Regulatory Quality & Administrative Simplification

1. Regulatory Quality & Administrative Simplification Update on developments in New Zealand Liz MacPherson Deputy Secretary NZ Ministry of Economic Development

2. Framework for analysis: Draft Overcoming Barriers to Administrative Simplication Strategies Guidance • Targeting simplification efforts • Institutional design • Tools: • Better regulatory management • Organisational re-engineering • New ICTs • Better information on services and administrative requirements • Coordination of multiple requirements

3. Targeting simplification efforts • No specific reduction targets as yet – need to ensure goals are meaningful (reduce gaming) and measurable • Focus on “Best in class” internationally • Use of surveys to develop rich picture of regulatory/compliance burden • Trans-Tasman dimension important: • Single compliance for a Single Economic Market • Looking to participate in Australian Performance of Business Regulation benchmarking • Myth-busting - perception is reality • Focus on “getting out there”

4. Institutional design • Strategic partnership arrangment: • NZ Treasury – responsibility for strategic coordination of regulatory quality system • Ministry of Economic Development – leads strategy for reducing impacts on regulation on firms (productivity, growth, innovation, international linkages) • Legislative Design Committee and Legislative Advisory Committee – good law • Small Business Advisory Group

5. Better regulatory management • Flow of regulation • Improvements to RIA regime – significance test • Independent audit of assessments • RIA Reference Group – self-regulatory • Regulatory flexibility RIA Reference guidelines • Stock of regulation • Systematic Review programme • Cumulative burden • Consideration of sunset clauses • Expert Taskforce on Regulatory Quality: • Regulatory quality law? • Business Compliance Cost Calculator • Annual “Ease of Doing Business” Bill

6. Organisational Re-Engineering • Best Practice Enforcement Guidelines – implementation is critical • Reducing duplication and overlap: • E.g. Inspections – one inspector can do inspections for OSH, Hazardous Substances, Accident Compensation and other issues • Virtual vs structural: • Companies Office/IRD – one stop for business registration and tax number

7. Exploiting New ICTs • NZ status as 1st in world to start a business is due to exploiting potential of ICTs • Improved quality and efficiency of service delivery while reducing fees to business • Single authentication number for engaging with government • Business Portal – virtual one-stop shop • CAVEAT – ensure ICTs remain the MEANS not the END, and use in simplification strategy is in sync with national ICT strategy

8. Better information on delivery of services and administration requirements • eBusiness Monthly emails – updates on legislative requirements, new services, information etc • Business Portal – many individual websites already have information on how requirements and “how to comply” . Ambition is to follow Canadian best practice re “SmartForms” • Small Business Regional Information Seminars • APEC “Ease of Doing Business” Seminars – NZ and Canada as sponsors

9. Coordination of multiple requirements • NZ currently undertaking detailed cost/benefit analysis of Standard Business Reporting – business should have to report only once. Joint MED, Statistics NZ and Inland Revenue exercise. • Single Business Number – looking at trans-Tasman approach

10. Conclusions • Guidelines are useful – potential to better link key strategy elements with 22 points for success. • Qualify statements re target setting – need to be meaningful and measureable. Be mindful of incentive effects. • Some potential overlaps between tools • Communication!!!! • Agree with avoiding “one-size” approach – but some consistency to facilitate bench-marking would be useful. • No substitute for actual experience – get staff into businesses to “feel the pain”