Towards Best Practice in Measuring Regulatory Burdens: A Case Study of Environmental Regulation in the Australian Rail Industry

This article presents a methodology for quantifying the costs of dysfunctional environmental regulation faced by the Australian rail industry and derives indicative lessons for best practice with respect to measuring regulatory burden. By drawing on results from a recent benchmarking analysis, the suitability of the methodology is assessed. The study suggests that the methodology presented could be applied to other industries seeking to measure the policy-inefficient government regulatory burden. Further methodological improvements are also recommended.