechanisms are in place within the department to expunge old and outdated regulations and, if these mechanisms are different for other departments, can an outline be provided of those that differ from the Attorney-General's Department.

(7) What role does the Office of Parliament Counsel play in generating new regulations and does it have a role in monitoring and/or advising on 'regulation creep', for example, does it have an internal procedure to ensure that, where possible, material which might be included in subsequent regulations is actually inserted into a parent statute.