Australian Regulatory Compliance Review

COAG Communique 2 July 2009

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on 2 July 2009 focussed on further measures to overcome Indigenous disadvantage and the importance against the background of the global economic and financial crises of bolstering education, training and re-training efforts and securing further microeconomic and regulatory reform to enhance the economy’s future productive potential.

On the regulation front, COAG signed an Intergovernmental Agreement to underpin the establishment of national Australian Consumer Law, based on existing consumer protection provisions and new product safety regulation and enforcement regime, and a further IGA covering national business names registration.

New legislation review

Parliament is on a winter break and will next sit from 11 to 20 August 2009.

It's left us with some significant new Bills to review:

• Australian Consumer Law and Trade Practices Amendments
• National Consumer Credit Reform Package
• Personal Property Securities
• Financial services modernisation: margin loans, trustee companies and debentures
• Director and executive termination payment changes

On 1 July we'll have:

• tax changes
• changes to superannuation contributions concessions
• new unfair dismissal rules under the Fair Work Act

And we're waiting for:

• assent and commencement of the anti-cartel laws;
• a decision on the new rules for employee share schemes.
• further updating on COAG's reform program.

Commonwealth Government Ministry changes

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced changes to his Ministry following the resignation of Joel Fitzgibbon and his replacement by Senator the Hon John Faulkner as Minister for Defence.

The changes include:

• Senator the Hon Joseph Ludwig will become Cabinet Secretary and Special Minister of State;
• The Hon Chris Bowen MP will enter Cabinet and be appointed Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, and Minister for Human Services;
• The Hon Dr Craig Emerson MP, Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy and Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation, will also become Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs;
• Senator the Hon Nick Sherry will be appointed Assistant Treasurer;
• The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP will be appointed Minister for Home Affairs, replacing the Hon Bob Debus MP who is retiring at the next election;
• The Hon Warren Snowdon MP will be appointed Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health and Regional Services Delivery;
• The Hon Kate Ellis MP will be appointed Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth and will continue as Minister for Sport;
• The Hon Greg Combet AM MP will enter the Ministry as the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science and the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change;
• Senator the Hon Mark Arbib will enter the Ministry as the Minister for Employment Participation and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Government Service Delivery;
• The Hon Maxine McKew MP will become Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government;
• The Hon Gary Gray AO MP has been appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Western and Northern Australia;
• Jason Clare MP will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Employment;
• Mark Butler MP will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Health;
• Richard Marles MP will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation.

Weekend video: A different kind of leadership thinking

In this video Ricardo Semler gives examples of longstanding problems and asks why a solution has not been found. For example why are automobiles made essentially the same way today as they were in Ford’s first assembly line 100 years ago?

BONUS: If you're interested in motor vehicles and the environment then also look at this video of Better Place founder Shai Agassi talk about electric cars.

2009-10 Budget details for business

The Budget details have been released.

Worth noting are:

• The Small Business and General Business Tax Break will be expanded to allow a bonus deduction of 50 per cent to small businesses with a turnover of less than $2 million that acquire an eligible asset between 13 December 2008 and 31 December 2009 and install it ready for use by 31 December 2010. The previously announced 30 per cent and 10 per cent bonuses will continue to apply to all other businesses.
• Paid parental leave from 1 January 2011;
• First Home Owners Grant reduction;
• expansion of the Do Not Call Register ;
• gradually increasing the Age Pension age to 67 years and the Retirement Incomes Report;
• changes to superannuation contributions concessions;
• tax compliance changes;
• changes to tax concessions on employee share schemes.

Full details of the tax measures are here.

Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs meeting 8 May 2009

The Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs (MCCA) met in Hobart on 8 May 2009 to develop an Intergovernmental Agreement on the new national consumer policy framework by 30 June 2009 that will lead to putting the new Australian Consumer Law in place by the end of 2010. Joint Communique

The meeting also discussed:

• A National Product Safety System
• Travel Compensation Fund
• Home Builders Warranty Insurance

As part of the move towards a single national consumer product safety system, a new Product Safety Recalls website – www.recalls.gov.au. was launched.

COAG communique 30 April 2009

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Hobart on 30 April 2009 has released a communique outlining its agreements including:

• national disaster arrangements;
• jobs and training;
• energy efficiency; and
• regulation reform.

COAG endorsed a series of reforms, recommended by the Business Regulation and Competition Working Group (BRCWG):

• a further step towards the development of a national licensing system for airconditioning and refrigeration mechanics,building and building related occupations,electrical,land transport (passenger vehicle drivers and dangerous goods only),maritime, plumbing and gasfitting and property agents;
• a further step towards the development of a National Construction Code, which will consolidate building, plumbing, electrical and telecommunications regulations;
• agreement to set up a taskforce on reform of the regulation of the legal profession, with the objective of uniform laws across jurisdictions;
• inclusion of the regulation of the not-for-profit sector as part of the BRCWG’s 2009 workplan; and
• agreement to the National Mine Safety Framework Implementation Report, which includes strategies for achieving a consistent Occupational Health and Safety regime in the mining industry.

International treaty database

Australia's laws are increasingly reflecting its obligations under international treaties.

The FLARE Index to Treaties which was launched in March 2009 is a fully searchable database indexing and listing over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from 1856 onwards.

Background article

Lobbyists Registers

Lobbyists Registers contain information about lobbyists who make representations to Government on behalf of their clients including:

• the business registration details and trading names of each lobbyist including, where the business is not a publicly listed company, the names of owners, partners or major shareholders, as applicable
• the names and positions of persons employed, contracted or otherwise engaged by the lobbyist to carry out lobbying activities, and
• the names of clients on whose behalf the lobbyist conducts lobbying activities.

The existing Registers are:

Australian Government Lobbyists Register

Queensland Register of Lobbyists

WA Lobbyists Register

NSW Register of Lobbyists

Peter Timmins comments here about the relative (in)accessibility of information on the Registers.

Standing Committee of Attorneys-General meeting decisions April 2009

The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG) meeting outcomes of its April 2009 meeting include the following:

Electronic Transactions Acts
Ministers have agreed that amendments to the uniform Electronic Transactions Acts that could implement the UN Convention on Electronic Communications in International Contracts should be drafted.  

Uniform commercial arbitration laws
SCAG has also decided to re-invigorate its efforts to update uniform commercial arbitration laws by reference to international standards.  The aim is to improve the current commercial arbitration system and provide for a method of finally resolving disputes that is quicker, cheaper and less formal than litigation.

Anti-discrimination 
The National Anti-Discrimination Law Information Gateway gives the public a single point of entry to all of the Commonwealth, State and Territory anti-discrimination authorities to assist individuals and business to access information on how to make and respond to discrimination complaints. 

Succession
The November 2009 meeting will respond to the matters dealt with in the Report of the National Committee for Uniform Succession Laws on Administration of Estates of Deceased Persons. The response will specifically address the extent to which jurisdictions should seek to implement proposals concerning the automatic recognition of grants of probate and letters of administration and achieve nationally consistent or uniform law. 

Workplace privacy
Ministers agreed that the SCAG working group would develop voluntary guidelines to assist employers and workers on workplace privacy issues, such as workplace surveillance and email and internet monitoring, in consultation with key stakeholders including the Federal Privacy Commissioner and equivalent State and Territory bodies, as well as peak employer groups, unions and other interested stakeholders.

Personal Property Securities Law Reform
Ministers agreed to settle the text of the model referral legislation and the text of the PPS Bill as soon as possible, noting the recommendations made by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in its report on the Bill.  Ministers also noted the inclusion of PPS reform in the ‘Seamless National Economy’ National Partnership Agreement.