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Glossary
This glossary contains the definition of common terms and phrases that appear in this
report and in the regulator survey. It is based on the instructions that are sent to the
regulators that complete the survey. Terms marked with an asterisk in the regulator
responses appear in this glossary.
Act
A Bill that has been passed by Parliament, received
Royal Assent and become law
administered Acts and
Regulations
Acts and Regulations that are administered or
enforced by the regulator
administration and
enforcement of regulation
Processing of permits and licences, responding to
enquires from regulated entities and
consumers/public, investigating complaints,
inspections, audits etc. Includes consultation on how
to improve these elements of administration
advisory body
Victorian body that provides independent and/or
expert advice to Ministers, regulators or departments
to inform regulatory decision-making, and functions as
standing consultative mechanisms
annual public reporting of key
performance indicators
Information on the public reporting of key
performance indicators of the regulator, such as in
their annual report or on their website
board
See commission
client satisfaction
Satisfaction of stakeholders in the services provided by
the regulator
codes of practice
Rules of practice and conduct that an industry or
professional association adopts that may or may not
be legally enforceable
commission
A group of people officially authorised by primary or
subordinate legislation and appointed by the
Governor-in-Council to perform regulatory duties or
functions
complaint
A grievance, either made directly to a regulator or
referred by a third party, about any aspect of the
performance of a regulated firm or professional under
the regulator’s purview
consultative body
See advisory body
coverage of outcome
measures
Estimated proportion of regulatory activity for which
there are outcome measures
disciplinary action
Action taken in response to misconduct
EFT
Equivalent full-time employees
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enabling Acts and Regulations
Acts and Regulations that establish the regulator.
These do not include all Victorian Legislation with
which the regulator must comply in its internal
operations
enforcement
Action taken to compel compliance with obligations
or to punish non-compliance
external data sources/audit
Outcome measures are assessed using
external/independent data sources and/or verified by
external/independent review or audit
financial year
The 12 months from 1 July in one year to 30 June in the
next
governing body
The body with lead responsibility for decision-making
regarding the operations of the regulator
Governor-in-Council
The formal meeting of the Governor and the Executive
Council
guidance publications
Material provided by a regulator to inform the public
or assist compliance
independent regulator
A regulator that has been established by an Act of
Parliament and operates at arms-length from
government
indicators compared with
interstate or similar Victorian
bodies
Quantitative data on the regulatory activity are
compared with equivalent bodies in other jurisdictions
or similar entities in Victoria
integrated into internal
planning processes
Regulatory outcome measures are agreed and
monitored as part of the agency’s business planning
processes
Interstate agencies with similar
responsibilities or functions
A state or Commonwealth agency that carries out
similar duties and performs similar roles to the regulator
in question
investigation
An inquiry by a regulator into a complaint made
about a regulated firm or professional’s compliance
with mandatory requirements imposed by the
Government
legislation
Laws passed by Parliament (as distinct from statutory
rules that are made under powers delegated by
Parliament)
licensed/registered parties
Persons or firms that have satisfied requirements such
as competence, experience tests and so on, allowing
them to carry out a regulated business. This may also
refer to a location or other entity
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VICTORIAN REGULATORY SYSTEM
measures of administrative
burden on regulated entities
Annual public reporting of quantitative measures of
the costs incurred by a firm or professional to
demonstrate compliance or allow government to
administer regulation
measures of
outcome/compliance
Measures of the results of regulation in terms of the
policy objectives
Ministerial statement of
expectations
A statement made by the responsible Minister that
outlines relevant government policies, including the
government’s current objectives and priorities relevant
to the regulator, and any expectations on how the
regulator should conduct its operations
not applicable
The question does not apply to the regulator. The
questions pertaining to the composition of the
governing body, for example, do not apply to
regulators located within government departments.
Some regulators are only recently established, so the
questions regarding years when they were not in
existence are not applicable
not available
A regulatory body has stated that the relevant
information is unavailable to them
not recorded
The regulator has stated that the information is not
recorded
not supplied
This information has not been provided by the
regulator and could not be sourced from publicly
available material
number of key activities
Quantitatively report number of regulatory activities
undertaken
objectives
The entity’s purpose, particularly with regard to its
regulatory role
penalties
Any sanction, including deregistration, fines and
suspension, imposed on a regulated firm or
professional by a regulator in response to conduct
deemed contrary to regulatory requirements
permanent external
consultative and advisory
bodies
A consultative or advisory body established either by a
Minister, department or regulator, with an operational
life exceeding one year
policy advice
Advice through a formal mechanism on changes in
mandatory regulations, legislation, codes of practice,
and rules that affect private activities
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policy development
The process of formulating the direction of new
primary and subordinate legislation, codes of
practice, preparing regulatory impact statements and
business impact assessments, policies on funding
programs, community information or other activities. It
includes consultation on these matters
potential benchmarks
Entities which undertake similar functions or processes
and consequently could be a source of comparative
performance information, with appropriate caveats
regarding different contexts or circumstances
process-based regulation
An obligation on regulated entities to identify actual or
potential harms that arise from activities they
undertake, assessing the risk of the harm occurring,
and identifying and implementing practicable means
to reduce or eliminate those risks. This risk
management process is often required to be
documented (to demonstrate compliance), with risk
management plans submitted to Government or
made available for inspection by the regulator. These
plans (and their implementation) may also be subject
to audit by regulators and periodic review
quantitative evaluation
reported for regulatory
initiatives/projects
Reporting of the quantitative assessment of programs
intended to improve regulatory outcomes
regional Victoria
Areas of Victoria outside metropolitan Melbourne
regulated entities
Individuals, businesses and organisations that are
subject to one or more powers of the regulator
regulator
A State Government entity (either independent or
within a department) that draws from primary or
subordinate legislation one of more of the following
powers in relation to businesses and/or occupations:
inspection, referral, advice to third parties, licensing
and accreditation or enforcement
risk management strategy
Strategy developed to manage risks to the agency’s
achievement of the policy objectives set by
government. These risks may be external (such as
those that arise due to changes in technology, market
conditions or other external factors) or internal (such as
information technology, operation or legal risks). The
strategy would be expected to cover the process of
the identification, measurement, control and financing
of risks which threaten the existence, reputation, assets
or personnel of the regulator or the services it provides
stakeholder consultation/
engagement policy
Policy developed to facilitate genuine and informed
stakeholder consultation and engagement with the
agency. This can include processes that identify when
consultation will occur, who will be consulted and how
they will be consulted
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VICTORIAN REGULATORY SYSTEM
stakeholders
All the parties that have an interest, financial or
otherwise, in an organisation, including employees,
customers, management, the community and
government
strategy related to
enforcement
The documented enforcement or compliance
policy/strategy or guidelines which outline how the
regulator intends to enforce compliance with
regulatory requirements. A risk-based strategy will base
resources and actions on a systematic, and usually
quantitative, assessment of the likelihood and
consequences of potential adverse events related to
the objectives of the regulator
subordinate legislation
Statutory rules or Regulations made under the
authority of an Act
sunsetting
Automatic lapsing of a law or subordinate regulation
after a fixed period, unless something happens to
keep it in place
timeliness of regulatory
process
Quantitative reporting of time taken to undertake
regulatory functions, such as issuing permits, licences,
completion of investigations, etc.
unit costs for key regulatory
processes
Cost per unit of completing procedures to facilitate
regulation, such as cost per regulated professional,
cost per investigation, cost per permit processed
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