The Productivity Commission inquiry report, released 8 August 2011, recommends a major overhaul of Australia’s aged care system to improve the wellbeing of older Australians and meet the challenges of an ageing population.<p> Over one million older Australians receive aged care services. The...</p>

The Productivity Commission inquiry report — Disability Care and Support — was released on 10 August 2011. Current disability support arrangements are inequitable, underfunded, fragmented, and inefficient and give people with a disability little choice. They provide no certainty that people...

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry report — Australia’s Urban Water Sector — was released in October 2011. In recent times, the urban water sector has faced drought, growing populations and ageing assets. Governments have largely responded with prolonged and severe water restrictions...

Through the Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs), rural industries and the Australian Government together invest some $490 million a year in R&D. This co-investment model has important strengths, including: helping to ensure that public money is not spent on research of little...

In 2008, the Australian Government deregulated the marketing of bulk wheat exports by removing the ‘single desk’ operated by AWB (International) Limited. Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) was established under the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 (WEMA) to administer an accreditation scheme for...

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 Productivity Commission's inquiry report into The Private Cost Effectiveness of Improving Energy Efficiency, was released on 21 October 2005. The Commission was asked to report on the economic and environmental potential offered by energy efficiency improvements. The Commission found that...

The Productivity Commission�s inquiry report into �Waste Management� was released in December 2006. The Australian Government asked the Commission to identify policies that would enable Australia to address market failures and externalities associated with the generation and disposal of...

The Productivity Commission's inquiry report into the "Conservation of Australia's Historic Heritage Places," was released on 21 July 2006. The Commission was asked to examine the policy framework and incentives for the conservation of Australia's historic built heritage places. Some key...