Annual Regulatory Plan

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport (the Department), like other Australian Government agencies with responsibility for business regulation, is required to publish a regulatory plan each financial year. The Department’s regulatory plans contain information on:

• changes to business regulation which occurred during the previous financial year, and
• details of legislative or other action planned for the current financial year which could lead to changes in business regulation.

What regulation does a regulatory plan cover?

A regulatory plan covers business regulation. This includes primary legislation, subordinate legislation, quasi-regulation or treaties that directly affect business, have a significant indirect effect on business, or restrict competition.

The term ‘quasi-regulation’ refers to rules or arrangements under which Government influences businesses to comply, but which do not form part of explicit Government regulation. Some examples of quasi-regulation include industry codes of practice, guidance notes, industry-government agreements and accreditation schemes.

A regulatory plan does not include information on:

• regulations of a minor or machinery nature that do not substantially alter existing arrangements;
• regulations that involve consideration of specific Government purchases;
• regulations of a state or self-governing territory that apply in a non-self governing territory; or
• anticipated activity about which it would be inappropriate to publish information.

In addition, there may be some regulatory activities that the Department is unable to forecast.

In view of these exclusions, readers should not take this regulatory plan to be a comprehensive source of information on past or potential changes to business regulation.

How up-to-date is information in this regulatory plan?

This plan was published on 29 July 2011.

• Annual Regulatory Plan 2011–12 [DOC: 377 KB] [PDF: 332 KB]