Taskforce on Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Business

On 12 October 2005, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of a taskforce to identify practical options for alleviating the compliance burden on business from Government regulation.

The taskforce examined and reported on areas where regulatory reform can provide significant immediate gains to business.

It was chaired by Mr Gary Banks - then Chairman of the Productivity Commission - and also included:

Mr Dick Humphry - a former head of the Australian Stock Exchange
Mr Rod Halstead - a corporate law expert with Clayton Utz
Ms Angela MacRae - consultant to small business and Chairman of the Independent Contractors Association of Australia.

The report was delivered to the Prime Minister and Treasurer on 31 January 2006. The Prime Minister and Treasurer released the taskforce report Rethinking Regulation on 7 April 2006.

Gary Banks - Chairman of the Taskforce - gave a public lecture at the Monash Centre for Regulatory Studies in Melbourne on the topic Reducing the Regulatory Burden: the way forward. In it he outlined the Taskforce's key findings and commented on the Government's initial response in April and priorities going forward.