Edition 7 - November 2020
Welcome to the seventh edition of Regulation Policy & Practice, a free monthly newsletter designed for regulators in Australia and New Zealand and beyond.
This month’s newsletter has two complementary feature articles on New Zealand’s approach to ‘regulatory stewardship’. The first, by Professor Jeroen van der Heijden, Chair in Regulatory Practice at Victoria University of Wellington, raises some thought-provoking questions about the different meanings of ‘regulatory stewardship’ and how its various dimensions might be effectively operationalised. The second, by Dr Rebecca Foley of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, provides a practitioner’s perspective on how ‘regulatory stewardship’ has transformed MBIE’s systems framework, institutions, culture and practices
Other content comes from a wide range of regulatory agencies and can be further explored in the Regulation Policy & Practice Collection on APO.
If you have content suggestions for this collection contact Penelope Aitken (Collections Editor, APO) paitken@apo.org.au
We also welcome topic suggestions for subsequent editions. Contact Monica Pfeffer (Director of Practitioner Engagement, ANZSOG) regulators@anzsog.edu.au
GUEST EDITORIAL
Regulatory stewardship is described by the NZ Treasury as involving government regulatory agencies adopting a whole-of-system, lifecycle view of regulation, and taking a proactive, collaborative approach to the monitoring and care of the regulatory system(s) within which they have policy or operational responsibilities.
Professor Jeroen van der Heijden (Chair in Regulatory Practice, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington) and Dr Rebecca Foley is (manager of MBIE’s Regulatory Stewardship Development team) both offer their unique insight into regulatory stewardship in our joint guest editorial.
NEW THIS MONTH
COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry: interim report and recommendations
Government of Victoria
6 Nov 2020 | Report | Government, Health
This interim report identifies issues that have emerged from the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Board of Inquiry to date, and makes recommendations for a quarantine program in Victoria, as the state begins to consider re-opening to international arrivals.
Inquiries into NBN access pricing and wholesale service standards: final report
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
4 Nov 2020 | Report | Communications, Economics
This report sets out the ACCC's findings in respect to their public inquiries into National Broadband Network (NBN) entry level pricing and NBN wholesale service standards.
Everything in moderation: platforms, communities and users in a healthy online environment
Demos
31 Oct 2020 | Report | Communications, Social issues
This paper argues that the principles and practice underpinning most major digital platforms have failed to create healthy online spaces, and that current attempts by states to regulate these spaces will fall short of addressing the root causes of this failure.
ASIC in hot water
Saturday Extra, ABC Radio National
31 Oct 2020 | Audio | Economics, Justice
In the wake of the expenses scandal which has rocked the top echelons of the corporate watchdog, fresh questions are being asked about ASIC's efficacy, but could this be a chance to build a better regulator?
Privacy Act review: issues paper
Government of Australia
30 Oct 2020 | Discussion paper | Justice, Technology
The digital economy has brought with it immense benefits including new, faster and better products and services. As Australians spend more of their time online, and new technologies emerge, more personal information about individuals is being captured and processed, raising questions as to whether Australian privacy law is fit for purpose.
Improving road safety in Australia
Parliament of Australia
30 Oct 2020 | Report | Built environment, Social issues
This inquiry was established to inquire into and report on the steps that can be taken to reduce Australia's road accident rates, and investigate the impact of trauma and death on our roads.
Just transition: implications for the corporate sector and financial institutions in Australia
Global Compact Network Australia
29 Oct 2020 | Report | Economics, Science
Australian corporates and financial institutions have an important role to play in facilitating a fair, timely and efficient transition to a net zero emissions economy – as stewards of assets, allocators of capital and as influential voices in public policy to make sure that the transition produces inclusive and sustainable development.
Gas reservation issues paper
Government of Australia
27 Oct 2020 | Discussion paper | Economics, Environment
This issues paper outlines a range of issues on which it seeks information and feedback. The paper provides a short factual overview of Australia’s gas markets and regulatory interventions to date and briefly summarises the issues created by prospective gas reservation.
Inquiry into the National Electricity Market: September 2020
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
19 Oct 2020 | Report | Economics
This report has been prepared as part of the ACCC's inquiry into the prices, profits and margins in the supply of electricity in the National Electricity Market. The supplementary report sets out recent market developments, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on electricity use and affordability, the response of regulators and industry to the pandemic’s effects, and updates on our electricity sector monitoring and enforcement work.
Australian Communications and Media Authority and Office of the eSafety Commissioner annual reports 2019-20
Australian Communications and Media Authority
15 Oct 2020 | Annual Report | Communications, Technology
Providing information about the ACMA’s and eSafety’s performance for 2019–20, this report contains key corporate information and details against the mandatory reporting requirements.
Select Committee on the Aboriginal Flag: report
Parliament of Australia
13 Oct 2020 | Report | Indigenous, Justice
The Senate Select Committee on the Aboriginal Flag was established in September 2020 to inquire into and report on current and former copyright and licensing arrangements for the Aboriginal flag design. This report outlines the Committee's recommendations.
Improving the transparency of higher education admissions
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA)
9 Oct 2020 | Report | Education
This report presents TEQSA’s summative evaluation of the sector’s responses against the Higher Education Standards Panel’s recommendations to achieve greater transparency in the admissions information for higher education.
Identification of leading practices in ensuring evidence-based regulation of farm practices that impact water quality outcomes in the Great Barrier Reef
Parliament of Australia
8 Oct 2020 | Report | Environment
This report recommends the Australian and Queensland governments' commission additional research into the impact of the horticulture and banana industries on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef catchment regions.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
State of the energy market 2020
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
1 Jul 2020 | Report | Economics, Technology
This report provides an accessible review of the transmission and distribution networks and energy retail markets in eastern and southern Australia over 2019 and the early months of 2020.
Regulatory stewardship
New Zealand Treasury
18 May 2020 | Website | Government
Regulatory stewardship is a responsibility of government regulatory agencies. It involves them adopting a whole-of-system, lifecycle view of regulation, and taking a proactive, collaborative approach, to the monitoring and care of the regulatory system(s) within which they have policy or operational responsibilities.
Exploring regulatory approaches to consumer vulnerability: a report for the AER
Australian Energy Regulator, Consumer Policy Research Centre
26 Feb 2020 | Report | Economics, Social issues
Providing a contemporary understanding of consumer vulnerability, this report looks at why regulators are focusing on this in regulatory design, and provides some lessons and opportunities for change.
Regulatory charter: building regulatory system
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (New Zealand)
14 Jul 2017 | Policy | Government
Supporting the living regulatory system approach, this charter reinforces shared ownership for the system among those with regulatory functions and is designed to support cooperation between system participants and ensure any changes contribute to the desired outcomes of the system as a whole.
UPCOMING FREE EVENTS
Tuesday 17 November
4.30pm - 5.30pm AEDT
Facilitator: Genene O’Neill (Principal Behavioural Scientist, Queensland Department of Environment and Science)
Presenters: Dr Femke de Vries (Professor by special appointment, University of Groningen) and Will Day (Deputy Commissioner Integrated Compliance, ATO)
How is behavioural science being used effectively by financial regulators against the worst forms of fraud and money laundering and what can we all learn for our own compliance efforts?
Tuesday 1 December
11am - 12pm AEDT
Facilitator: A/Prof Rob Nicholls (UNSW Business School)
Presenters: Morag Bond (Joint General Manager – Digital Platforms Branch, ACCC) and Kate Reader(Joint General Manager – Digital Platforms Branch, ACCC)
What happens when a national consumer and competition regulator takes on the global digital superpowers in the interests of society, the economy and robust journalism?
We acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as First Peoples of Australia and Māori as tangata whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa-New Zealand.
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