Regulatory Impact Analysis: Policy and Guidelines
[ Last Updated 11 February 2006 ]
Originally published: February 2006.
Requirements
All policy proposals submitted to cabinet which result in government bills or statutory regulations must be accompanied by a Regulatory Impact Statement, unless an exemption applies. The Ministry's Guide to Preparing Regulatory Impact Statements and the Cabinet Step by Step Guide [link to DPMC website] set out the details for this requirement.
From 1 April 2001, all policy proposals submitted to Cabinet which require a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS), and which have compliance cost implications for business, must include a Business Compliance Cost Statement (BCCS) in the Regulatory Impact Statement. Cabinet Office Circular CO (01) 2 [link to DPMC website] sets out the details of this requirement. The Ministry's Business Compliance Costs Statements: Guidelines for Departments provides more detail and a template for this requirement.
The new requirement for a BCCS will help ensure that the business compliance cost implications of regulatory proposals are made explicit and properly considered in developing policy in a consistent and comprehensive way.
Cabinet has agreed that for proposals considered after 1 April 2001, the RIS/BCCS will be published on the responsible department's website and a link to it be published on a dedicated area of the Ministry of Economic Development website.
The decision on the precise timing of publication is left to the responsible Minister and/or Cabinet. Departments must therefore ensure that the responsible Minister and/or Cabinet have agreed to the publication of the RIS/BCCS. Ministers and/or Cabinet may wish to review and amend the RIS/BCCS to ensure that it fully reflects the Government's position and is of a high standard. Some changes to the RIS/BCCS accordingly make take place after Cabinet consideration of the Cabinet submission.
Departments must ensure that they send their relevant departmental website reference for the RIS/BCCS, along with the electronic version of the RIS/BCCS, to ris-bccs@med.govt.nz once approval for publication has been given.
Advice
The Ministry provides advice to government departments on how best to complete RISs/BCCSs.
The Ministry is required to insert a statement into the Cabinet paper indicating whether the RIS/BCCS is adequate, based on whether the level of RIS/BCCS analysis is commensurate with the magnitude of the likely impacts of the proposals. The Ministry's Process for the Business Compliance Costs Unit's Views on Adequacy of RIS/BCCSs to Be Included in Cabinet Papers and the RIS/BCCS Adequacy Checklist provide more detail on this requirement.
The Ministry also runs training sessions for departments on how to write RISs/BCCSs.
Further Information
For further information on the RIS/BCCS review process, education, training and other issues contact:
Elizabeth McDonald
Regulatory Impact Analysis Unit
Ministry of Economic Development
PO Box 1473
Wellington
Telephone: 04-470 2311
Fax: 04-471 2658
Email: ris-bccs@med.govt.nz
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