The total number of regulatory restrictions in laws enforced by the federal government is now at a record high of 371,514.
This analysis is based on RegData, a red tape measure developed by George Mason University’s world-leading regulatory economics faculty, the Mercatus Center.
- In 2005, just under 200,000 regulatory restrictions in federal laws were imposed on Australian businesses and individuals.
- Since 2005, federal red tape has increased by 88%, a net increase of 173,856 regulatory restrictions.
- Red tape has grown at a rate two-thirds greater than overall national economic growth since 2005.
- Every state has increased the amount of red tape contained in state laws between 2019 and 2022.
Chart 1: Total number of regulatory restrictiveness clauses in federal laws, 2005-2022
