Stage 3: Consult

To ensure stakeholders are engaged with the review, consider different consultation methods.

Stakeholders need to be informed that the review is taking place so they can participate. Awareness raising can include:

• stories, articles and advertisements in printed and electronic media
• designated website pages
• information leaflets
• letters to key stakeholders including industry bodies and community organisations.

During this stage a common consultation method is to publish a paper seeking written stakeholder feedback.

General feedback on the legislation is usually sought before any proposals or drafts of  legislation are developed, a background or issues paper can encourage stakeholders to consider the matters and propose new ideas.

If feedback is sought on a proposed regulatory model, a discussion paper can include the issues and summarise the proposed model and any other proposals. It should provide enough information for stakeholders to respond and may call for specific feedback on the proposed model and other proposals, and/or general feedback on the issues raised.

Not all stakeholders have the time, resources or ability to provide written submissions so think about other methods that give everyone a chance to contribute their views such as:

• workshops
• focus groups
• community meetings
• one on one interviews
• surveys
• social media engagement.

It may be useful to pilot the proposed consultation method with a small group of stakeholders or agency staff to get feedback on the format and ensure it delivers high quality, useful information.

Using open ended questions in consultations often provides richer and more informative responses but may make quantitative analysis more difficult.

Effective relationship management increases the likelihood that stakeholders feel included and participate in consultation.

Consider if a stakeholder reference group should be formed to advise the review. This can be a useful tool to:

• coordinate feedback from a large number of key stakeholders
• regularly communicate with key stakeholders
• help the review team’s consultation by giving them access to the members, affiliates and network of these stakeholders.

When establishing a reference group ensure all members are made aware of their roles and decision making powers, if any. This is particularly relevant for stakeholders who are closely involved with the review. If their roles are not clearly communicated from the outset, their expectations may not match their actual role. This can lead to dissatisfaction and pose a risk to the review’s success.

If experts are invited to present information to the review, communicate beforehand if they are invited to participate in the subsequent discussion and decision making process.

Consider managing sensitivities between different stakeholders. For example, it may be appropriate to hold separate workshops for different stakeholder groups who hold strongly divergent views. Also consider the order in which stakeholders are consulted when developing the consultation plan.

Some stakeholders may ask for their feedback to be anonymous or kept confidential. It may be possible to honour this in the review’s publications, however consideration must be given as to what, if any, assurance of confidentiality can be given to stakeholders’ identity or with respect to the information provided.  Stakeholders must be made aware that any information submitted will still be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1992.

In its 2018 review of the Adoption Act 1994, the Department of Communities engaged stakeholders using different consultation methods:

• A newspaper advertisement and information on the department’s website invited submissions from interested individuals, government, community services agencies and community groups.
• Key stakeholders were invited to make submissions via letters. Recipients of these letters included adoptees identified through the Intercountry Adoptee Voices support group and Adoption Research and Counselling Services’ networks.
• The reference group held meetings with adoption service providers which enabled key services, groups and individuals to provide direct feedback on their experiences and knowledge of adoption. The reference group could ask questions and gain an understanding of matters identified in written submissions.