Public policy development is the process by which the government determines the most appropriate approach to dealing with problems or issues that require its attention. When considering a policy proposal, it is essential government decision makers are provided with the necessary information and advice to make informed decisions.

This is particularly important for policy proposals that introduce or amend government regulation as these can have significant impacts on business, the community and the Queensland economy. The consideration of regulatory best practice principles helps ensure the introduction or amendment of regulation is necessary, effective and minimises the burden on affected stakeholders.

A crucial element in developing best practice regulation is effective regulatory impact analysis (RIA). RIA is a systematic approach to critically assessing the impacts of proposed regulatory policy options and is an integral part of good policy making processes. It is designed to improve the quality of regulatory policy by providing relevant and timely information to government decision makers about the expected impacts of different policy options for addressing a particular issue.

The Queensland government established the independent Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) to assist agencies in applying effective and rigorous RIA as part of their standard policy development process.