This submission responds to a request by the Productivity Commission for information from Business Council of Australia member companies on local government issues, as part of its ‘Business Regulation Benchmarking: Role of Local Government as Regulator’ Commissioned Study.

It includes a number of examples of their experiences in dealing with local government, and reiterates our position on the need to improve regulatory processes and the associated burden for business.

Issues highlighted in the submission include:

• the lack of legislative and administrative coordination between state and local government jurisdictions
• the provision of inconsistent advice by local councils and conflicting interpretations of legislation by state and local governments
• the complexity required in addressing regulatory requirements and a lack of knowledge and understanding regarding the guidelines being enforced.

We support seamless national economy reforms that lead to the reduction and unnecessary inconsistency and duplication in all areas of regulation, and we have called for effective coordination and cooperation and clearly defined roles and responsibilities between all tiers of government.

Specific areas for the Productivity Commission might like to explore include:

• incentives that require local government authorities to come together and make decisions
• reform to drive improved capacity among local government authorities to deal with complex matters
• specifically designed institutions to drive urban renewal and major corridor development.

Submission to the Productivity Commission on the Role of Local Government as Regulator