Births, Deaths and Marriages - Regulatory Impact Statement


Option 2 - Remake the Existing Regulation Without Change

9. OPTION 2 - Remake the Existing Regulation Without change

The Registry has not increased its fees since 1 September 1996. Since that time, there has been a cumulative increase of 11.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index.

During this period, the Registry’s operating costs have increased from $9.078 million to $10.9 million. The Registry has also absorbed the cost increases which flowed from implementation of the GST. Whereas previously, it could obtain goods and services on a sales tax exempt basis, it now pays GST on goods and services.

The Registry does not charge fees to register new events (births, deaths & marriages). These registration costs are apportioned across the cost of producing certified copies (certificates) of registered events.

Since its last fee increase, the Registry has initiated a number of projects to improve the services that it provides to its clients. These have included providing Internet access to family history indexes and on-line ordering of certificates, and the development of fraud minimisation initiatives such as certificate security paper and the Certificate Validation Service. The cost of these projects has been absorbed by the Registry.

Over the next 5 years, the Registry is committed to the continued development of innovative products and services. These include introducing a plastic birth card to provide an affordable, secure identification document; proceeding with the next phase of the data conversion project; and an expansion of on-line services including an index enhancement programme. Joint initiatives with Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages in other States are also planned. These initiatives will lead to improved service levels across the nation and the introduction of enhanced security measures to reduce identity fraud.

Costs

The costs of remaking the existing Regulation without change would mean that:

The Registry will be unable to continue to return the same level of dividend to the Government meaning that funds will not be available for expenditure by Government on other projects; and

The Registry will need to cut services and will not be able to continue its program of developing new client service initiatives and improving the security and integrity of the database. This could jeopardise the ongoing data conversion programme, new product development, fraud control initiatives and the development of a national service network.

Benefits

The benefits of remaking the existing Regulation without change would mean that:

The current fee structure would be maintained;

There would be certainty that fees are being imposed equitably and that users of the Registry are making some contribution to the cost of providing its services; and

People would be required to provide information to the Registry and the integrity of the Registers would be maintained.

Conclusion

It is considered that Option 2 will ensure that the Registry can continue to collect consistent and reliable information. However, this Option will not provide the Registry with the necessary resources to ensure that it can maintain its standards of service delivery and data integrity in the longer term.