1. Regulatory Impact Assessment in Austria
Dr. Andreas Fraydenegg
Directorate General for Budget and Public Finance
Department for General Issues, Coordination and Law
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

2. Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
undesired
impact
desired
impact
cost
outcome
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

3. Scope of RIA
mandatory for all new laws, ordinances, international agreements – national and EU legislation
big projects (e.g. procurement, building projects), depending on financial impact
done within the administration responsible
only significant impacts are assessed in detail
internal evaluation within 5 years
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

4. The seven steps to RIA Problem analysis Outcome statement
Output statement
Impact assessment
Planning of internal evaluation
Detailed Documentation
Internal evaluation
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

5. Impact dimensions defined by law
Financial (budgetary) impact
Impact on the overall economy
Impact on enterprises
Environmental impact
Impact in the field of consumer protection policy
Impact on administrative costs for citizens and enterprises
Social impact
Impact on children and young people
Impact regarding equality of women and men
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

6. The MoF‘s central objective
The MoF (especially the DG for Budget and Public Finance) is committed to providing value for money and initiating public sector reforms
The Austrian Constitution sets down the guiding principles for public finance (Art. 51): efficiency, transparency, outcome orientation, gender equality and a true and fair view on the state of the public finances
RIA is a key instrument for achieving these goals
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

7. RIA and fiscal discipline
The RIA process forces the administration to ex-ante clearly assess financial consequences of the respective issue
Starting point for a change in focus – from input to outcome and efficiency
Also: to assess consequences for the diverse impact dimensions
The practical application of RIA is supported by a standardized IT-tool provided by the MoF
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

8. Scope of RIA (financial)
Costs and benefits to federal/regional/local government
Costs and benefits to social security providers
Direct costs and benefits only
Only costs and benefits that can be measured financially
Not included: Public enterprises, self-governing bodies outside the federal budget
Time scope: next four years (based on the scope of the medium-term-financial framework)
Long-term-costs and benefits (where applicable)
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

9. The MoF‘s role in RIA
Every RIA statement has to be sent to the MoF for quality assurance and budgetary agreement
Impact Dimensions most relevant for the MoF:
Impact on public budgets (federal/regional/local level, Social Security)
Impact on bureaucracy costs for citizens and businesses (how much time is needed to comply with a new regulation)
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

10. Assessment of RIA Are there consequences for public budgets?
Have they been fully and correctly assessed?
Are calculations and models comprehensible, verifiable and consistent? From where‘s the data?
Does the RIA contradict evidence and/or past experience regarding the relevant topic?
How and where will expenses be covered (in which detail budget?)
What about savings?
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

11. RIA and bureaucracy costs
New regulation often creates a substantial regulatory burden for citizens and/or businesses
Measures the time needed for complying with regulation („information requirements“)
Time needed is converted into financial costs using average hourly wages
Not measured here: direct costs to businesses or citizens (e.g. administrative fees)
Objective: creating transparency and raise awareness
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

12. RIA and Deregulation
Law on the Principles of Deregulation (takes effect on July 1st, 2017)
One in, one out
Sunset legislation
No „gold plating“
where applicable
We point to these principles in our assessment of the RIA statement – especially when referring to bureaucracy costs
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

13. Our Experience – Lessons learned
The quality of RIA statements varies
Trend: RIA statements have greatly improved since 2013
2016: The Court of Auditors regarded the quality of the RIA (assesment of financial impact) as „good“ or „very good“ in 74% of all cases – up from 61% in 2015
MoF assessment of RIA statements leads to improvements across the board
Impact dimension „bureaucracy costs“ is sometimes neglected by other ministries
Impact of RIA on public policy debate is still rather low
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

14. Challenges and next steps
Improving the quality of RIA
Further enhancing the use of RIA for purposes of „good government“ and „better regulation“
Strengthening the role of RIA in public policy debates
Optimizing the legal framework and scope for RIA (e.g. to include public enterprises)
Development of a new IT-Tool (web-based)
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018

15. Thank you for your attention.
Dr. Andreas Fraydenegg
Directorate General for Budget and Public Finance
Department for General Issues, Coordination and Law
Himmelpfortgasse 9
1010 Vienna
+43/1/
PEMPAL Workshop, Vienna, March 13th, 2018