Submission | 5 Year Productivity Review

This submission provides ideas to the Productivity Commission to tackle lagging productivity growth.   Following more than two decades of prosperity driven by the mining boom, Australia now faces the real prospect of a sustained decline in living standards. This concern is affecting how businesses invest, as well as how they capture and retain talent.

The Australian Chamber stresses the importance of improving the accuracy of indicators, which will allow for better targeted policy reform, including the incentive structures that will drive growth.

The submission contains recommendations to create better functioning cities that aim to enhance supply chains, connectivity within and between cities, energy productivity and collaboration levels.  It is also proposed that health literacy standards should be improved, adopting international best practice and the Medicare Select model.  The importance of creating more effective public services by improving the public consultation process and improving online services is highlighted.

The Australian Chamber further advocates that productivity can be improved through the maintenance of strong investment in vocational education and training so as to develop future workplace skills, as well as enhancing STEM proficiency and supporting women’s participation by better targeting child care incentives.

Finally the submission includes several recommendations to create more efficient markets including removing the duplication of state and federal regulation, reducing the company tax rate and embracing international engagement through trade investment and the movement of people.