Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has revealed the Government’s final response to the “Rethinking Regulation” report of a taskforce led by Productivity Commission Chairman Gary Banks.

Mr Costello says the Government has agreed with 158 of the 178 recommendations and plans to begin implementing some of them immediately.

One important area will be the reduction of business reporting costs. Mr Costello has said a new committee of state and federal officials will develop policies for reducing the effects of compliance on business.

One plan may involve a national IT system that would manage business information – delivering the necessary data to the state or federal authorities that require it.

Mr Costello has also committed himself to working with state and territory governments to harmonise national conveyancing laws, reviewing the thresholds that define a proprietary company and creating a streamlined national system of business name registration.

Further, the Government plans to sharpen its own scrutiny of proposed legislation, with cost-benefit analysis being a compulsory part of any new laws.

“These improvements are in addition to the range of taxation and superannuation measures I announced in the recent Budget which will benefit business and reduce red tape,” Mr Costello said.

He says he is confident the new measures will be well received by his state and territory counterparts, saying the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has agreed to take an active role in reforming business regulation.

“In many areas, regulation reform and red tape reduction are best achieved through co-operation between governments,” he said. “COAG has committed as part of the new National Reform Agenda to work together to reduce the regulatory burden on business from all three levels of government and to improve regulation-making processes.”