Australia's flawed Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) process

Since 1985 a <i>Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS)</i> has been mandatory for all Cabinet submissions and applies to every government agency operating under the PGPA Act 2013. This 'systematic approach to critically assessing the positive and negative aspects of proposed and existing regulations and non-regulatory alternatives', when supported by a cost/benefit analysis, is intended to mitigate unintended consequences and subsequent revisions needs. As Federal Government agencies, such as the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, operate outside direct parliamentary oversight it also constitutes a protective mechanism against agency capture risk. Efficacy concerns arise, however, through extensive (bi-partisan) use of carve-outs, election promises and Prime Ministerial exemptions. This article highlights the impact of non-adherence to the RIS process in three cases: establishment of the National Broadband Network, the introduction of the <i>Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE)</i> licensing regime and the establishment of the <i>Future of Financial Advice (FOFA)</i> reforms - and considers more broadly the ramifications of discretionary by-pass provisions