This Productivity Commission inquiry report was released on 12 October 2012. Default superannuation arrangements for those employees who derive their default superannuation product in accordance with modern awards have provided market stability, and net returns of default funds have generally...

There are almost 140 000 retail businesses in Australia, accounting for 4.1 per cent of GDP and 10.7 per cent of employment. Both current trading conditions and longer term trends are challenging. Retail sales growth has trended down over the past half-decade as consumers save more of their...

The Australian Government now has institutions and arrangements in place to identify areas of regulation that are unduly burdensome or ineffective and to develop appropriate reforms. However, the Productivity Commission research report, released 15 December 2011, indicated there was a need to...

The Productivity Commission’s third phase of the Education and Training Workforce study examined the workforce of the schools sector, this research report – Schools Workforce – was released on 4 May 2012. A well-performing school system is fundamental to building Australia’s ‘human...

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry report into the ‘Conservation of Australia’s Historic Heritage Places’, was tabled in Parliament on 21 July 2006. The Commission was asked to examine the policy framework and incentives for the conservation of Australia’s historic built heritage...

Many Australian farmers and rural communities have been experiencing hardship from the latest severe and prolonged drought. While this is not new to dryland farming, 'irrigation drought' is uncharted territory. Australia has always had a variable climate, with drought being a recurring feature....

A catalyst for this inquiry was concern that executive pay had got out of hand. This perception was fuelled by practices in financial institutions abroad that were seen as a key contributor to the global financial crisis. Further, while local shareholder value plummeted in 2008 as a result of...

While Australia's consumer policy framework has considerable strengths, parts of it require an overhaul. The current division of responsibility for the framework between the Australian and State and Territory Governments leads to variable outcomes for consumers, added costs for businesses and a...

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry report into ‘Review of Price Regulation of Airport Services’ was tabled in Parliament in April 2007. A price monitoring regime for airport services was introduced at Australia’s seven major mainland airports by the Australian Government following an...

While Australia's consumer policy framework has considerable strengths, parts of it require an overhaul. The current division of responsibility for the framework between the Australian and State and Territory Governments leads to variable outcomes for consumers, added costs for businesses and a...