Applying the principles and reporting

The Department of Finance encourages regulators to report against the 3 principles of regulator best practice through their corporate plans and annual reports. This could include demonstrating in their performance reporting how they are meeting Minister expectations in the Statement of Expectations (SOE) and the regulator’s approach in their responding Statement of Intent (SOI).

Regulation is not a one-size-fits-all activity, and regulatory functions, resourcing and capabilities vary across Commonwealth entities. Regulators should draw on the principles to develop tailored performance monitoring, reporting processes and performance measures. These should address Australian Government objectives and be appropriately scaled to the regulator’s role, regulatory posture, specific legislative objectives, functions and environment. Regulators are encouraged to consult with their stakeholders when doing this.

Regulators are encouraged to develop performance measures for each principle but may adapt best practice examples to fit their own performance needs. Regulators should work with their responsible Minister and department to do this.

Regulators are encouraged to adopt outcomes focused performance measures for reporting. Where practicable, this could include a mix of qualitative and quantitative performance measures. 

Commonwealth entities who perform regulatory functions are encouraged to recognise the 3 principles of regulator best practice and their SOE and SOI in their corporate plans.

The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (PGPA Rule) set out the Australian Government’s governance and accountability arrangements for Commonwealth entities.

As better practice, regulator performance reporting should be integrated into an entity’s non-financial reporting to enhance transparency and accountability. Where performance measures related to regulatory activities are included in the corporate plan, progress against these measures is reported in the annual performance statements, which form part of the entity’s annual report. This also supports transparency and accountability of regulator performance by including this information in a consistent location for all regulators, and in reports subject to the scrutiny of the Parliament and the Auditor General. It also reduces duplication in regulator performance reporting.

Examples of approaches to integrating these expectations in corporate plans are provided under the better practice examples tile in RMG-132 Corporate plans for Commonwealth entities.

Entities that perform regulatory functions should consider developing performance measures for these functions if they are appropriate indicators of the entity's performance. See RMG-131 Developing performance measures for guidance on performance measures and understanding key requirements.