A report released by the Productivity Commission — Performance Benchmarking of Australian Business Regulation: Occupational Health and Safety — has identified significant differences in regulation and in the actions of regulators across the jurisdictions that are hard to justify. <p> While OHS...</p>

The Productivity Commission was asked to examine the effects of bilateral and regional trade agreements, including on trade and investment barriers, regional integration and Australia's economy generally. The Commission concluded the benefits of these agreements have been oversold and the...

The Productivity Commission has released two companion reports, benchmarking business regulation across jurisdictions: one on the Quantity and Quality of Regulation, the other on the Cost of Business Registrations. This first report provides indicators of the stock and flow of regulation and...

The average efficiency of public and private hospitals is about 20 per cent below best practice after adjusting for differences in what hospitals do and who they treat, according to the ‘Public and Private Hospitals’ Research Report released by the Productivity Commission. However, the...

The Commission’s modelling indicates that there would be economy–wide benefits from further reductions in assistance to the automotive sector, particularly for tariffs. It also suggests that the benefits would be larger under the current assistance reduction program than options entailing...

According to the Productivity Commission, a national approach to chemicals and plastics regulation in Australia would reduce unnecessary costs for industry and improve compliance. The report responds to a request by the Australian Government to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the...

The Productivity Commission’s report on regulatory burdens on the primary sector identifies a number of ways to reduce unnecessary burdens on farmers and miners and other primary sector producers arising from Commonwealth regulations. This report is the first of a five year cycle of reports...

The Productivity Commission released its final research report into ‘Rural Water Use and the Environment: The Role of Market Mechanisms’ in August 2006. The report indicates that there is scope for markets to play a greater role in improving the efficient use of water, including for...

The Productivity Commission research report, ‘Australia's Health Workforce’, was released on 19 January 2006. The Commission was asked to undertake a research study to examine issues impacting on the health workforce over the next 10 years. The main finding of the commissioned study’s...

The Productivity Commission release its research report into the ‘Economic Impacts of Migration and Population Growth’ in May 2006. According to the Commission’s findings increasing skilled migration would make a positive, but small, overall contribution to Australia’s future per capita...