Office of Best Practice Regulation
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) promotes the Government’s objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of regulation.
Regulations are essential for the proper functioning of society and the economy. The challenge for government is to deliver effective and efficient regulation — regulation that is effective in addressing an identified problem and efficient in terms of maximising the benefits to the economy, taking account of the costs. While much regulation is necessary and beneficial, there are cases where this may not be so or where regulations could be better designed — hence the best practice processes for developing a regulatory proposal.
About the OBPR
The OBPR plays a central role in assisting Australian Government departments and agencies to meet the Australian Government’s requirements for best practice regulatory impact analysis and in monitoring and reporting on their performance.
- The Best Practice Regulation Handbook contains the Australian Government's requirements
The OBPR also serves a similar role for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in relation to national regulatory proposals considered by ministerial councils, national standard‑setting bodies or COAG itself.
- The COAG Best Practice Regulation Guide contains COAG's requirements
The OBPR is required to assess whether a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is required. Therefore, a policy officer should contact the OBPR early in the policy development process to ensure that they meet the Australian Government’s or COAG’s requirements for best practice regulation.
The role of the OBPR is described in our charter.
The OBPR is a division within the Department of Finance and Deregulation but has independence [
] from the Department and portfolio Ministers in assessing and reporting on compliance with the best practice regulation requirements.
Training
The OBPR conducts training programs to assist agencies to prepare RISs, use the Business Cost Calculator (BCC) to assess compliance costs, and fulfil other regulatory review and reform obligations. The OBPR also provides technical assistance and training to policy officers on cost-benefit analysis and risk analysis.
Reporting
Best Practice Regulation Updates []The OBPR reports its assessment of individual RISs on the online RIS register (Best Practice Regulation Updates) soon after the announcement of a regulatory decision.
Best Practice Regulation Reports
The OBPR reports annually on compliance for both the Australian Government and COAG best practice regulation requirements.
Compliance reporting information for Australian Government departments and agencies
Compliance reporting information for ministerial councils and national standard-setting bodies
The best practice regulation processes administered by the OBPR compliment other initiatives being undertaken as part of the better regulation agenda.
Contact for information on this page: Contact the OBPR