Consultation on legislation to lift regulator performance

Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet,
Minister for the Public Service,
Special Minister of State

The Morrison Government is seeking feedback on legislation aimed to lift regulator performance, capability and culture as part of Australia’s Deregulation Agenda.

Minister Assisting the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ben Morton, said the Regulator Performance Omnibus Bill will fix a broad range of administrative or legacy laws that frustrate regulators, businesses and the community.

“We are removing outdated and unnecessary regulations that prevent regulators from operating efficiently or engaging with businesses in a modern and flexible way,” Minister Morton said.

“For too long both businesses and regulators have been wading through a sea of unnecessary paperwork or process – from provisions that are legally ambiguous, to those that are downright unnecessary.

“We have listened to these frustrations and this Bill acts on them. But we want to make sure these changes work for businesses, the community and regulators-so I strongly encourage anyone impacted to have their say.”

The Government has released a draft of the Bill with 46 amendments across

17 Commonwealth Acts that will improve or streamline administrative processes, remove provisions that serve no current purpose, or remove legal uncertainty.

The Bill is the first of its kind to take a whole-of-government approach to regulator best practice and performance.

The exposure draft includes proposed amendments that:

  • Streamline the process to approve a pharmacist to supply pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme,
  • Simplify provisions and align grace periods for trade mark registration under the Trade Marks Act 1995,
  • Streamline the process for issuing corrected Building Energy Efficiency Certificates under the Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010,
  • Reduce registration burden for bespoke or customised products, under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012, and
  • Align provisions relating to reviewable decisions for providers regulated by both the Australian Skills Quality Authority and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.

The exposure draft laws and accompanying draft explanatory documents are available on theDeregulation Agenda website. Consultation will close 14 January 2022.

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