A Ministerial Statement of Expectations (SOE) is a document issued by the minister responsible for a regulator. It shows what the government wants regulators to focus on and expectations for how regulators should perform. An SOE provides clarity about government policies and objectives relevant to the regulator in meeting its statutory objectives. It also explains the priorities the minister expects the regulator to focus on while conducting its operations. An SOE may also address whole-of-government objectives set for regulators such as the productivity policy objective.
A regulator’s responding Statement of Intent (SOI) is a response to the expectations set out in an SOE. It outlines how the regulator intends to meet those expectations including how it will demonstrate progress. An SOI can be broader in scope than the expectations set out in the SOE and offers an avenue for the head of the regulator to highlight any emerging risks or operational issues relevant to the delivery of the regulator’s functions.
While regulators often operate independently from government, this does not mean independent of expectations about how they fulfil their statutory roles. Commonwealth regulators remain accountable to the Parliament, including through Senate Estimates and Australian National Audit Office scrutiny.
As best practice, departments should work closely with their Ministers and heads of Regulators in developing these Statements as part of an ongoing productive and close partnership. Regulators are encouraged to integrate these Statements into performance reporting through their corporate plan and annual report.
When to issue SOEs and SOIs
SOEs and SOIs should be issued every 2 years for all Commonwealth entities with regulatory functions and published on regulators’ websites as soon as practicable after each is issued. Agencies should support their ministers in determining where timing should be different - for example, where a short delay may be appropriate to allow for the upcoming appointment of new regulator leadership.
Where the Government sets a new policy objective for regulators that may affect ministers’ expectations, the responsible Minister may choose to update their expectations through issuing an addendum to their SOE. Agencies should support their ministers in determining if using an addendum is more appropriate than reissuing the SOE in its entirety.
Where the responsible Minister has decided to update their expectations through an addendum, this would also be a reason for the regulator to review and reissue their SOI to address changed expectations. Regulators may determine using an addendum is more appropriate than reissuing the SOI in its entirety.
Changes to the responsible Minister, regulator leadership, regulatory functions, a Machinery of Government change or any significant changes to Commonwealth policy or objectives are reasons to review and reissue SOEs and SOIs.
Considerations when preparing an SOE
Statements of Expectations should:
- consider the economic and social environment in which the regulator operates, and the Government’s policy objectives and priorities, including the regulatory reform agenda
- reinforce government expectations for regulators to take a more proportionate risk-based approach to regulation to better balance risk mitigation with efficiency, growth and dynamism, and consider the impact on productivity for all their regulatory activities. For example:
- adjusting regulatory posture where appropriate to create a regulatory environment that enables productivity growth
- proactively reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, including looking for ways to support competition, innovation, small business and new market entrants
- increasing the recognition of suitable risk assessments, standards and conformity assessment procedures to lower barriers to trade.
- where relevant, request regulators address ideas proposed by them in response to the letter from the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance sent 4 July 2025 as part of their SOI, including how regulators will track and report progress, for example, through their corporate reporting
- request regulators align their approach and implementation with the Regulatory Policy, Practice and Performance Framework’s principles in relation to the regulator’s role, regulatory posture, specific legislative objectives, functions, and environment
- request regulators identify and address international regulations and the global regulatory operating environment, and engage with international regulatory bodies, relevant to the regulator’s role, functions, and environment
- provide strategic direction (to the extent allowed by legislation) on the conduct of the regulator, its role, and how the regulator should engage with business, the community, other regulators and policy departments including the states and territories
- reference any major projects, reforms, and key developments (for example, cost recovery, implementation of reviews) the regulator will be progressing over the next 2 years and the Minister’s expectations for these, including considering whether the SOE needs to be delayed until a review is finalised
- request regulators to act in accordance with best practice, embedding the Government’s principles of regulator best practice, striving for continuous improvement against these principles and considering international best practice, as relevant
- propose how the responsible Minister will engage with the regulator, including how the Minister will help provide an enabling environment for the regulator to consistently implement best practice and any specific steps by the Minister to support the regulator
- request the regulator responds via a Regulator SOI, outlining how it will deliver on the Minister’s expectations and both the SOE and SOI be made publicly available on the regulator’s website and the Australian Government Regulator Stocktake
- request regulators set Key Performance Indicators and service standards for their regulatory activities
- encourage regulators to develop performance measures based on the SOE and incorporate the SOE into the corporate plan and annual report.
Considerations for different regulator governance models
For standalone/external to department regulators, an SOE is to be issued by Ministers to the head of the regulator – this is usually the accountable authority for the entity under the PGPA Act. In these cases, there is an expectation of close engagement between the minister, the portfolio secretary and head of regulator in developing the SOE.
For example:
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Australian Fisheries Management Authority
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: IP Australia, National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts: Australian Communications and Media Authority, Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
Where a regulatory function is located within a department but has ‘external’ governance arrangements where the accountable authority is not the Secretary (and instead an external chair, board or other appointee), the SOE can be issued from the minister directly to the accountable authority. In these cases, there is an expectation of close engagement between the minister, secretary and the head of the regulatory function in developing the SOE. Examples of such regulatory functions include:
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Anti-Dumping Commission, National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator.
For regulatory functions operating within departments, an SOE can be issued by a minister to the secretary as the function’s accountable authority for one regulatory function. The expectations articulated by the minister can then be communicated by the secretary to senior leaders in the regulatory function via internal communication / tasking and considered through the department’s usual planning and reporting processes.
For example
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Regulator
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: National Measurement Institute, Australian Space Agency.
Departments may consider covering multiple functions through a single SOE from the minister to the secretary that outlines the minister’s broad expectations for the conduct of regulatory functions undertaken within the department.
The expectations set out by the minister can then be communicated by the secretary to senior leaders in the regulatory functions. A responding SOI could then be provided by the secretary to the minister, setting out how the department will exercise its general regulatory functions to meet the minister’s expectations (and can be included in the department’s corporate plan and annual report).
For example
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry: Levies compliance, Illegal logging, Biosecurity risks, Compliance of imported food with food standards, Heritage and Reef, Exports of agriculture and Regulating wildlife trade
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Activities in Antarctic Treaty Area, Environmental Approvals, Administering water efficiency, labelling and standards, and management of hazardous waste
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Commercial Building Program, Australian Industry Participation
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts: National standards for motor vehicles, Maritime and shipping, Domestic Aviation.
Generally, the SOE will be addressed by the minister to a secretary, unless the head of the regulatory function has been appointed by the minister or government. If the head of the regulatory function is appointed by the secretary, then the function should be included in the SOE from the minister to the portfolio secretary.
Many entities undertake regulatory functions, even if not typically considered a ‘regulator’. Where functions – including service delivery, employment services, etc – are undertaken under legislative arrangements and compliance is expected by the government, these are considered regulatory functions to be covered by an SOE setting out the government’s priorities and expectations.
This can include where services are provided through a contractual arrangement with a private sector provider. Grants have been excluded as they are voluntarily entered into.
In these cases, the minister, secretary and head of the entity should consider the applicability of an SOE to the entity head reflecting expectations of these types of regulatory functions (noting the advice on levels of scale and governance outlined above). For example, the minister could consider setting out in an SOE to the secretary or entity head on the government’s expectations around the entity’s compliance, monitoring and enforcement functions, with reference to the principles.
For example:
- Compliance in recovering debt, compliance with employment service provider contracts, compliance with child care centre requirements.
- While the Department of Veterans’ Affairs isn’t considered a regulator, the former Veterans’ Affairs minister referenced general expectations around the principles in the minister’s SOE to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs secretary, given the principles supported and aligned with the government’s expectations around delivery of services and the department’s transformation reforms. The former minister set out in an SOE to the department secretary the government’s priorities and expectations for the department, not just its service aspects.
A number of Australian Government regulatory functions operate under National Partnership Agreements and/or with governance, legislative performance and reporting arrangements that sit across both Commonwealth and state and territory governments. Examples of such regulatory functions include:
- Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts: Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator and National Heavy Vehicle Regulator.
Given the considerable variation in governance arrangements for such entities, arrangements for issuing, implementing and reporting on a Commonwealth Ministerial SOE should be considered on a case-by-case basis by the relevant departments and regulators, with support and advice from the Department of Finance. There will be cases where a separate Commonwealth SOE may not be appropriate. We envisage entities would generally work with both levels of government, to align expectations of the regulator where practical.
More broadly, we see scope for jurisdictions to collectively discuss regulator performance expectations, potential overlaps and opportunities to streamline. A number of jurisdictions (for example, Victoria and Queensland) already have or are considering establishing an SOE approach.
Where a regulator has functions across multiple portfolios or regulatory schemes, the SOE should be issued by the minister responsible for appointing the head of the regulator in consultation with other relevant ministers and their departments. An example of such regulators may include:
- Department of the Treasury: the Australian Taxation Office
Departments should work together with regulators to define and map regulatory roles and responsibilities, activities and interactions and outline this in the SOE. Roles and responsibilities should be clearly defined, risks understood and addressed proportionately, and performance measurement and reporting frameworks in place.
Considerations when preparing a responding SOI
The SOI should be developed using a consultative approach through engagement with portfolio policy teams and ministers’ offices as appropriate.
Statements of Intent should:
- in responding to the SOE, provide the regulator’s perspective on its purpose, strategic direction and delivery of statutory objectives
- address how the regulator intends to meet government policies and objectives, such as taking a more proportionate risk-based approach to regulation to better balance risk mitigation with efficiency, growth and dynamism. For example, through removing duplication, improving clarity, and using modern tools to achieve the same or better outcomes.
- identify how the regulator intends take a more proportionate risk-based approach to their regulatory actions that are achievable within existing resourcing and legislative frameworks, while not compromising core regulatory protections. For example:
- identifying and working with other regulators that regulate the same individuals and businesses, including in other Australian jurisdictions, with a view to reducing regulatory and administrative burden.
- identify how the regulator intends to address international regulations and the global regulatory operating environment, and engage with international regulatory bodies, relevant to the regulator’s role, functions, and environment
- identify how the regulator will align their approach and implementation with the Regulatory Policy, Practice and Performance Framework’s principles in relation to the regulator’s role, regulatory posture, specific legislative objectives, functions, and environment
- articulate how the regulator intends to deliver against the Minister’s expectations set out in the SOEs in practical terms. This can include describing internal initiatives or structures, changes in systems or governance, efforts to build staff capability and to foster an organisational culture that supports regulator best practice
- outline how the regulator intends to set Key Performance Indicators and service standards for their regulatory activities
- outline how the regulator intends to engage with regulated entities, other regulators and other stakeholders
- outline how the regulator intends to engage with policy departments and the Minister at a high level, note how progress against meeting the Minister’s expectations will be measured and reported on by the regulator.
Regulators should provide links to published SOEs and SOIs to the Department of Finance for inclusion in the Australian Government Regulator Stocktake. Statements may also be made available as part of a corporate plan and/or annual report.
The SOEs and SOIs should inform the development of performance measures for inclusion in reporting, including corporate plans and annual reports.
SOEs and SOIs should be made available on regulator websites and on transparency.gov.au as part of a corporate plan and/or annual report.
Preparing and publishing SOEs and SOIs
- Regulators should make SOEs and SOIs publicly available on their websites and provide links to the Department of Finance for inclusion on the Australian Government Regulator Stocktake. Entities may also consider adding Statements to their Information Publication Scheme entry consistent with guidance in Part 13 of the Freedom of Information Guidelines.
- The lead minister responsible for a regulatory function within a portfolio may be the appropriate minister to issue the SOE, with the support of the senior minister of the portfolio if different.
- When developing SOEs, departments should consider the nature of the activities regulated in relation to risk mitigation and consider expectations for how core regulatory protections will be maintained as part of taking a proportionate risk-based approach to regulation.
- Some departments and regulators prepare the SOE and SOI at the same time as part of consultation between them. Others may choose to prepare them sequentially. Regulators should aim to have their responding SOI in place as soon as practicable following a SOE being issued, for example within 3 months.
- Some portfolios may have a substantial number of regulators with an SOE to be issued. Departments could consider how to prioritise or sequence SOEs to best manage the volume of work for their portfolios.
Format and content considerations
- Entities should consider structuring Statements with headings, especially where there are multiple regulatory functions being addressed, to help make Statements easier for stakeholders and those regulated to understand.
- Many Statements take the form of a letter between the relevant Minister and the accountable authority (head of regulator), with the expectations set out in the body of the letter or in an attachment to the letter. If an attachment is used, it should also be dated so it is clear when the Statements were issued.
- Some portfolios prefer a common structure and approach for their SOEs, to assist the relevant Minister in looking ‘across’ regulators in that portfolio and potentially demonstrating an overall posture/strategy across a portfolio’s regulators.
- Entities may wish to consider what the department and/or regulator is looking to achieve/prosecute/raise visibility of through the Statements.
- Entities may need to address the nature of the activities regulated in relation to risk mitigation and how core regulatory protections will be maintained as part of a more proportionate risk-based approach to regulation.
Content on stakeholder engagement
When entities are developing content in SOEs about regulators’ engagement with stakeholders, it may be relevant to include:
- the minister’s views on specific entities/jurisdictions the regulator should engage with
- any ministerial expectations about the overall tone, posture or aims of the regulator’s engagement with stakeholders and others
- aspects of the relationship between the regulator and the portfolio department.
