Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

• the greater likelihood of a narrower policy perspective being applied by a regulator atarm’s length from Government compared to a portfolio department routinely engaged inwhole of government consultation, particularly where the regulator is specific to oneindustry; and• the increased risk of a regulator being captured by the regulated industry who willperceive the regulator as able to heavily influence policy development and thereforedevote commensurate resources to lobbying the regulator. 323These points are particularly relevant in the ACT. As a small jurisdiction there is a need todevelop capacity and nurture communities of practice. Providing role clarity enables clearresponsibility for policy makers to engage with government and stakeholders in setting policyobjectives. The regulator can engage on implementation without being compromised in itsenforcement and compliance by being associated with the need to engage actively with thecommunity on policy matters. This provides transparency and accountability in the context ofa close community.The arguments associated with combining functions relate to providing greatercommunication and collaboration between the policy maker and regulator. In keeping withACT Government practice, strategic policy responsibility is separated from the function ofregulator and law-enforcement. Policy areas within agencies retain responsibility fordevelopment of policy in relation to Acts and regulations which the Office of RegulatoryServices (ORS) administers.The 2006-07 Budget established the ORS to provide a single coordinated point of regulationand enforcement of a number of activities previously provided by several areas ofgovernment. The rationale for establishing ORS was to bring together a broad range ofbusiness, occupational and consumer regulation into a single entity to provide a‘One-Stop-Shop’ for industry to work towards maximising regulatory capacity by sharingresources and best practice; and to streamline the structures of regulation in the ACT.ORS undertakes licensing, registration and accreditation, dispute resolution and consumerand trader assistance, compliance and enforcement and education functions for between 70and 80 pieces of legislation. ORS is responsible for: parking operations; charitablecollections, hawkers and outdoor cafes; WorkSafe ACT; fair trading and business regulation;the functions of the Registrar General; tobacco and smoking regulation; and Unit Titlesregulation.At inception, it was anticipated that ORS inspectors would regulate concurrent legislation andmulti-task across an array of statutes. In practice this integrated model of regulation iscomplex, difficult to implement and the efficacy of these arrangements has not been fullyrealised. The concept of super-regulator does not easily translate to the functions, talents andcapacity of an individual. As outlined previously, the Review does not advocate creation of323 See State Service Authority (2010) Governance arrangements for Victoria’s Regulators: Discussion Paper . VictorianGovernment, Melbourne.Capability, Capacity and Effectiveness: 250