Our Strategic Approach to Risk and Regulation

We have a unique strategic management approach to define, develop and manage a regulatory system that has risk and safety as its core perspectives. It is a comprehensive, knowledge based approach developed with the advice and input of many of Australia’s leading regulatory authorities.

The elegance of this approach is it can be applied to any situation from the system regulating (such as a government regulatory body) to a system being regulated (such as a company within a particular industry). It may be that the system regulating and the system being regulated are within the same entity such as a global business. For example, one part of the business regulates all other parts for say, safety.

Because it is a generic knowledge approach, it simply doesn’t matter what the scope, complexity, entity or industry is. This framework will guide you through the process and ensure you have covered all areas. The broad framework comprises four different aspects to a Regulatory System, all designed to manage the apparent risk.

Regulatory Strategies

For example, the Regulatory Strategies, implemented against a risk profile, comprise:

• Mandated Regulation. Mandated Regulation is generally based on a body of prescriptive ‘black-letter’ law. It tends to be authoritarian and might generally be considered inflexible in its application.
• Co-Regulation. Co-regulation generally exists where the industry or system being regulated develops and administers its own arrangements, but there is a body of codes and standards that underpin the arrangements and allows them to be enforced. These codes and standards are often called ‘grey letter’ law.
• Coercive Regulation. Coercive regulation refers to the range of rules, instruments, codes, and standards whereby government influences businesses and organisations to comply, but which do not form part of explicit government regulation or ‘black letter’ law. Coercive regulation usually provides incentives for compliance such as official endorsement, funding, or other assistance.
• Voluntary or Self-Regulation. Voluntary or Self-regulation occurs where an industry or organisation formulates its own rules and procedures, and is solely responsible for their administration. This model implies that a mature state exists within the industry with all parties accepting that they have mutual obligations. These obligations may be documented as voluntary codes or standards, and are developed by experts within the industry, profession, or organisation.
• Nil Regulation. Nil-regulation is the conscious decision to do nothing. We wish to emphasise that it should be a conscious decision to do nothing rather than the system being unregulated due to neglect or a blasé attitude toward risk and safety.

Download or read a double-blind peer-reviewed paper on our approach. Alternatively e-mail or ring us if you want to know more.