20 November 2012 | Fair Trading, NSW Government
More than 600 co-operatives across NSW will benefit from proposed new national regulations designed to reduce red tape and add a competitive edge, the NSW Commissioner for Fair Trading, Rod Stowe, announced today.
Releasing the draft Co-operatives National Regulations for public and industry comment, Mr
Stowe invited the state’s 1.5 million co-op members to have their say on how to improve the regulations that govern them to ensure they get the perfect fit for improved and practical operation of the law.
“Co-operatives are a success story for communities across this state and the country, providing community services and building social capital through democratic and open membership,” he said.
“2012 is the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives and what better way to celebrate than having the legislature and the community work together to slash red tape, reduce costs and get better regulation for everyone.”
One of the United Nation’s goals this year is to encourage governments to establish policies, laws and regulations that support the formation, growth and stability of co-operatives. NSW is the lead jurisdiction for the new co-operatives laws and is working together with the other states and territories on these reforms.
In May this year, the NSW Parliament passed the Co-operatives (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012, which will commence once the new regulations and administrative processes are in place. The other states and territories are working on implementation of new nationally consistent laws.
The draft regulations come with a summary guide to help the co-operatives sector, members of the public and other interested stakeholders submit comments and suggestions.
The regulations are drafted in a modern accessible manner, recognising the unique democratic structure of co-operatives. The new regulations also seek to rectify unfair competitive advantages that companies have over co-operatives by allowing co-operatives to operate on a national basis and reducing the amount of onerous financial reporting for small co-operatives.
Mr Stowe encouraged anyone wanting to comment on the draft Co-operatives National Regulations to visit the NSW Fair Trading website at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
A short online survey is also available and is a quick and easy way to contribute.
The closing date for comments and the short survey is 7 January 2013.
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