Consult the detailed scoring methodology.
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies develop forward regulatory plans – that is, a public list of anticipated regulatory changes or proposals intended to be adopted/implemented within a specified time frame? | Yes, throughout government |
Once the government is formed, usually a government action plan is published, that includes all regulatory changes.
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| Are these plans available to general public? | Yes |
Published on the Department of Finance website (http://www.finance.gov.au) although not all plans are released to the public. In the context of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, draft rules are published on the PMRA website (http://www.pmra.finance.gov.au).
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| Do ministries or regulatory agencies publish the text or summary of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations before their enactment? | Yes, throughout government |
Draft texts are submitted to the concerned stakeholders before their adoption in order to allow participation of all concerned parties.
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| Where is the draft text or summary published? |
On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; directly distributed to inter...
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On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; directly distributed to interested stakeholders. |
https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/
https://www.bmwfw.gv.at/MINISTERIUM/RECHTSVORSCHRIFTEN/Seiten/default.aspx , http://www.bka.gv.at/site/5309/default.aspx Most stakeholders are reached by mail. |
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies have the legal obligation to publish the text of proposed regulations before their enactment? | No | |
| Is the entire text of the proposed draft published? | Yes, throughout government | |
| Is there a period of time set by law for the text of the proposed regulations to be publicly available? | No |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies solicit comments on proposed (not yet adopted) regulations from the general public? | Yes, throughout government | |
| How are the comments received? |
On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, su...
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On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups; through email. |
https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Begut
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/bsg/biosecurity-reform/new-biosecurity-legislation, http://www.bka.gv.at/site/5309/default.aspx Although there is no explicit invitation, in most cases, anybody can send comments to the ministry via e-mail. |
| Are received comments publicly accessible? | Yes, throughout government |
Sometimes a summary of the comments received are made public through Department of Finance submissions made to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts and Audit. The Decision of the Austrian Parliament of May 2017 aims to increase the public's access.
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| Is the rulemaking body required by law to solicit these comments on proposed regulations? | No | |
| Is there a specialized government body or department tasked with soliciting and receiving these comments? | No | |
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies report on the results of the consultation on proposed regulations? | Yes, throughout government |
By virtue of a parliamentary resolution dating May 16, 2017, each government bill (Regierungsvorlage) shall contain a summary of those comments of the consultations process which were taken into account in the drafting process of the government bill.
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| How does the government report on the results of the consultation? | Other |
The reports ("Ergebnisdarstellung") are attached to the draft legislation and accompany the draft during all stages of its adoption.
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| Where does the government report on the results of the consultation? | On a unified website for all proposed regulations. |
www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/MESN/
Sometimes, the explanatory part (Erläuterungen) contains those results of the consultation which were considered. Soon, this reference might be more specific. |
| Is reporting on the results of the consultation required by law? | No |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Do ministries or regulatory agencies conduct an impact assessment of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations? | Yes, throughout government |
Basic principles in constitution & Federal Budget Act (Bundeshaushaltsgesetz 2013) plus additional subordinate regulations.
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| Are there criteria used for determining which proposed regulations are subjected to an impact assessment? | Yes |
According to the Act on Federal Budget 2013 ("Bundeshaushaltsgesetz 2013") every regulation passed by the Parliament has to undergo an assessment of its effects. Criteria for the assessment process are set out in various regulations (Verordnungen) with various thresholds. All regulations are subject to a RIA, however below certain thresholds a "RIA light" might be conducted. Full scale assessment only for regulations and projects that exceed these thresholds. Thresholds are A) Financial, B) If regulation has a substantial connection to performance goals/outcomes in the federal budget and C) if there are substantial impacts in impact dimensions are to be expected (e.g. number of people from a certain social group affected, Co2 emitted, rise of bureaucratic costs for businesses).
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| Are there any specific regulatory impact assessment guidelines? | Yes | |
| Are impact assessments required by law? | Yes |
Basic principles in constitution & Federal Budget Act (Bundeshaushaltsgesetz 2013) plus additional subordinate regulations.
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| Are impact assessment made publicly available? | Yes | |
| How is this assessment distributed? | Through a unified website for all proposed regulations; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups. |
www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/MESN/ , www.ris.bka.gv.at
RIA is part of the documents sent out for consultations. For primary regulation: on the website of the Austrian Parliament. For secondary regulations: various procedures are in place. |
| When is this assessment distributed? | Together with the draft proposed legislation. | |
| Is there an obligation for regulators to consider alternatives to proposed regulation? | Yes, throughout government |
This is a mandatory aspect of application of RIA.
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| Is there a specialized government body tasked with reviewing and monitoring regulatory impact assessments conducted by other individual agencies or government bodies? | Yes | |
| Please provide the name of this government body, and explain its functions. |
The Federal Performance Management Office, together with the Federal Chancellery’s Legal and Constitutional Service, the Federal Ministry of Finance a...
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The Federal Performance Management Office, together with the Federal Chancellery’s Legal and Constitutional Service, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Ministries responsible for issuing special regulations on different impact dimensions, provides va |
| Question | Answer | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Can affected parties request reconsideration or appeal adopted regulations to the relevant administrative agency? | Yes |
Articles 139 and 140 of the Austrian Federal Constitution (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz): http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokumente/Erv/ERV_1930_1/ERV_1930_1.pdf
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| When appealing against adverse regulatory decisions, which options are typically available to affected parties? | Judicial review | |
| Is there any existing requirement that regulations be periodically reviewed to see whether they are still needed or should be revised? | Yes |
Periodic evaluation is part of the RIA (WFA) system.
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