Influencing behaviour through education and information An important element of a regulator’s toolkit is educating, informing, training and partnering with regulated entities to change behaviour and support compliance. Many inquiry participants argued the EPA should take an active role in informing and educating the community and industry: The availability of information and education are essential for businesses to have a clear understanding of environmental compliance requirements. Making this information transparent and accessible particularly for those living in remote areas is crucial. (Victorian Farmers’ Federation submission, p. 7) Targeted information to business sectors contributes greatly to compliance. (Minerals Council of Australia Victoria submission, p. 6) – EPA to support and work collaboratively with companies on their specific issues. Codifying good practice will be helpful if it is illustrative, educational and current, rather than narrowly prescriptive and allowed to become dated. In addition an important opportunity exists for EPA to work in partnership with Ai Group to (Australian Industry Group submission, p. 6) support industry. Since 2011, the EPA has adopted a regulatory model that includes and educate’ and ‘inform to comply’ as important elements. However, public feedback suggests the EPA does not ‘support give sufficient attention to these. Further, compliance support will be a critical task of the EPA when it implements the general duty. The EPA and its must be able to switch between supportive and regulatory enforcement roles as the situation requires. Providing advice to duty holders on how to comply with their obligations is a core task of regulators.27 Importantly, the EPA’s information activities should focus on changing behaviour, not only providing information. Behavioural economics and psychology offer opportunities to influence behaviour and achieve desired outcomes, often at less cost than information or education campaigns or direct regulation (box 16.5). This approach gained prominence through nudge theory, which seeks to people towards better decisions by presenting choices in ‘…steer different ways’.28 The Victorian Government’s newly established Behavioural Insights Unit in the Department of Premier and Cabinet will support innovation in this area, including through projects ‘flagship’ aimed at driving awareness, demonstrating best practice approaches and delivering tangible improvements. We consider that this provides an opportunity for the EPA to build its capability and leverage support for innovation. In particular, the EPA should explore whether implementing the general duty could be a flagship project. We note that the Behavioural Insights Unit of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet has started work on its first project with the NSW EPA to test the application of behavioural insights to its regulatory activity.
Influencing behaviour through education and information An important element of a regulator’s toolkit is educating, informing, training and partnering with regulated entities to change behaviour and support compliance. Many inquiry participants argued the EPA should take an active role in informing and educating the community and industry: The availability of information and education are essential for businesses to have a clear understanding of environmental compliance requirements. Making this information transparent and accessible particularly for those living in remote areas is crucial. (Victorian Farmers’ Federation submission, p. 7) Targeted information to business sectors contributes greatly to compliance. (Minerals Council of Australia – Victoria submission, p. 6) EPA to support and work collaboratively with companies on their specific issues. Codifying good practice will be helpful if it is illustrative, educational and current, rather than narrowly prescriptive and allowed to become dated. In addition an important opportunity exists for EPA to work in partnership with Ai Group to support industry. (Australian Industry Group submission, p. 6) Since 2011, the EPA has adopted a regulatory model that includes ‘inform and educate’ and ‘support to comply’ as important elements. However, public feedback suggests the EPA does not give sufficient attention to these. Further, compliance support will be a critical task of the EPA when it implements the general duty. The EPA and its must be able to switch between supportive and regulatory enforcement roles as the situation requires. Providing advice to duty holders on how to comply with their obligations is a core task of regulators.27 Importantly, the EPA’s information activities should focus on changing behaviour, not only providing information. Behavioural economics and psychology offer opportunities to influence behaviour and achieve desired outcomes, often at less cost than information or education campaigns or direct regulation (box 16.5). This approach gained prominence through nudge theory, which seeks to ‘…steer people towards better decisions by presenting choices in different ways’.28 The Victorian Government’s newly established Behavioural Insights Unit in the Department of Premier and Cabinet will support innovation in this area, including through ‘flagship’ projects aimed at driving awareness, demonstrating best practice approaches and delivering tangible improvements. We consider that this provides an opportunity for the EPA to build its capability and leverage support for innovation. In particular, the EPA should explore whether implementing the general duty could be a flagship project. We note that the Behavioural Insights Unit of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet has started work on its first project with the NSW EPA to test the application of behavioural insights to its regulatory activity.
11370-DELWP-InquiryReport_Word-Version_PART-C.docx