Articles
Opinion pieces written on a variety of Commission reports by Commissioners and the Chair.
The great productivity divide
19 Dec 2024
Australia’s headline labour productivity has stagnated since the COVID-19 pandemic. And our productivity performance looks even worse compared to the United States (US), where productivity has surged ahead.
Quality early care and education is a right for every child
13 Dec 2024
Our recommended sequence of steps to universal ECEC is as important as the steps themselves, write Danielle Wood and Martin Stokie.
Why there’s more to universal childcare than affordability
09 Dec 2024
A recent PC report on early childhood education and care (ECEC) strikes a good balance between centring the child and recognising the role of ECEC in supporting parents' workforce participation, writes Associate Commissioner Deborah Brennan.
Reforms of 1990s helped lift productivity and we can do it again
19 Nov 2024
Economic reform is never easy but is essential to generating long-term improvements in our living standards, write Danielle Wood and Alex Robson.
It’s critical that Australia gets to net zero at the lowest cost
22 Oct 2024
Tackling the threat of climate change is “mission critical” for Australia. Our economic performance and living standards depend on how well we respond to this challenge today, and over the coming years.
Innovation for the 98%
26 Sep 2024
Last year, I attended a tour of the Victorian Tunnelling Centre at Holmesglen TAFE. It wasn’t just impressive technology that I got to experience, but also how that technology could be shared.
The best way to regulate AI might be not to specifically regulate AI. This is why
20 Sep 2024
As a specialist in competition and consumer protection, I have formed the view that calls for new AI-specific regulations are largely misguided, writes Commissioner Stephen King.
Economic mobility – faring well, but not for all
18 Sep 2024
Do your parents’ economic fortunes dictate your own? If your parents earned decent money when you were a kid, does that mean you’ll do well too? And if you grew up poor, can you break free from poverty to become well-off as an adult?
Your parents’ income doesn’t determine yours – unless you’re ultra rich or extremely poor
18 Sep 2024
Our report finds 67% of the so-called “Xennial” generation – those born in 1976–1982, on the cusp of the Millennial/Gen X divide – earn more than their parents did at a similar age.
Youth justice policy setting back Closing the Gap
17 Sep 2024
Diversion is far more successful in stopping child crime than charging or imprisoning a child, write Commissioners Natalie Siegel-Brown and Selwyn Button.
Economists have lost their power. Here’s how to fix it
12 Sep 2024
Economists have lost some of their power to influence public debate, but we can fix it, writes Chair Danielle Wood.
Industry policy in today’s Australia
12 Sep 2024
The 2020s have seen industry policy come back into fashion across much of the Western world. And like all return fashions, it comes with a spin on the original.
Closing the Gap data: the proof in the pudding?
02 Aug 2024
There is not a whole lot to hold governments accountable for doing what they promised under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The data the Productivity Commission releases each year is considered by many the proof in the pudding of progress.
Australian healthcare productivity measures up
08 May 2024
New research from the Productivity Commission shows that, at least when it comes to healthcare, the way we measure productivity might not be telling the full story.
This is how to win the productivity prize
07 Mar 2024
If a country used only half its factories it would waste a lot of its productive potential. The same is true if we tap into only half of society’s brainpower.
Australians need to work smarter – not longer or harder
07 Mar 2024
The 2022-23 financial year saw a lot of big firsts for the Australian economy – some good and others not so good.
The right approach to AI regulation
22 Feb 2024
Artificial Intelligence technologies (AI) could significantly increase Australia’s productivity and drive economic wellbeing. But to gain these benefits, we need the right approach to regulation.
Why isn't the gap closed?
20 Feb 2024
Readers will know that the Closing the Gap agenda is not new. In fact, it has been around for over 15 years. And many of you would know that while there have been some improvements - for the most part, they have been small.
Tax reform should seriously look at industry levies
31 Jan 2024
While most policymakers recognise that our tax system would benefit from reform, our first priority should be to stop making it worse.
Be alert but not alarmed about post-COVID productivity slump
06 Dec 2023
Another national accounts release, another lacklustre annual productivity statistic - but with a glimmer of hope.
Rules around charitable giving need to be overhauled
06 Dec 2023
Tax reform conversations can sometimes seem somewhat abstract. But tax policy can have very real and immediate impacts on our lives. Nowhere is the human impact of tax policy more evident than in our deductible gift recipient system.
Universal childcare must cater for all children
05 Dec 2023
While the picture has improved in recent years, early childhood education and care (ECEC) is still out of reach for many Australian families.
Welcome Associate Commissioner Chris Guest
07 Jun 2023
We are pleased to announce that Chris Guest has joined the Productivity Commission as an Associate Commissioner with the Murray Darling Basin Plan: Implementation Review.
Opportunities for better housing outcomes
07 Oct 2022
Four years ago, Australian governments signed the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA), with the aim of improving access to affordable housing. Today, by most measures, the situation is no better than it was in 2018.
Australia's data and digital dividend
25 Aug 2022
Australia is in the middle of a digital and data revolution. The Productivity Commission’s second interim report for our five-year productivity inquiry looks at how these new technologies can grow our economy.
Protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts and crafts
23 Aug 2022
A draft report focuses on ways to address fake 'Indigenous-style' art and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and art centres.
Not everyone has a home that is safe and affordable
04 Feb 2022
During the COVID‑19 pandemic, we have become more familiar with our homes. They are essential to our lives: where we rest, care for our family, entertain friends and, increasingly, work. But not everyone has a home that is safe and affordable.
Good time for a public transport pricing rethink
06 Jan 2022
COVID has affected many things. One that is less talked about is public transport. Google mobility data shows that when COVID hit Australia in early 2020, trips on public transport fell by as much as 70 per cent in large states and by more in Victoria. That is hardly a surprise.
Furthering Australian consumers’ right to repair
08 Dec 2021
In Australia, and around the world, there are growing concerns that repairs of consumer products are becoming ever more difficult and impractical to undertake or access. These products include everything from smart phones through to washing machines and cars.
Working from home: What’s next?
21 Oct 2021
If an alien came to Earth, what would they make of the daily commute? Millions of people getting up each day, going from one building to another in the morning, then doing the opposite at night.
Australia has fewer criminal offenders but more people in prisons
18 Oct 2021
The past 40 years has seen a steady rise in the level of imprisonment in Australia and the imprisonment rate is at the highest level in a century. How do we explain this?
SME lending transformation
11 Oct 2021
Productivity Commission research shows a lending market being transformed, as demand for unsecured credit prompts a raft of new providers and products. Innovative lenders with new business models are using technology and data to identify creditworthy applicants.
Our trade fortunes rely less on China than you think
07 Sep 2021
The stress test created by Beijing’s 2020 tariffs and bans reveals significant facts about the make-up and nature of Australia’s foreign trade.
Targeted texts and peer support: how smarter health care can cut costs and help Australians with chronic conditions
21 Apr 2021
Creating a culture of innovation and sharing best practice throughout our health system will benefit the growing number of Australians living with chronic health conditions.
Why is a good idea so hard to do? Integrating urban water
19 Mar 2020
Our major cities are facing considerable water challenges in the future. Significant population growth will increase demand for services whilst climate change is likely to reduce water availability in most areas.
Should everyone go to university?
26 Jun 2019
Right now the government caps university places. But until 2017 universities could accept as many students as they liked and the government provided funding for all of these places. It was called the ‘demand driven system’ and it started in 2010.
Better functioning towns and cities
23 Feb 2018
The overwhelming majority of Australians live and work in cities... so how cities operate now and in the future is integral to both the quality of people’s lives and national prosperity.
Skin in the game – education and workforce
12 Feb 2018
The skills needed for well-paid jobs change just like everything else. So does Australia have the right system in place? One that will meet the needs of both employees’ and employers’?
Healthier Australians
18 Jan 2018
While on many measures, the Australian health system is very good compared with health care systems in many other countries, this is not true across the board. There is significant potential for improvement.
PC News
08 Feb 2017
The newsletter which ceased in 2019, was a round-up of the Commission's news and events.