Source: New Zealand Government
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the launch of the RegRoom will improve regulations and how they’re enforced.
RegRoom is an online space where government regulators can learn best practice and connect with each other. Government regulators can include any public servant who is involved in making or enforcing rules.
“The Ministry for Regulation is attacking regulatory burden in three ways. It revises old regulations, improves new regulations, and raises the quality of regulators because bad regulation causes real harm,” Mr Seymour says.
“RegRoom represents the third part of the mission. It will help ensure that Kiwis have their rights respected by regulators.
“We’ve already completed Sector Reviews. We’re fixing dumb rules that people submit to the Red Tape Tipline. The Regulatory Standards Bill will raise the standards for new laws. Now we are doing something to raise regulators skills and the standards of how they enforce rules.
“Everyday Kiwis are tired of being terrorised by regulators, we don’t just need better rules, we need better regulators. Some recent examples of what poor regulations can do to Kiwis include:
- Country Kindy, an early childhood centre beloved by its community faced shutdown. To this day it is unclear what they did wrong, except face an overzealous regulator
- Regulated parties frequently complain that they fear health and safety regulators, and pay exorbitant consultant fees to comply when they really need guidance from the regulator
- Overzealous enforcement of CCCFA regulations forced financial institutions to ask absurd questions about people’s finances before offering credit.
“In each case, the Government has addressed the issue with substantial overhauls. Early childhood regulation, health and safety regulation and the CCCFA all face major changes under this Government. However, good regulation should be business as usual, it should not require ministerial intervention. That’s why we’re spreading good regulatory practice throughout the public sector.
“The RegRoom gives regulators access to online learning tools called learning modules. These interactive modules endorse principles of good regulation, preventing harm, and protecting peoples’ rights. Alongside these modules are ‘Quick Guides’ which are condensed guides covering key concepts.
The modules and ‘Quick Guides’ teach regulators key skills, including:
- Whether to regulate or not
- How to assess the effect of a potential regulation
- How to solve problems by addressing the highest risk harms
- How to apply regulations consistently and fairly
- How to communicate clearly with regulated parties
“The Learning materials have been developed by sector leaders, drawing on real life examples. They have been recognised internationally as world leading, and nationally as the new gold standard by many regulators,” Mr Seymour says.
The Ministry for Regulation’s work in setting a better standard for regulation has been receiving international recognition, most recently from Marcial Boo, the founding Chair of the UK’s Institute of Regulation
“New Zealand’s Ministry for Regulation is again setting the international pace with its 10 quick guides to regulation. Each is a few pages long, with clear text and well-designed graphics on what good regulation looks like. There’s little better globally for practising regulators to learn from,” Mr Boo says.
“The UK has many good regulators. But as a country, we are 15 years behind New Zealand in systematising and promoting good regulatory practice in this way.”
“This view is shared back at home too. Many regulators including the Civil Aviation Authority, the Real Estate Authority, and Customs NZ have already made them compulsory for regulators,or are planning for them to be used. This is a great start,” Mr Seymour says.
“In a high-cost economy, regulation isn’t neutral – it’s a tax on growth. This Government is committed to clearing the path of needless regulations by improving how laws are made.”
The ‘Quick Guides’ are available here: Quick guides to good regulatory practice | Ministry for Regulation
