NSW regulators will need to join the state government’s ‘eRegulation’ platform to retain their authority under a plan to digitally amalgamate regulators similarly to the state’s planning departments.
Eventually the NSW platforms will be linked and presented to business customers through a single interface modelled on the successful Service NSW program.
NSW Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello addressed the eRegulator plan, first floated in December, at the RegTech Association’s annual conference AccelerateRegTech 2021 in Sydney.
He said an upcoming “eRegulation” platform would reduce time and red tape for businesses dealing with regulators like SafeWork NSW, the NSW Environment Protection Authority and local councils. There are 28 regulatory bodies on NSW.
Connecting the regulatory bodies through a digital platform would provide citizens and businesses a single consistent interface but allow the bodies to retain their “deep wells” of expertise, according to the NSW Cabinet minister.
“We need that [deep expertise of individual regulators] to keep people safe, to keep products and quality services high. But for them to have authority – that is, the authority of law – then they’re going to have to participate [in] or join the eRegulator platform.
“That gives us an opportunity to harmonise a lot of the language, it gives us an opportunity to be more consistent in our engagement with the customer, with the businesses. And it gives us that one door into government in terms of regulation.”
An alternative red tape busting proposal of amalgamating all NSW regulators into a single body would be too difficult, does not guarantee more efficiency and would likely be unwound by future governments, according to Mr Dominello.
The NSW government has already implemented a similar platform for planning proposals, connecting the government agencies and more than 140 councils through a single digital service.
But Minister Dominello told the Accelerate RegTech event that applying the platform model to regulatory bodies would be truly “world leading”.
“If we pull this off this will be truly amazing. Because it’s something that’s been a bugbear of mine for five or six years now but long term to get done.”
Eventually, after the regulators and other government business services are connected, a single customer interface will be built on top, under Mr Dominello’s plan.
A Service NSW for Business interface will eventually connect NSW businesses to a variety of services like regulators and planners in the same way Service NSW currently acts for individual citizens.
“If we can create the same type of concierge red carpet treatment for business, then that will make their life a lot easier.
“Whether it’s applying for grants, whether it’s getting assistance in relation to rebates or refunds, whether it’s trying to get information in relation to cyber threats or information on AI policy, or whatever the case may be… their front door will be [NSW] Service and Business.”
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