GAP hosts high level conferences, seminars, briefings, online forums and business missions, both internationally and within Australia.

See below the summary of the following initiatives:
• NSW Strata Laws Online Consultation 2012-2011
• GAP Workshop on Cloud Computing 2011
• Task Force on Cloud Computing 2011 Report
• GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs 2008
• Regulating in Technology Rich Environments Task Force 2008
• Creating a Better Regulatory Environment for Innovation 2007

The New South Wales Government plans to start
a comprehensive review of its strata and
community title laws in 2012, which may include significant amendments to the existing legislation. To support this reform, GAP is hosting an online community consultation on Open Forum to give individuals and businesses affected by the reforms an opportunity to share their experiences, raise specific issues or concerns and suggest possible solutions.

2011 marks the 50^th anniversary of the first strata laws which were introduced in NSW back in 1961. There are currently over 70,000 strata schemes and 1500 community schemes in the state, providing accommodation for more than two million people. These figures are only set to rise to meet the needs of our growing population. Some estimates suggest that within 30 years half the state's population will be living in strata and community schemes (source - blog by the Hon. Andrew Roberts MP, NSW Minister for Fair Trading).

The Strata Laws online consultation is structured around the following questions:

Q1. What are the main areas of the existing strata and community scheme laws you would like to see changed?
 
Q2. Can you see any future issues that need to be addressed in the legislation?
 
Q3. How could the management of strata and community schemes be improved?
 
Q4. Are there any changes needed to the way disputes in strata and community schemes are resolved?

The consultation is open to the general public as well as members of the strata community, including owners, tenants, strata agents, developers, surveyors, valuers, real estate agents, lawyers and academics who have experience and understanding of the current legislation, or specialist knowledge of the strata industry. Larger organisations and key stakeholder bodies are also invited to contribute.

Contributions close 29 February 2012. For more information, click here.

Cloud Computing - a cross-disciplinary stakeholder group established by GAP in 2010 to address the potential impact of Cloud computing on the Australian economy, identify any issues of concern and work with the Government to develop appropriate policy frameworks for vendors, businesses and consumers. The recommendations of the Task Force were summarised in a public report released in May 2011.

The June workshop was structured around four broad sets of issues:

• Cloud computing and opportunities for industry development
• The ways in which the NBN, in combination with Cloud computing, can transform
   economic and social development and government service delivery
• The implications of the use of Cloud computing by consumers and small business
• Policy frameworks, including privacy, standards and industry codes of conduct

         << Download The 24 June Workshop Report of Proceedings ^NEW! [PDF 3.2MB]

There was widespread support at the workshop for governments to continue to develop an understanding of Cloud computing issues, but not to rush towards any quick regulatory responses. A combination of existing measures, self-regulation and industry's voluntary codes of conduct may suffice to support customer interests. At the same time, the legitimate concerns of consumers and privacy advocates need to be considered in future work.

There was considerable support for governments and the private sector to continue to work together to identify evolving opportunities to use Cloud computing to transform government service delivery and develop new business opportunities as the NBN is rolled out. It was acknowledged that the Government could drive the take-up of Cloud solutions and encourage open systems and interoperability through their own procurement patterns, while an ongoing collaboration between government, industry and consumer groups should continue to raise awareness of the advantages of the Cloud and help consumers and small business to be well informed when adopted these services.

The GAP Workshop on Cloud Computing 2011 was sponsored by:

     • Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy
     • CSC Australia
     • Hewlett-Packard
     • Servcorp
     • Open Forum
     • UXC Limited

The GAP Workshop on Cloud Computing was held on 24 June 2011 in Sydney, Australia.

The Congress championed a forward thinking approach to how Australian businesses can use regulation to their advantage. The need for government to rationalise overlapping and outdated regulation and examine the cumulative effect and cost of new laws was also highlighted.

Prominent Australian and international keynote speakers outlined how a flexible regulatory environment and the active participation of industry and citizenry in the pre-legislative consultation process can contribute to a stronger, more productive economy and a more informed and innovative society.
 
         << Download The GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs Report [PDF 1MB]

Key points arising from the Congress included:

1. Technological innovation and the dissolving of national boundaries in cyberspace render traditional approaches to its regulation irrelevant. Despite the problems this raises, technology offers great benefits in citizen-centric service delivery which should not be stymied by the hyping of privacy concerns not shared by the majority of citizens.

2. 'Cloud computing' has the ability to revolutionise business computing, but requires safeguards and incentives to promote its adoption. Web 2.0 social networks and their ubiquitous adoption by 'Generation Y' create new challenges for businesses in controlling the dissemination of sensitive information.

3. Telecommunications regulation requires radical reform to encourage the major investment necessary to modernise Australia's inadequate broadband provision.

4. 'Responsive' regulation, which seeks to deal with issues at a low level before they develop into serious problems, should be employed to prevent crises which inevitably invite heavy-handed over-regulation. Self-regulated standards can be used as an effective alternative to 'black letter' legislation in many areas.

5. Regulatory reform can encourage investment and economic activity by reducing the burden of 'red tape' on businesses and individuals. The 'Second Track' process has a useful role to play in fostering novel solutions to regulatory problems, and the current government is committed to a process of continual regulatory reform with a view to increasing economic efficiency and national harmony.

In the lead up to the Congress, GAP launched an online discussion forum on 'Regulation as a Business Opportunity and Driver of Innovation' on the Open Forum website and published a number of blogs by the Congress speakers and delegates.

Post-Congress, Open Forum was chosen by the Hon. Lindsay Tanner MP, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, as a platform for his Better Regulation 'live blog' on 13-17 October 2008.

The GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs 2008 was sponsored by:

     • Standard Business Reporting - An Australian Government Initiative
     • Victorian Government
     • Queensland Government
     • Symantec Australia
     • Telstra Corporation
     • Citrix Systems Australia & New Zealand
     • Open Forum

The GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs was held on 25 and 26 September 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.

current regulatory regime. The task force hopes to fill the policy vacuum which seems to exist at the moment in the area of telecommunications regulation.

<< Download the Task Force report [PDF 283KB]

Australia's telecommunications network suffers from a chronic lack of investment, leaving Australia disadvantaged in the modern information economy. An overbearing regulatory framework has deterred the necessary investment, focusing on the distribution of wealth in the current network, rather than fostering the creation of wealth and new assets. The regulatory framework requires fundamental reform. Evidence from other regulatory frameworks, such as energy, shows the benefits of separating powers between bodies tasked with setting policy, framing rules and implementing them in practice. Furthermore, the process should be subject to an independent system of review.

At their three meetings held in February, May and July 2008 in Sydney and Melbourne, the Task Force discussed the need to embrace reform, and a policy paper "Directions for Reform of Part XIC of the Trade Practices Act 1997 was put forward as a possible framework for moving the process forward. It was agreed reform should encourage more and better competition and innovation, as well as much needed increased investment in the telecommunications sector.

The findings of the Task Force were presented at the GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs: "Opportunities for Business", held in Parliament House of Victoria in Melbourne in September 2008.

with the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, Victoria, the Forum brought together a select group of top level government and business executives to explore priorities and actions which may be pursued through the proposed National Innovation Agenda. The need for a better regulatory environment for business innovation is one of five themes identified in the proposal.

<< Download the Forum report [PDF 1.01MB]

The Forum featured Dr Nicholas Gruen, Chief Executive Officer of Lateral Economics, as the keynote speaker. A leading Australian economist, Dr Gruen chairs National Forum which is the holding company for Online Opinion. Previously he was Director of the Business Council of Australia's New Directions economic reform project and before that was on the Productivity Commission, where he was Presiding Commissioner on one inquiry and an industry study and Associate Commissioner on five inquiries.

The Forum advocated urgency in reconsidering the approach to regulation in order to become more responsive to stakeholder needs. Australia needs to become a "regulatory pacesetter" to compete in the global market.

The Forum on "Creating a Better Regulatory Environment for Innovation" was held on 28 August 2007 in Melbourne, Australia, as part of the GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs initiative.

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Last Updated 25 May 2011