Regulation Review - IPART - NSW Government

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3 Identifying reform opportunities The PC reports that businesses are better able to determine the viability of proposed licensed premises if they have clear information about likely operational requirements at the project inception stage. It consequently notes that some councils (eg, Byron Shire Council) have a clear and publicly available policy indicating the development conditions they will place on approvals for licensed premises and the criteria they have for supporting a liquor licence application to the relevant state regulator. The PC also states that prospective liquor licence applicants would benefit from state licensing regulators providing explicit advice to them on the approvals that they need to get from local government. 73 Liquor licensing can also be a contentious area of regulation for the community. This is currently evident in relation to licensed premises in Kings Cross, Sydney. Food Safety Governments at all levels have invested significant resources in improving food safety regulation throughout Australia. While the divergent approaches implemented in different states or by individual councils impacts on the goal of nationally consistent food safety regulation, the variation provides a wealth of opportunities for identifying leading practices. The range of approaches include: Excluding businesses selling only negligible risk food from food safety regulation and enforcement (Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia). Using risk and compliance history information to improve regulation of food businesses (used by a number of local governments in Australia). Using standardised forms (NSW Food Authority). Enhancing public transparency, through: – easily accessible information explaining the basis for policies and especially the reasons for differential treatment (NSW Food Authority) – publishing information on regulatory activities (fees and charges, frequency of inspections, etc) and the results of compliance activities (New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia report on some items, while some local governments provide all such information). Precluding the need for multiple registrations – Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia enable mobile food vendors who operate in multiple local government areas to be registered once. There is concern that some councils across Australia can require a single food business such as a supermarket, which has multiple departments (eg, bakery, deli, butcher and seafood departments), to register individual departments as separate food businesses. An approach similar to that used for mobile food vendors could be warranted to clarify what should be considered a single food business and what should be considered separate. 73 Ibid, p 383. 46 IPART Regulation Review
3 Identifying reform opportunities Food safety program templates and tools to automatically generate programs (Victoria) – ideally, this could be combined with ‘deemed to comply’ provisions (as recommended by South Australia) if the food business adhered to the procedures outlined in those templates. 74 Parking and road transport The PC notes that, despite the introduction of national standards for parking and heavy vehicle road access, there is significant variation in their application by councils. It considers this can be a source of unnecessary regulatory burden for businesses operating across council jurisdictions. Parking According to the PC, an example of leading practice in parking regulation (exhibited by some councils in Tasmania, Queensland and the Northern Territory) is clear and accessible guidelines to allow prospective developers to evaluate their options with respect to the provision of parking, cash-in-lieu contributions (as substitutes for parking) and other offsets. 75 It notes more certainty would be provided to business if such guidelines clearly outlined: the circumstances in which cash-in-lieu contributions will be considered how contributions will be calculated how the money collected will be applied. 76 Road transport Some councils restrict heavy vehicle access in a large proportion of their local roads, whereas others have little or no restrictions. According to the PC, these variations can impose significant costs on businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions. It consequently recommends that the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator seek to actively engage councils in the development of national heavy vehicle standards to moderate the inconsistent application of PBS-compliant 77 vehicle access across local roads in different local government areas. 78 74 Ibid, pp 330-338 and 348. 75 Ibid, p 303-305. 76 Ibid, p 305. 77 The PBS (Performance Based Standards) is a nationally accepted classification system, which forms the basis for regulation of road access by heavy vehicles. There are 4 levels of classification, from single articulated vehicles to road trains. (Productivity Commission, Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: The Role of Local Government as Regulator, July 2012, Vol 1, p 306). 78 Ibid, pp 317-321. Regulation Review IPART 47
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Regulation Review - IPART - NSW Government

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