Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business

Submission to the Productivity Commission

Prepared by Lynn Gailey and Richard Letts
March 5, 2010

This review is focused on identifying specific areas of Australian Government regulation that are unnecessarily burdensome, complex or redundant or duplicate regulations or the role of regulatory bodies including those in other jurisdictions.

The Music Council strongly believes that whilst compliance with regulatory obligations should not impose undue burdens on business, nonetheless some regulatory regimes are in place to deliver an agreed social good. They may impose a regulatory burden but that is a price paid for living in a just and equitable society.

The submission acknowledges that there is a regulatory burden imposed on television and radio broadcasters by the requirements to broadcast Australian television and music productions. While the industry association for radio broadcasters seems intent on opposing and dismantling its local content requirements, they deliver a public good, ensuring the Australian public has access to Australian music, supporting Australian artists and the Australian record industry, and should be retained.

The Music Council notes the special difficulties facing music businesses, which often are active in more than one state jurisdiction through for instance organising touring, but face an extraordinary lack of regulatory harmonisation. Many are micro, small or medium companies and do not have the resources to understand the compliance requirements across eight state and territory jurisdictions plus the Commonwealth. A table is included giving the blunt facts about disharmony across 23 categories of regulation such as the existence of a code of conduct for child employment in the entertainment industry.

The submission concludes with some comments on the regulation of temporary entry into Australian by artists.

Read the submission