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• Issue 8 - December 2006
• Strengthened RIS Regime ...

• Regulatory Impact Analysis

• The Regulatory Review

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Cabinet agreed to the details of the strengthened RIS regime on 30 October 2006. From 2 April 2007, departments will need to meet the new requirements.

The main changes that departments should be aware of are:

• For proposals that will potentially require a RIS, discussion documents will need to include questions/discussion of the RIS elements (problem, options, impacts of options, implementation and review) or a draft RIS.
• The adequacy criteria have been strengthened. The RIS will be inadequate if:
  • there has not been an appropriate level of analysis of the options given the magnitude of the proposal, including an appropriate level of cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment and assessment of compliance costs
  • the consultation during policy development was manifestly inadequate
  • it has not been established that the existing framework would not suffice to deal with the problem being addressed
  • the RIS does not include the information required (note that the RIS format has changed, and the BCCS has been subsumed into the RIS - this will all be explained in full in the RIS Guidelines).
• The RIAU will be reviewing fewer RISs. Where the proposal is likely to have a significant impact on economic growth (there are defined criteria), the RIAU will review the RIS for adequacy and will advise on whether the discussion document is likely to result in an adequate final RIS. Departments need to give the RIAU 20 working days to review the RIS and 10 working days to advise on the discussion document. Departments will be responsible for assessing the adequacy of all other RISs and ensuring that discussion documents for these proposals meet the requirements.
• Cabinet papers will need to contain a section entitled Regulatory Impact Analysis, which states whether the Code of Good Regulatory Practice and the RIS requirements have been met.

The RIAU will disseminate new RIS Guidelines, which will provide more detail on the requirements, early in 2007.

For more information, contact Willie Lewis on 04-470 2318 or at theregulatoryreview@med.govt.nz.