This report offers strategic guidance on best practice regulatory approaches for adopting standards. It develops an economic framework to guide governments and regulators in deciding whether to adopt regulatory standards. It emphasises the importance of assessing the impact of these standards on innovation, competition, market efficiency, consumers and international trade. Additionally, it highlights the need to evaluate their effects on incentives and potential unintended consequences.

Its aim is to promote the reduction of regulatory barriers in net-zero sectors and enhance regulatory alignment between Australia and New Zealand. It notes that standards should be easy to update and work the same across both countries. And standards should match what is widely available overseas where practical. This helps people get safer, cheaper and better products faster.

The report focuses on three main areas: 

1. Determining when standards should be made mandatory by regulation.
2. Empowering regulators to adopt the most appropriate standards to meet the stated public policy objective.
3. Ensuring that when adopting standards, regulators and governments consider their impact on wider policy goals and other regulators’ services.