Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of the coalition, I move the amendment on sheet 2470, which deals with the matter of a review mechanism:

(1) Page 2 (after line 14), after clause 3, insert:

4 Review of operation of amendments

(1) The Minister must cause an independent review to be undertaken of the operation of the amendments made by Schedule 1 to this Act.

(2) The review must commence as soon as practicable after the end of the period of 24 months after the commencement of this Act.

(3) The persons who undertake the review must give the Minister a written report of the review within 6 months of the commencement of the review.

(4) The Minister must cause a copy of the report of the review to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the report is given to the Minister.

In her contribution, Senator Walsh, who is chair of the Senate Economics Committee, made the accurate observation that this particular bill does enjoy widespread support from stakeholders. On the coalition side we don't dispute that. While this is a small amendment, in the sense that it's not particularly complex, we think it's an important amendment to maintain high levels of confidence in the scheme and to ensure that some of the reservations or concerns that were highlighted by some stakeholders during the inquiry process are tested in that review mechanism.

I want to read into the Hansard the concerns of three particular stakeholders, who identified that a review mechanism like the one that the coalition is proposing—and we're pleased to hear that the government will be supporting it. The three stakeholders were the Insurance Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Insurance Brokers Association.

Firstly, the Insurance Council of Australia said:

As with the introduction of any regulatory or legislative change, it will be important for the regime to be reviewed to ensure ongoing effectiveness while managing any unintended consequences that may arise. As such, we recommend inclusion of a formal 'post implementation review' mechanism at three years following the commencement of the regime, as well as an ongoing review mechanism. The initial post implementation review timeframe should allow sufficient evidence of the value of the regime, as well as allow for surfacing of any unintended consequences resulting from the regime's introduction.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said:

While this reform has been modelled on the existing super complaints pathway in the UK, it would be appropriate to conduct a review 18 months after it comes into effect. The review should consider the process by which a consumer or small business advocacy group can become a designated complainant, the effectiveness of the pathway for raising complaints, any cap placed on the number of designated complaints and complainants, and any other related matters.

A review would also be able to identify whether resourcing for the ACCC is appropriate and whether it is being diverted away from dealing with its regulatory priorities, and whether the pathway has given rise to irrelevant, vexatious or frivolous complaints.

The National Insurance Brokers Association said:

As with all regulatory or legislative changes, it is imperative that the regime be periodically reviewed to ensure it is achieving policy objectives while addressing any unintended consequences that may have arisen.

NIBA recommends that the legislation be amended to include a requirement that the designated complaints regime be formally reviewed, with the review to commence no later than three years after the regime commences. This review should also have regard to the allocation of ACCC resources between identified enforcement priorities and the designation complaints regime, ensuring that resources are appropriately allocated to address emerging challenges and priorities.

The amendment moved by the opposition with regard to this bill—and I'm pleased to hear, and just to restate, it will be supported by the government—will seek to do four things: to establish an independent review, to ensure the review is undertaken within a period of 24 months after the commencement of the Act, to ensure that a written report of the review is provided within six months of the commencement of the review and to ensure that the parliament has some visibility of that review of the arrangements and that the review be tabled in the parliament within 15 sitting days. With that, I commend the amendment to colleagues.

Question agreed to.

Bill, as amended, agreed to.

Bill reported with an amendment; report adopted.