Council of Law Reporting Act 1969


Competition Policy Review Report - Introduction and Terms of Reference


INTRODUCTION

In late 1999 the Attorney General’s Department issued a Discusion Paper on the National Competition Policy Review of the Council of Law Reporting Act 1969.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

The review of the Council of Law Reporting Act 1969 (the Act) shall be conducted in accordance with the principles for legislation reviews set out in the Competition Principles Agreement. The guiding principle of the review is that legislation should not restrict competition unless it can be demonstrated that:

• the benefits of the restriction to the community as a whole outweigh the costs, and
• the objectives of the legislation can only be achieved by restricting competition.

• clarify the objectives of the legislation, and their continuing appropriateness,
• identify the nature of the restrictive effects on competition,
• analyse the likely effect of any identified restriction on competition on the economy generally,
• assess and balance the costs and benefits of the restrictions identified,
• consider alternative means for achieving the same result, including non-legislative approaches; and
• take into account recent developments in Information Technology and consult with the Office of Information Technology.

• identify any issues of market failure which need to be, or are being addressed by the legislation, and
• consider whether the effects of the legislation contravene the competitive conduct rules in Part IV of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the NSW Competition Code.