This Guide has been written to help policy makers see regulation in a new light. The Government’s rigorous approach to policy making seeks to ensure that regulation is never adopted as the default solution, but rather introduced as a means of last resort. Regulation can have benefits, but businesses, community organisations and families pay the price of poor regulation. Regulation can’t eliminate every risk, nor should it. We therefore seek better regulation, not more regulation. Policy...

Government has committed to improving the administration of regulation and the performance of regulators, including issuing of letters from Ministers to heads of regulators setting out performance expectations. These letters are to be issued by the end of March 2014. This guidance note is to advise departments and agencies on the drafting of the ministerial letters and the process for finalising these letters. Portfolios with internal regulators may wish to consider actioning this commitment...

The Government’s deregulation agenda requires the establishment of stakeholder consultation mechanisms by the end of 2013, for each Cabinet Minister. These mechanisms, otherwise called Ministerial Advisory Councils (MACs), will comprise business, not-for-profit and other industry stakeholders and will provide advice to each Cabinet Minister and their respective departments on opportunities to reduce red and green tape within their respective portfolios, as well as provide a broader consultation...

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet - Annual Report 2012-13