The Registrar is on site in Wellington, New Zealand, covering key highlights and insights from CLEAR’s 8th International Congress on Professional and Occupational Regulation.
The opening keynote of CLEAR’s 8th International Congress on Professional and Occupational Regulation set the tone for the global conversation on modern, effective and people-centred regulation.
Delivered by Alan Clamp, Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority, the keynote introduced the updated Right-Touch Regulation 2025 framework and offered clear guidance for regulators navigating increasing complexity and public pressure.
Clamp highlighted a universal theme across the international regulatory community, noting that regardless of jurisdiction or sector, regulators are grappling with many of the same challenges. Shifting expectations, evolving risks, and rising criticism require regulators to think more clearly about decision-making and proportionality. Right-touch regulation, he explained, provides a grounded, principles-based approach for doing exactly that.
The framework centres on balance. Clamp stressed that regulators must avoid both over-regulation and under-regulation and instead focus on the level of assurance that is “just right.” He reminded attendees that effective regulation manages risk but cannot eliminate it entirely. Because risks, environments and public tolerance levels shift over time, regulators must revisit these decisions regularly rather than set a direction once and move on.
One of the most significant updates in Right-Touch Regulation 2025 is its stronger emphasis on agility. Clamp encouraged regulators to look ahead and anticipate emerging risks, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence and changing professional practice. Without agility, he warned, regulators risk “regulating yesterday’s problems” while new forms of harm continue to grow.
Clamp also encouraged a renewed focus on supportive and preventative approaches. He noted that most risk is managed long before regulatory intervention, through the actions of professionals and local systems. By strengthening these first and second lines of defense, regulators can reduce the need for enforcement. “We need more carrots and fewer sticks,” he said, underscoring the importance of positive guidance and practical support.
Throughout the keynote, Clamp emphasized that right-touch regulation is not tied to one sector or country. It’s a flexible approach suitable for any regulator committed to thoughtful, proportionate, and evidence-informed decision-making.
He concluded with a simple reminder that right-touch regulation supports better outcomes for the people regulators are entrusted to protect. “If we apply right-touch regulation,” he said, “we will do a better job at protecting the people we serve. That’s why we are here.”
