Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business: Manufacturing and Distributive Trades (2008)

• Regulation of the manufacturing and distributive trades sectors is complex and diverse, involving all tiers of government. This study proposes the reduction of specific Australian Government regulations which are unnecessarily burdensome for businesses in these sectors. These initiatives build on the significant amount of reform currently underway, including the expanded COAG regulation reform agenda.
• Many of the concerns raised by businesses related to jurisdictional differences in the implementation and enforcement of regulations. While governments are pursuing greater uniformity, this process is ongoing but incomplete, leading to a level of frustration by businesses.
• A common concern of businesses was poor communication with regulators. The information provided by regulators could be difficult to access, inconsistently communicated or costly to understand. Poor communication can also be a barrier to small businesses entering markets as they may be less able either to employ or to contract expert assistance to understand the regulations affecting them.
• Concerns which were the subject of other reviews (such as chemicals and plastics) have been referred to the relevant agency. This review has identified and addressed three main areas.
• Food regulation can be made less burdensome by:
  • increasing national consistency of regulation
  • improving timeliness and transparency of decision making by the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council
  • ensuring public health issues are considered by the Health Ministers' Conference before referring any food regulation-related issues to the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council.
• The frameworks for approving and registering new medicines and medical devices can be streamlined by:
  • reducing the time and cost, and improving the transparency, of assessment processes by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
  • improving coordination between regulators where regulatory processes overlap
  • removing the TGA's monopoly on conformity assessment for Australian manufacturers of medical devices by allowing manufacturers to choose a certification body approved by the TGA
  • a comprehensive review of health technology assessment processes.
• Compliance and enforcement of environmental regulations can be improved to ensure the policy objectives are being achieved and that complying businesses are not disadvantaged. These regulations include:
  • the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme
  • energy labelling and minimum energy performance standards.

Cutting Red Tape in the Manufacturing and Distributive Trades Sectors

The Productivity Commission's latest report, Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business: Manufacturing and Distributive Trades, identifies a number of ways the Australian Government can strip out unnecessary regulatory burdens on manufacturing, wholesaling and retailing businesses.

A common concern of businesses consulted by the Commission was poor communication with regulators. Information from regulators was often found to be difficult to access, inconsistently communicated or costly to interpret. Small businesses, in particular, could be disadvantaged by such poor communications.

Commissioner Matt Butlin said: 'The individual concerns raised by businesses point to broader issues dealing with the transparency, speed and cost of regulatory processes. The Commission's responses seek to address these concerns in a systematic manner. The adoption of the responses by regulators and policy makers should see lower regulatory costs for businesses and a streamlining of the introduction of new products into the marketplace and health care system. This will be of benefit not only to businesses but also to consumers and users of medicines and medical devices.'

The Commission identified a number of areas requiring action, including:

• increasing the national consistency in the implementation and enforcement of food regulation across all jurisdictions
• changing governance arrangements for food regulations to improve the timeliness and transparency of decision making
• reducing the time and cost, and improving the transparency, of assessment processes by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
• removing the TGA's monopoly on assessment for Australian manufacturers of medical devices by allowing manufacturers to choose a certification body approved by the TGA.

• Preliminaries
  Cover, Copyright, Foreword, Terms of reference, Contents and Abbreviations
• Overview
• Chapter 1 About the review
  1.1 What the Commission has been asked to do
  1.2 The regulatory reform context
  1.3 The approach and rationale of this review
  1.4 Conduct of the study
  1.5 Structure of the report
• Chapter 2 Industry characteristics
  2.1 Industry size and characteristics
  2.2 Value chains and the impact of regulation
• Chapter 3 Food regulation
  3.1 Inconsistency
  3.2 Delays and difficulties in implementing and amending food standards
  3.3 Improving the operations of the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council
  3.4 Problems in the regulation-making process
  3.5 Food regulation and public health
  3.6 Nutrition, health and related food claims
  3.7 Labelling requirements impacting on pick 'n' mix confectionery
  3.8 Other issues
• Chapter 4 Therapeutic goods regulation
  4.1 Overview of regulation
  4.2 Concerns about regulation of medicines
  4.3 Overview of medical devices regulation
  4.4 Concerns about medical devices regulation
• Chapter 5 Chemicals and veterinary medicines
  5.1 Background
  5.2 Concerns about the regulatory framework for chemicals
  5.3 Regulation of veterinary chemicals and medicines
  5.4 Concerns about the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
  5.5 Concerns about the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
• Chapter 6 Environmental regulation
  6.1 Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards Scheme
  6.2 Climate change policies and programs
  6.3 Energy labelling and minimum energy performance standards
  6.4 National Pollutant Inventory
  6.5 National Packaging Covenant
  6.6 Ozone protection: pre-charged equipment
  6.7 Container deposit legislation
• Chapter 7 Regulatory issues in the distributive trades
  7.1 Tobacco retailing
  7.2 Anti Monetary Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act 2006
  7.3 Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts wholesaling and retailing
  7.4 Food premises and assistance animals
  7.5 Regulatory restrictions on the sale of certain food in government facilities
• Chapter 8 Other concerns
  8.1 Skills shortage, labour mobility issues and skilled migration
  8.2 Occupational, health and safety and workers' compensation
  8.3 Equal opportunity reporting requirements
  8.4 Customs and excise administration
  8.5 Goods and Services Tax
  8.6 Transport regulation
  8.7 Australian Design Rules
  8.8 Regulation of building products
• Appendix A Consultation
• Appendix B Reviews of regulation
• References