Business and consumer services (2010)

The fourth year of review is now completed.

The Commission focused on those regulations that mainly impact on the whole or any part of business and consumer service industries. In broad terms, this includes financial and insurance services, accommodation and food services, hiring, real estate, professional and personal services, arts and recreation, and repair and maintenance services.

List of industries by ANZSIC category

The activities of these industries are regulated by a range of Australian Government authorities through a variety of instruments. Consistent with the Regulation Taskforce report, for the purposes of this review, 'regulation' includes government rules that influence or control behavior, as well as the administration and enforcement of these rules. This includes legislation and formal regulations (including treaties and co-regulation), as well as quasi-regulation such as codes of conduct and advisory instruments.

Amongst other things, the terms of reference required the Commission to identify specific areas of Australian Government regulation that:

1. were unnecessarily burdensome, complex or redundant or
2. duplicate regulations or the role of regulatory bodies, including in other jurisdictions.

Applying these criteria, and using submissions from interested parties, the Commission identified areas for reform which has the potential to deliver the greatest productivity gains to the economy as a whole. The Commission has made recommendations for:

• alleviating the regulatory burden on these sectors
• enhancing the consistency or reducing duplication of regulations, or the role of regulatory bodies, for the sectors.