impacts considered The relevant guidance (COAG 2007) requires that a range of other possible impacts be considered when conducting impact analyses, such as: consistency with Australia’s international obligations and relevant internationally accepted standards and practices potential incentive effects and secondary effects compliance and enforcement issues. However, as the proposed reforms relate to amending regulatory frameworks, the reform options appear to have few if any impacts that have not been identified and considered in the previous sections. Evaluation and conclusion Preliminary evaluation of options This Consultation RIS sets out our preliminary evaluation of the reform options and the resulting recommendation. Evaluation of the options against the broader reform program As set out in section 5, Reform options A and B have the potential to go some way towards achieving reform for heavy vehicle charging and investment. Reform option B implements a model that is closer to the end-state reform than does Reform option A. Some key components of Reform option B that are not in Reform option A are: some additional scrutiny of capacity and maintenance expenditure by the IPR; a customer service charter for key freight routes; more formal industry consultation mechanisms; and the ability for the IPR to adjust the mix of RUC and registration charges in contributing to revenues from heavy vehicle charges. However, compared to broader reform of heavy vehicle charging and investment arrangements, some key reform components associated with achieving the end state are not part of Reform options A or B, including: a more comprehensive form of economic regulation that includes the ability of the IPR to disallow expenditure that it does not regard as efficient or prudent; and reforms that involve revenue from roads being returned to road owners. The exclusion of these key components has made valuing the benefits challenging and led to the use of a threshold approach in the cost–benefit analysis.
impacts considered The relevant guidance (COAG 2007) requires that a range of other possible impacts be considered when conducting impact analyses, such as: consistency with Australia’s international obligations and relevant internationally accepted standards and practices potential incentive effects and secondary effects compliance and enforcement issues. However, as the proposed reforms relate to amending regulatory frameworks, the reform options appear to have few if any impacts that have not been identified and considered in the previous sections. Evaluation and conclusion Preliminary evaluation of options This Consultation RIS sets out our preliminary evaluation of the reform options and the resulting recommendation. Evaluation of the options against the broader reform program As set out in section 5, Reform options A and B have the potential to go some way towards achieving reform for heavy vehicle charging and investment. Reform option B implements a model that is closer to the end-state reform than does Reform option A. Some key components of Reform option B that are not in Reform option A are: some additional scrutiny of capacity and maintenance expenditure by the IPR; a customer service charter for key freight routes; more formal industry consultation mechanisms; and the ability for the IPR to adjust the mix of RUC and registration charges in contributing to revenues from heavy vehicle charges. However, compared to broader reform of heavy vehicle charging and investment arrangements, some key reform components associated with achieving the end state are not part of Reform options A or B, including: a more comprehensive form of economic regulation that includes the ability of the IPR to disallow expenditure that it does not regard as efficient or prudent; and reforms that involve revenue from roads being returned to road owners. The exclusion of these key components has made valuing the benefits challenging and led to the use of a threshold approach in the cost–benefit analysis.
consultation_ris_-_hvrr_phase_2_-_independent_price_regulation_of_heavy_vehicle_charges.docx