Public consultation process

Why we consult

Consulting with the public and the market when developing rules and policy guidance is not only good public policy and consistent with the approach taken by other public bodies, but assists with:

  • acceptance of the proposal
  • achievement of the aims of the proposal, with fewer unintended consequences or loopholes and
  • better response to changing circumstances.

Public consultation helps market participants understand the goals of the Panel’s proposals and enables them to contribute to creating and maintaining rules and policy that meets the needs of the market.

How we consult

The process the Panel will usually adopt when making rules or issuing guidance notes is as follows.

  1. The Panel will appoint a sub-committee to consider a proposal for a rule or policy guidance. Sub-committees may include non-Panel members. The sub-committee works with the Panel Executive to prepare a recommendation.
  2. In the development phase, there may be private consultation or testing with third parties, including ASIC, on an informal basis.
  3. The proposal as developed by the sub-committee is put to the full Panel membership for approval prior to public consultation.
  4. The proposal, if approved, will be issued for public consultation. The Panel may identify specific issues on which it seeks views as well as seeking general comments. The Panel will normally:
    1. publish a consultation draft of the proposal on its website. Consultation papers are listed on the Consultations page.
    2. issue a media release advising of the consultation draft and
    3. allow an appropriate time for responses (usually about 3 to 6 weeks). 
  5. After the consultation period, the Panel considers the comments received and will publish its final document (or its conclusion that no amendments are necessary) on its website. The Panel reserves the right to make changes to the consultation draft in response to submissions or otherwise.
  6. The Panel may publish a response document to the submissions received on the consultation draft. This may include its reasons for making amendments from the consultation draft. Panel policy is that submissions by parties on a consultation draft may be made public unless the respondent requests confidentiality.