The 2003 Review of the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement
The Arrangement requires parties to conduct five yearly reviews of the scheme's operation. The Arrangement's first general review began in 2003 and was carried out in two stages.
Under the first stage, the Australian Productivity Commission, an independent statutory body with expertise in micro-economic reform, was jointly commissioned by the Australian government with the support of New Zealand to produce a research study evaluating the Trans-Tasman Arrangement and the Australian Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Commonwealth, States and Territories of Australia. In particular, the Productivity Commission was asked to:
- assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the two mutual recognition schemes in meeting their strategic objectives;
- identify how the operation of the mutual recognition schemes might be enhanced; and
- explore the possibility of expanding their scope.
Overall, the Productivity Commission found that the both the trans-Tasman Arrangement and the Australian Agreement are achieving their trade facilitation objectives and continue to deliver significant benefits to manufacturers, service providers and consumers. The Trans-Tasman Arrangement in particular continues to deliver on the Australian and New Zealand governments' strategic objective of creating a seamless trans-Tasman market and remains a key driver of trans-Tasman economic integration and policy co-ordination.
The Productivity Commission also found that there was some scope for improving the operation of the trans-Tasman Arrangement and the Australian Agreement. In particular, it found that improvements could be made to:
- streamline the approval process for registration of occupations by enhancing information flows and reducing registration requirements between jurisdictions;
- examine, on a case by case basis, the need to include regulations governing the use of goods that impede goods mobility within the scope of the mutual recognition schemes;
- reduce the administrative costs of the annual roll-over of the six Special Exemption Co-operation Programmes by extending the length of the Programmes and requiring both a detailed work plan for resolving remaining issues and annual progress reports;
- ensure that the objectives and obligations of the Trans-Tasman Arrangement and the Australian Agreement are taken into consideration early in the policy development process. One way to achieve this is to adapt the current Regulatory Impact Statement regime in both New Zealand and Australia to encompass consideration of mutual recognition obligations; and
- promote the awareness of the obligations and benefits of the Trans-Tasman Arrangement and the Australian Agreement with regulators, local government, relevant industries, professional associations and consumers in a co-ordinated manner across all participating jurisdictions.
The Productivity Commission also reinforced the importance of joint trans-Tasman standards development and noted that the Australian and New Zealand standards setting bodies should follow a hierarchy in the development of standards. International standards should be adopted where possible, followed by joint standards and finally domestic standards.
The final research report Evaluation of the Mutual Recognition Schemes, which contains 74 findings, was presented to the Australian Treasurer for subsequent presentation to Australian Heads of Government and the New Zealand Prime Minister in October 2003.
Under the second stage of the review, senior officials from the Council of Australian Governments Committee of Regulatory Reform and New Zealand reviewed the Productivity Commission findings and recommended that the Council and the New Zealand government agree to 29 of the findings and give in-principle support to the remaining 45 findings, pending further consideration and advice from the Committee of Regulatory Reform.
A Cross Jurisdictional Review Forum (CJR Forum), established by senior officials of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the New Zealand government, reviewed the Commission's findings that required further consideration and submitted its final report and recommendations to the COAG Committee on Regulatory Reform in January 2005. The report and recommendations which support the next phase of TTMRA development were endorsed by all participating jurisdictions in October 2005.
The Cross Jurisdictional Review Forum was given the task of implementing the report's recommendations.
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