Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) released the following reports in July 2020:

Insufficient Regulatory Impact Analysis - Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement (7CPA)

Community Pharmacy Agreements (CPA) have been a long-standing means of negotiating with the pharmacy sector the level of remuneration paid by the Commonwealth to approved pharmacists for dispensing Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidised medicines to patients.

Given its potential to have major impacts on businesses and individuals and the community, a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required for the 7CPA. However, a RIS was not finalised and assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) before the 7CPA was signed. Consequently, the OBPR has assessed the process and analysis for the 7CPA was insufficient to meet the Australian Government’s Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) requirements.

Proposal to include Minimum Accessibility Standards for Housing in the National Construction Code

On 6 July 2020, the Australian Building Codes Board released a Council of Australian Government’s Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for consultation on proposals to include minimum accessibility standards for housing in the National Construction Code.

Accessible housing is housing that includes features to enable use by people either with a disability or transitioning through their life stages. The minimum accessibility standards for housing considered in the RIS are based on the specifications in the Livable Housing Design Guidelines (LHDG) 2017.

Pregnancy Warning Label on Packaged Alcoholic Beverages

On 17 July 2020, the Australia New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation accepted a proposed draft standard for mandatory pregnancy warning labels on alcohol to ensure women are appropriately informed about the advice to not consume alcohol while pregnant. The mandatory warning label includes a pictogram and the text ‘PREGNANCY WARNING’ and ‘Alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby’.

Visit the Office of Best Practice Regulation for the full list of Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) updates.