The Latest Breaking News from the Productivity Commission

Inefficient use of resources and a lack of new ideas have contributed to Australia's declining productivity growth, the Productivity Commission says.

Housing supply in Australia will be a key battleground in the election campaign. With home ownership more and more out of reach for young and not so young Australians, red tape and low productivity are strangling the builder industry just when it needs to be stepping up.

“Productivity” might sound a nerdy word to many, but improving it is vital for a more affluent life for Australians in coming years. At the moment it is languishing.

Australia’s productivity growth has reverted to the same stagnant pattern as before the pandemic, according to the Productivity Commission’s latest quarterly report.

The federal government has released a highly anticipated report into Australia’s childcare system. The report, by the Productivity Commission, says addressing affordability should be a priority. It recommends fully subsidised childcare for families earning under A$80,000 from 2026.

Big increases in government spending on child care have been recommended by the Productivity Commission, that would see families earning up to A$80,000 receive a 100% subsidy rate under the Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

About half of Australian families will benefit from more subsidies and free childcare if the federal government pursues a sustainable path to universal access.

Since the 1990s, the economic agenda of governments across much of the world has been dominated by the Washington Consensus. This is a series of policy recommendations centred on privatisation of state businesses, deregulation of industries, liberalisation of trade, and opening economies to foreign direct investment.

In 2008, Australia agreed to six targets to “close the gap” – to reduce the disparities between Indigenous people and the rest of the population in health, education and employment.