For all the latest energy safety news visit www . esv . vic . gov . au Summer / Autumn 2017 energysafe issue 46
13
Have a say on regulatory changes
By Jason Treseder , Gas Engineer
A number of regulations administered by ESV are about to sunset and be reviewed to determine if changes are appropriate .
As part of this process , ESV will be seeking feedback from stakeholders .
ESV is currently reviewing the Gas Safety ( Gas Quality ) Regulations 2007 and the Gas Safety ( Installation ) Regulations 2008 .
A Regulatory Impact Statement for proposed new regulations is expected to be available in May or June 2017 .
Other gas regulations that will sunset in the near future and will undergo review are the Gas Safety ( Safety Case ) Regulations 2008 .
Notification will be provided to stakeholders and information will be published closer to the public consultation phase .
ESV administers three primary Acts that are associated with the gas , electrical and pipeline safety areas that contain obligations for a range of relevant stakeholders with the objective of providing safety . These Acts refer to legislation passed by Parliament , such as the Gas Safety Act 1997 . Once passed into law , obligations in Acts are permanent and will continue to apply until the Act is amended or repealed by Parliament .
Each Act is also supported by subordinate regulations .
Regulations made under an Act provide further details on the aspects of the Act and generally support its operation .
Unlike Acts , regulations are not permanent and have a clearly defined lifespan . They are maintained and amended throughout their entirity as required , to ensure relevance and issues or problems are addressed .
As part of the sunsetting process , a decision needs to be made as to whether the regulations should be allowed to expire or be replaced with new ones .
The sunsetting process involves a comprehensive review to consider :
»» whether the original problem still exists and a whether a regulatory response is still appropriate
»» the effectiveness of the current regulatory regime and opportunities for improvement
»» what alternative options exist including those that reduce regulatory burden
»» the costs and benefits of various regulatory options , including an unregulated case
»» the recommended path forward . The outcome of this review process is documented in a Regulatory Impact Statement ( RIS ), which describes in detail the different regulatory options .
The public consultation process is a critical part of the process and involves obtaining feedback on the draft regulations and RIS from all interested stakeholders .
This is the primary opportunity for all stakeholders to provide feedback on all aspects of the regulatory options considered , the analysis conducted , and the costs and benefits of the different options . This can include support or disagreement with any aspect of the document .
At the end of the consultation phase all stakeholder input is considered and , where appropriate , incorporated into the final version .
The finalised regulations are approved by the Minister before being submitted to the Governor-in-Council for making . Notice of the making of regulations is published in the Victorian Government Gazette .
Further details of the development of regulations and legislation is available on the OCBR website at www . betterregulation . vic . gov . au / Guidance-and-Resources .
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