Annual Review 2002,
Regulations 2002

This Annual Review summarises the operations of the Regulation Review Subcommittee during 2002. The Regulation Review Subcommittee had a heavy workload during 2002 with responsibility for scrutinising regulations and completing the Report on the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994.

There were also changes to the composition of the Regulation Review Subcommittee with the election on 30 November 2002 and the transition from the 54th to the 55th Parliament. We take this opportunity to thank previous and current members of the Regulation Review Subcommittee for their work and contribution to the examination of regulations made during 2002 and to the Inquiry into the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. Previous members include the Hon. Jenny Mikakos MLC (Chair of the Regulation Review Subcommittee), Ms. Mary Gillett MLA (Chair of the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee), Mr. Tony Robinson MLA, the Hon. Robert Maclellan MLA and the Hon. Andrew Olexander MLC.

We also take this opportunity to thank our Legal Adviser, Ms Jenny Baker for her commitment and dedication to the Regulation Review Subcommittee and wish her every success in her new position as Manager of the Procedures Office at Parliament. We also wish to thank Ms Sonya Caruana and Mr. Simon Dinsberg for providing good quality administrative support to the Subcommittee.

While the Regulation Review Subcommittee did not make any adverse reports to Parliament in 2002, the Subcommittee sent 12 letters to Ministers seeking clarification of issues or raising concerns. Ministerial responses have generally been prompt and most helpful to the Regulation Review Subcommittee. The Annual Review seeks to identify areas of concern and continues to include a number of Practice Notes in Appendix 3 in order to offer department and agency officers some guidance as to the Regulation Review Subcommittee’s expectations. The Regulation Review Subcommittee considers that the quality of regulations made during 2002 has been of a very high standard. There remains scope for improvement in some areas. As highlighted in last year’s Annual Review particular attention needs to be given to the preparation of Regulation Impact Statements (RISs) and the requirements which RISs must meet both under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994 and the Premier’s Guidelines.

We also highlight the receipt in March 2003 of the Government Response to the Committee’s Report on the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994. The Committee is pleased that a number of its recommendations have been accepted by the Government and it will be following up on the implementation of these recommendations. The Committee notes that its recommendations concerning training on the RIS process have already been implemented with the Office of Regulation Reform conducting a training program on 1 August 2003. The Regulation Review Subcommittee’s legal adviser made a presentation at this training program and the Committee understands that the whole day was a great success. Appendix 4 contains a copy of the Government Response to the Committee’s recommendations.

The Regulation Review Subcommittee looks forward to a challenging and rewarding year ahead.