The Queensland Regulatory Simplification Plan 2009-2013 outlines how the government will review the existing stock of Queensland regulation to achieve the Queensland Government’s initial target for reducing the compliance burden to business and the administrative burden to government by $150 million per year by the end of 2012-13.

Agency regulatory simplification plans are a way to identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary and excessive legislative requirements, and streamline administrative and procurement processes. The aim is to give time and money back to business, community and government to invest in pursuits that promote productivity, facilitate innovation and increase competitiveness.

Agency regulatory simplification plans are to be action oriented to reflect changing government priorities and stakeholder consultation. To ensure agency regulatory simplification plans address the real issues of stakeholders, we are seeking your input to inform future reform directions and development of regulatory reform initiatives to ensure they deliver significant and tangible benefits to business, community and government.

Have your say on the department's Regulatory Simplification Plan.

Regulatory simplification plan

The department brings together planning, local government and infrastructure responsibilities to deliver integrated solutions, address the state's population and economic challenges, and secure a sustainable future for Queensland.

The department is responsible for:  

• delivering the largest infrastructure program in Queensland’s history 
• equipping Queensland with a 21st century planning, building and development system
• reforming local government across Queensland.

Key initiatives

• Queensland Pool Safety Review proposed to simplify the 11 current pool safety standards to a single standard for all pools.
• Streamlining the process for undertaking environmental assessments will improve the current process for Environmental Impact Statements by providing time and money savings to proponents without compromising the integrity of the process.
• Building and Development Tribunal (now the Building and Development Dispute Resolution Committee) – expansion of the role to hear a range of new matters, including appeals about residential related development, acknowledgement notices, properly made applications and compliance assessments. The new committee will make appeals more accessible and affordable for applicants who would previously have had to access the Planning and Environment Court directly and for those who could not afford to institute appeals.
• Local government legislative reform – streamline and simplify local government financial, reporting, planning and operational requirements. To reduce the compliance burden on local governments, a whole-of-government review of over 240 pieces of legislation will further simplify and rationalise local government legislative requirements and to achieve a consistency of approach across the statute books.
•  National Construction Code – to create a National Construction Code to cover the technical requirements for the various trades associated with the development process. This code will cover building, plumbing, gas, electrical and telecommunications technical standards in all states and territories and will provide:
  • improved consistency between building and plumbing standards
  • improved framework for regulation of plumbing on a national basis
  • a regulatory framework better able to respond to future policy challenges
  • better opportunities for innovation in the construction industry.
  At present, the Building Code of Australia is the code for technical building standards, and the Plumbing Code of Australia is for technical plumbing standards.
• Streamlining the process for undertaking environmental assessments – to improve the current process for Environmental Impact Statements by providing time and money savings to proponents without compromising the integrity of the process.

Have your say on the Regulatory Simplification Plan

The department currently seeks input to inform future directions and development of regulatory reform initiatives. This is to ensure that significant and tangible benefits are delivered to business, community and government. 

You can provide input and suggestions on the department's Regulatory Simplification Plan 2009-2013 by using an online form on the Queensland Government Get Involved website.

• View the Abridged Regulatory Simplification Plan ( 61 KB).