Occupational licensing is government regulation of the conditions under which someone can legally practice an occupation. The requirements can relate to education attainment, experience, personal character, residency, and payment of membership fees to professional industry bodies. In Australia, many occupations require a license to legally operate, including doctors, lawyers, electricians, hair dressers, weed controllers, and [...]
After years of government red tape reduction programs that have failed to halt the explosion of regulation, it’s time for a radical new approach. Here are five principles the government should follow to dramatically reduce the burden of overregulation currently costing the Australian economy $176 billion a year: eliminate the need for approvals and replace [...]
American lawyer and politician Gideon J Tucker once observed that ‘no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session’. Given the ceaseless rapacity of Australian governments, one could say that truer words have rarely been spoken. We therefore should be grateful the Prime Minister has decided to delay parliament by a [...]
As in so many industries, the so-called “sharing economy” has brought seismic change to the tourism market. The rise of platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz has seen a massive expansion in short-stay accommodation, offering guests everything from a blow-up mattress in somebody’s living room to a 10-bedroom holiday house. Consumers have been the biggest [...]
New research by the Institute of Public Affairs explains why the Turnbull Government’s proposed changes to consumer lease regulation would amount to unnecessary red tape. The rental of household goods and appliances is an industry worth an estimated $596 million. Like all financial services providers, lessors are required to abide by responsible lending practices under [...]
Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has today released a new landmark report, Barriers to Prosperity: Red Tape and the Regulatory State in Australia, authored by IPA research fellow Daniel Wild, which highlights the extent of the red tape crisis in Australia “Red tape in Australia has reached a crisis point. Urgent [...]
Australia has experienced 26 years of unbroken economic growth. However, this aggregate figure masks stagnant wages growth and a deterioration in the living standards of many in the Australian middle class. The central cause of this deterioration is low and declining levels of business investment, which is approaching historic lows. Overregulation and red tape are [...]
