Regulatory Reform and the Management of Intergovernmental Relations in Australia

Abstract

There have been three waves of regulatory reform in Australia since the 1980s, each informed by broadly similar neoliberal political and economic objectives, but with important differences of emphasis that reflect key priorities and changing contexts. This article argues that the second and third waves brought with them three significant developments: (1) A substantially enhanced capacity for the organisation and management of intergovernmental relations in Australia; (2) a new, national emphasis on the need for microeconomic reform, reinvigorated and broadened in the third wave by a broadening of the national ‘productivity and efficiency’ debate through the Human Capital agenda of Council of Australian Governments (COAG); and (3) markedly changed funding and policy responsibilities between the levels of government. These changes include new arrangements for intergovernmental funding; a new performance oversight body, the COAG Reform Council; a revised Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations; and a new role for Commonwealth ministers in chairing COAG working parties.

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Notes on contributors

Peter Carroll

Peter Carroll is a research professor in the School of Accounting and Corporate Governance at the University of Tasmania. His current research is focused on a study of the OECD, the relations between international organisations and the ongoing process of regulatory reform. Brian Head is Professor of Policy Analysis in the Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland. He has published widely on institutional processes and policy issues.