Regulation Review - IPART - NSW Government

3 Identifying reform opportunities
3.3 Best practice regulatory enforcement
The principles of best practice regulation are now enshrined in NSW
Government regulation making processes through BRO’s 2009 Guide to Better
Regulation. However, the principles of best practice regulatory enforcement have
not been explored to the same extent in NSW.
In considering whether unnecessary burdens are being imposed through existing
regulatory enforcement practices and identifying possible reform options, it is
useful to consider what best practice regulatory enforcement would look like.
International jurisdictions such as the UK, and international bodies such as the
OECD, have done considerable work in this area. In NSW, the BRO is also
undertaking work in this area. The following OECD principles capture the key
elements of best practice regulatory enforcement:
Proportionate: regulators should only intervene when necessary. Remedies
should be appropriate to the risk posed, and costs identified and minimised
Accountable: regulators must be able to justify decisions, and be subject to
public scrutiny
Consistent: government rules and standards must be seamless and
implemented fairly
Transparent: regulators should be open, and keep regulations simple and user
friendly
Targeted: regulators should be focused on the problem, and minimise the side
effects. 53
As an example, the UK’s Hampton Review set out a number of principles for
good regulatory enforcement. 54 These are outlined in Box 3.2 below.
53 OECD, Guiding Principles for Regulatory Quality and Performance, Paris, 2005.
54 Philip Hampton, Reducing Administrative Burden: Effective Inspection and Enforcement, March
2005.
34 IPART Regulation Review