Dris proposal for national licensing of the plumbing and gasfitting occupations

Consultation

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) requires that all significant regulatory processes are developed in accordance with its principles for best practice regulatory process, which includes thorough, wide-ranging and timely consultation with affected stakeholders. The purpose of consultation on national licensing reform is to meet this requirement by providing mechanisms for stakeholders in the plumbing and gasfitting sectors to consider the options developed for national licensing reform, and to comment on them.

A detailed Consultation RIS outlining policy proposals for the establishment of a national licensing system for the plumbing and gasfitting occupations was released on 13 August 2012, when it was published on the www.nola.gov.au website. Stakeholders, including state and territory governments, relevant national and state organisations, those who had participated in the policy development process and others who had expressed interest in receiving information on the reforms through the www.nola.gov.au website, were directly notified of the release of the Consultation RIS. Approximately 2,000 people were notified in this way.

The policy contained in the Consultation RIS was based on that developed by the Plumbing and Gasfitting Interim Advisory Committee (IAC) during a number of meetings which took place throughout 2010–11. The IAC comprised representatives from employer and employee associations, the training sector, regulators, and the consumer advocacy sector. The Consultation RIS also reflected policy positions developed through the National Licensing Steering Committee, which oversaw the policy process and was comprised of representatives from state and territory government agencies.

Draft national licensing legislation and regulations, including that required to implement the proposed reforms in relation to the plumbing and gasfitting occupations, was released on 14 September 2012 and was also a part of the consultation process. The legislation was based on the policy positions developed by the IAC.

1.15Public information sessions

Public information sessions concerning the Consultation RIS were held in each state and territory between 31 August and 25 September 2012. The information sessions were promoted through emails to those registered to receive information on the reforms, advertisements in key major metropolitan newspapers, and through the www.nola.gov.au website.

A total of 242 people attended the information sessions on plumbing and gasfitting. Details of the locations and numbers of attendees are outlined below.

Location	Date	Attendees
Canberra	31 August	14
Darwin	4 September	47
Melbourne	11 September	37
Adelaide	12 September	21
Sydney	14 September	23
Hobart	19 September	17
Brisbane*	20 September	47
Perth	25 September	36
TOTAL		242

* The Brisbane session was also broadcast live through the Queensland Treasury website. The recorded version was also published to the website to enable viewing. It is unclear how many people have viewed these versions.

The information sessions provided an opportunity for the COAG National Licensing Taskforce to outline the proposed arrangements, answer questions on aspects of the reforms, and listen to views and comments from those attending. Representatives from key state and territory government agencies also attended the information sessions.

1.16Feedback on Consultation RIS and draft legislation

Comments on the Consultation RIS and the draft legislation were sought from the release of the Consultation RIS on 13 August 2012 until 12 October 2012. Stakeholders were asked to provide feedback using an online survey, through a template based on the survey, or by any other written means.

The online survey format was developed by state and territory government representatives with input from the COAG National Licensing Taskforce and sought to ensure feedback was received on all key issues of interest. Individuals were also free to comment on other issues as appropriate. The online survey was available for participants to use from the date of release of the Consultation RIS until the closing date for submissions of 12 October 2012. A total of 1339 submissions relating to the plumbing and gasfitting occupations were received, of which 347 were received using the online survey.

The other 992 submissions received did not use the online survey. Many of these submissions were ‘form’ or ‘template’ submissions from particular areas or sectors of the plumbing and gasfitting industry. Details on the issues contained in these submissions are outlined below.

All submissions, with the exception of those identified by respondents as not for public release, are available online at www.nola.gov.au. A list of respondents is provided at Attachment B.