The Albanese Government welcomes the Productivity Commission's call for submissions on priority reform areas released today.
We're determined to make Australia's economy more prosperous and productive and this work from the PC is an important part of that process.
The Albanese Labor Government inherited the largest quarterly fall in productivity in 45 years, with productivity going backwards by 2.4 per cent in the June quarter 2022 - the largest quarterly fall since June quarter 1979.
Over the decade to 2020, average annual labour productivity growth in Australia was the slowest in 60 years, falling to just 1.1 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent over the 60 years to 2019-20.
Flatlining productivity is one of the biggest challenges facing our nation, and that's why we need a big national effort to turn it around.
That's why on 13 December 2024, I tasked the Productivity Commission to provide the government with advice on how to address Australia's long‑run productivity challenges.
The Productivity Commission has identified 15 priority reform areas for further exploration and will consult on these initiatives from today.
This is only an initial call for submissions from the PC, and we expect their findings will be informed by the information collected through their consultation process.
We'll consider the PC's recommendations within the context of the fiscal constraints we inherited and balance these against other government priorities.
We might not be able to run with everything, but we will consider all of it and see what we can progress.
The Albanese Government already has an ambitious productivity agenda and we're eager to build on it.
In our first term, we abolished nearly 500 nuisance tariffs and streamlined and strengthened approval processes in a number of areas including foreign investment, energy, environment and planning.
We have reformed skills, education and aged care, and we are making it easier for investors to progress transformational projects, including investing in cheaper, cleaner energy.
We're also revitalising competition through the biggest changes to merger laws in 50 years, the 10‑year Competition Reform Roadmap, and the $900 million National Productivity Fund.
In our second term, we'll progress further reforms including occupational licensing for electricians, abolishing non‑compete clauses, unlocking opportunities in AI and digital assets, streamlining regulation and standing up the Single Front Door, strengthening the National Energy Market, leveraging health technology more effectively, and enabling construction of prefabricated and modular housing.
It will take longer than two terms to turn around this productivity problem which has been building in our economy for decades, but we know that this work will make a meaningful difference in boosting wages and living standards sustainably into the future.
