The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has launched a public consultation program aimed at helping regulators improve their responses in times of unexpected crisis.
In a statement, PM&C said it was consulting publicly to ensure any recommendations from the project were informed by community expectations and the experiences of regulators.
“The purpose of the consultation is to identify and learn from the COVID-19 pandemic so regulators can increase business resilience and respond efficiently and effectively in times of market shock and disruption,” PM&C said.
“The consultation will identify any changes to legislation and regulatory powers required to support business while still maintaining essential safeguards, and identify best practice in regulation design and regulator approaches,” it said.
PM&C said the consultation would include a survey seeking the views of 1,000 businesses and 2,500 individuals on their experiences with regulators over the past 12 months.
“The survey findings will provide insights to help regulators improve their performance and share existing best practice,” it said.
“They will also inform the Government’s program of work to lift regulator performance, capability and culture.
“The survey will ask questions of stakeholders mapped against the three best practice principles: Continuous improvement and building trust; risk-based and data driven; collaboration and engagement.”
The Department said survey findings were expected in mid-2022.
“The COVID-19 pandemic presented unforeseen challenges to all levels of Government and to industry, requiring regulators to respond flexibly in the face of uncertainty,” PM&C said.
“While this has been an extraordinary global event, it has highlighted the importance of regulatory agility.
“There is now an important opportunity to draw on these lessons to improve regulatory design and practices and consider how policy makers and regulators can better help business respond to market shocks and disruptions in the future.”
Consultation closes on 16 May and details on how to make a submission can be accessed at this PS News link.
