Regulatory Regimes and Organised Crime: Consultation Paper
Terms of reference
[Referral to the Commission pursuant to section 5(1)(a) of the Victorian Law Reform Commission Act 2000 (Vic) on 29 October 2014.]
The Commission is asked to review and report on the use of regulatory regimes to help prevent organised crime and criminal organisations entering into or operating through lawful occupations and industries.
Regulatory regimes include the use of laws, regulations, policies and instruments to regulate a given occupation or industry, including licensing regimes and occupational registration requirements.
In particular, the Commission should consider:
1. the experience of Victoria and other jurisdictions in using occupational and industry regulation to help prevent organised crime infiltration of lawful occupations or industries
2. whether, to what extent and in what circumstances regulatory regimes may be effective in helping to prevent organised crime infiltration of lawful occupations or industries
3. the implications for the overall efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory regimes of using such regimes to help prevent organised crime infiltration of lawful industries or occupations
4. the costs and benefits of regulatory options to assist in preventing organised crime infiltration of lawful industries or occupations
5. how best to structure any regulatory regime to ensure its effectiveness in helping to prevent the infiltration of organised crime without imposing unreasonable regulatory burdens, including consideration of regulatory options such as:
• licensing (including negative licensing)
• registration
• notification
• statutory exclusions
• discretionary exclusions
• fit and proper person tests
• criminal offences
• the level of sanctions
6. whether a framework of principles can be established for assessing the risks of organised crime infiltration of different lawful occupations or industries and for developing suitable regulatory responses.
The Commission is to report by 29 February 2016.