10 Point Systems That Work Pre-Governance Assessment
Before Parliament authorises major reform, it must be tested.
Parliament should not be asked to authorise reform based on assumptions, incomplete evidence or systems that have not been tested.
Major reform can reshape services, transfer costs and risks, alter people’s rights and affect the systems on which they rely. Once authority is granted and implementation begins, poorly designed reform can cause serious and widespread consequences that are difficult to reverse.
The Systems That Work Pre-Governance Assessment provides a practical 10-point gate for determining whether the foundations for safe, effective and accountable reform are in place before Parliament grants authority.
It asks whether:
- The problem being addressed is clearly defined and supported by evidence
- Credible and less harmful alternatives have been properly considered
- The reform is based on validated evidence rather than untested assumptions
- Economic, social, fiscal and cost-transfer impacts have been assessed
- Receiving systems and critical dependencies are ready before transition
- Foreseeable harms, rights impacts and safeguards have been considered
- Intended human outcomes are clear and measurable
- Responsibility is explicit if assumptions fail or outcomes deteriorate
- The reform can be paused, corrected or reversed before harm becomes entrenched
- Parliament has been given the information needed to properly test and scrutinise the proposed reform.
The Assessment applies a cumulative impact lens because people experience the combined consequences of reforms, not one policy decision at a time.
The Pre-Governance Assessment sits above the six practical tests within the Systems That Work™ Framework. It is the gate before authority is granted. If the gate is not passed, the reform is not ready for authorisation.
The final question for every major reform is:
Has government demonstrated enough evidence for Parliament to responsibly authorise it?
Because Parliament cannot responsibly authorise what it cannot see, test and scrutinise.
Download the Systems That Work Pre-Governance Assessment
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