Working with business, rather than over the top of them, reduces costs to government, encourages private sector expertise and contributes to economic growth.

Regulatory reform is becoming a common project of governments across the world. As economies and businesses become more sophisticated in their operations, governments have recognised they must become more selective and innovative in the ways they regulate.

It is hard to describe the historical situation in Australia as one of more or less regulation. Relative to Europe there is a less regulated and rigid business environment. On the one hand, the number of pages of regulation has increased substantially; on the other hand governments have deregulated entire industries over the past few decades.

What we are seeing is change in the favoured style of regulation: these days, the focus is on setting the basic (enforceable) rules of the game and letting the market find its own solutions when this is possible. For example, where possible we expect regulation to be expressed in terms of an outcome to be achieved rather than a process for achieving it. This rewards productivity and innovation as firms seek the most efficient ways to comply.