The federal Opposition’s pledge to cut red tape by a quarter has been welcomed by a business lobby that counts the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) among its members.
The commitment gives a political platform to an argument insurers have been making for a year: that compliance costs are feeding into premiums.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced the commitment in a speech to Business Sydney on Monday. He said a Coalition government would cut federal red tape by 25% in its first term, which he estimated would save businesses $40 billion a year. Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume would lead a “red tape razor gang” to identify cuts.
The Alliance of Industry Associations, a group of around 30 industry bodies, said the pledge matched its own call for all governments to cut unnecessary regulatory costs by 25% by 2030. The Alliance relies on Australian Institute of Company Directors research putting the cost of federal regulatory compliance at about $160 billion a year, almost 6% of GDP. A quarter of that figure is the source of the $40 billion savings estimate.
The ICA put its own number on the problem last November. Its report The Cost of Regulatory Burden estimated that general...