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The Better Practice Inspections Playbook

Guidance for regulators on how to improve inspection practices and prepare for digital reform.

Details

Topic: Regulatory reform

Audiences: State government - regulatory operations, State government - regulatory policy

Regulatory functions: Practice and processes, Digitisation, Compliance and enforcement

Industry: All relevant industries

Document types: Framework, Guide, Playbook, Template

Author: Better Regulation Victoria

Date published: 30 April 2025

About

The Inspections Playbook provides guidance for all Victorian regulators on how they can prepare for digitisation and improve their compliance monitoring processes (with a focus on inspections) in a standardised way. The material is intended to complement BRV’s Better Practice Permissions Playbook.

The Inspections Playbook has been developed to assist regulators with existing systems and process, as well as those developing better practice from a blank slate.

How this tool can help

Regulators can use the playbook to:

Support to apply this tool

A quick overview of how a regulator can assess and build digital readiness for compliance monitoring inspections. Includes ten digital considerations.

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Overview PDF 1.68 MB (opens in a new window)

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Overview PPT 430.67 KB (opens in a new window)

Part A: Review the foundations of your compliance monitoring practice

Primarily to help executives and senior managers assess whether their organisations have effective regulatory strategies in place to guide their operational practices.

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Part A PDF 4.48 MB (opens in a new window)

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Part A PPT 795.19 KB (opens in a new window)

Part B: Designing better practice compliance monitoring inspection processes

Primarily for managers and reform officers implementing system reforms. Provides a ‘how to guide’ and process mappings to support inspections process reforms in a consistent, standardised way.

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Part B PPT 872.96 KB (opens in a new window)

Better Practice Inspections Playbook - Part B PPT 824.01 KB (opens in a new window)

Download

To complement this guidance, specialised ’tools’ to support regulators have been developed to help them make practical reforms to compliance monitoring processes.

Toolkit 1 - Strategic Resource Allocation Tool

Support for regulators to plan how they allocate their resources across inspection activities.

Toolkit 1 - Strategic Resource Allocation Tool - Better Practice Inspections Excel 3.25 MB (opens in a new window)

Toolkit 2 - Data and information architecture

Provides a framework for regulators to consider when assessing how data is structured within their systems and ‘knowledge management’ processes.

Toolkit 2 - Data and Information Architecture - Better Practice Inspections.pptx PPT 430.29 KB (opens in a new window)

Toolkit 3 - Triggering inspections from complaints and referrals

Support for regulators to develop a clear view of what initiates (or ‘triggers’) an inspection, so they are conducted consistently and are an appropriate regulatory response.

Toolkit 3 - Triggering Inspections from Complaints and Referrals - Better Practice Inspections.pptx PPT 466.75 KB (opens in a new window)

The Permissions and Inspections Playbooks complement other regulatory guidance

The Playbook links to other regulatory guidance, including the Victorian Guide to Regulation, Towards Best Practice guide for regulators, and the Victorian Permissions Framework and Guidance.

Updated 10 December 2025

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