Productivity
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CEDA delivers regular, evidence-based research across the most pressing economic and social policy issues. Our reports offer practical recommendations aimed at improving policy outcomes and securing long-term prosperity for all Australians.
Below is a summary of our recent recommendations by topic, along with updates on where we’ve seen progress or momentum for change.
Below is a summary of our recent recommendations by topic, along with updates on where we’ve seen progress or momentum for change.
Productivity
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay states to boost productivity and establish a productivity funding pool. Budget Reset 2: Mind the Gap |
In 2024 the Federal Government announced the creation of a $900 million national productivity fund, in line with CEDA's recomendation. View media release |
1 | |
| Encourage businesses to develop dynamic management capabilities. Dynamic Capabilities |
Little evidence of government incentives to encourage businesses to develop dynamic management capabiltiies. | 1 | |
| Streamline compliance regimes that can hinder the development of dynamic management capabilities. Dynamic Capabilities |
No material changes to compliance regulation. | 1 | |
| Introduce a fastracked visa for highly skilled workers. Dynamic Capabilities |
The Federal Government's migration strategy includes a fastracked specialist skills visa for highly skilled workers earning over $135,000 per year. | 1 and 6 | |
| Adopt dynamic management capabilities in non-market sectors. Dynamic Capabilities |
Little evidence of progress in dynamic management capabilities within the non-market sector. | 1 | |
| Businesses must build their dynamic capabilities, including through education and training. New micro-credential programs could help in the short term. Dynamic Capabilities |
Firms to take the lead. | 1 | |
| More firms need to prioritise innovation over efficiency through investment in people, time and money to build their dynamic management capabilities and take advantage of new opportunities. Dynamic Capabilities |
Firms to take the lead. | 1 | |
| Make local and state government regulations on building and land use more streamlined and consistent. Size Matters: Why Construction Productivity is so weak |
Liberalisation of planning and zoning rules is a key area of reform under the revitalised National Competition Policy. | 1 and 4 | |
| Governments should help to smooth out variability in demand by creating a more consistent, predictable pipeline of construction work through their infrastructure and social housing programs. Size Matters: Why Construction Productivity is so weak |
No material change. | 1 and 4 | |
| Better align the relative tax rates for individuals and small and large businesses as part of broader reform of the entire tax system. Size Matters: Why Construction Productivity is so weak |
The 2025 Productivity Roundtable held by the Federal Government will examine Australia's tax settings and consinder avenues for reform. | 1 |
Labour market
Labour market
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Develop accreditation of work-related training, building on the National Skills Taxonomy and beginning with micro-credentials. Learning Curve: Why Australia needs a Training Boost |
The Federal Government is developing accreditation for work-related training by piloting micro-credentials in higher education, updating RTO standards, and progressing a national skills taxonomy to align credentials with industry needs and recognised qualifications. | 2 | |
| Federal, State and Territory Governments should support development of foundational literacy, numeracy, digital and communication skills needed to effectively engage in training. Learning Curve: Why Australia needs a Training Boost |
Governments are implementing the National Foundation Skills Strategy with $53 million in funding, expanding the Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) program, and supporting state delivery of accredited and non-accredited literacy, language, numeracy and digital training. | 2 | |
| Better target compliance training including regular evaluation, deploying in a risk-based manner and minimising re-training. Learning Curve: Why Australia needs a Training Boost |
Firms to lead the way. | 2 and 1 | |
| Build workplace cultures that value and encourage learning, including through establishing clear links with an employer's strategic goals and integrating training across existing work. Learning Curve: Why Australia needs a Training Boost |
Firms to lead the way. | 2 and 1 | |
| Measure the return on investment from training through qualitative feedback and data analysis to capture productivity improvements. Learning Curve: Why Australia needs a Training Boost |
Firms to lead the way. | 2 and 1 | |
| Standardise occupational licensing requirements nationally, including extending automatic mutual recognition of occupational registration to all states. Skills Recognition |
In 2025 the Federal Government annouced a national licensing scheme for electrical tradespeople. This is an important first step in standardising occupational licensing. View media release |
2 and 1 | |
| Review occupational licensing regulations, considering whether they meet stated objectives, international experience and recent technological developments. Skills Recognition |
The Productivity Commission has been asked to review occupational licensing as part of its 2025 National Competition Policy analysis. | 1 | |
| Reduce occupational licensing and shift regulation where necessary towards quality standards for goods and services within consumer law. Skills Recognition |
Unresolved. | 1 | |
| Maintain wins for diversity and inclusion from increased use of working from home. WFH debate must refocus on productivity More than a third of Australians still work from home as office mandate looms Australians are taking a pay cut to work from home |
Firms to lead the way, alongside supportive government policy and public sector employment conditions. | 5 | |
| Better collection of data and analysis to understand the productivity implications of working from home and inform decision making. More than a third of Australians still work from home as office mandate looms |
1 | ||
| Encourage management upskilling to enhance productivity in hybrid working arrangements. WFH debate must refocus on productivity |
1 | ||
| Strengthen corporate disclosure, compliance and reporting under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. Occupational Gender Segregation |
The 2023 amendments to the Workplace Gender Equality Act have meant greater transparency and reporting by employers. All employers with 100+ employees are now required to publish their pay gap. | 4 and 5 | |
| Shift the focus of women-in-STEM programs to mentoring and leadership, starting in school and continuing through the transition to work. Occupational Gender Segregation |
Government support for STEM programs and scholarships has centred on fostering leadership. View source |
2, 4 and 5 | |
| Require evaluation data for women-in-STEM programs to be made public as a condition of federal funding. Occupational Gender Segregation |
No evidence of mandated evaluation data as a condition for funding. | 4 and 5 |
Climate + energy
Climate + energy
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reform temporary skilled migration to enable fast, simple pathways for highly skilled clean-energy workers, including via intra-company transfers. Powering the transition |
The new Skills in Demand visa allows entry via a Specialist Skills Pathway. However a significant exception to this pathway is that it does not apply to trades workers, machinery operators and drivers. A formal fast-track intra-company visa remains proposed but not yet implemented. | 3 and 1 | |
| Apply a consistent framework to government support for clean energy precincts. Clean Energy Precincts |
The National Interest Framework (NIF) introduced clearer criteria for government support, advancing green industrial policy by aligning public investment with national economic, security, and emissions reduction priorities. | 3 | |
| Ensure all clean-energy precinct proposals have a clearly articulated purpose, with time-bound, measurable objectives. Clean Energy Precincts |
The NIF favors time-limited support for projects until market signals are established. Additionally, the framework calls for regular reviews of the sectors that receive support in accordance with market and technology shifts. | 3 | |
| Ensure clean-energy precinct proponents appoint a coordination body. Clean Energy Precincts |
Firms to lead the way. | 3 | |
| Government and industry should engage deeply and early with local communities to assess local barriers to and opportunities for clean-energy projects, and build social licence. Clean Energy Precincts |
The 2023 Community Engagement Review brought together a range of stakeholders to give visbility on engagement issues for energy infrastructure projects and advise on ways to improve. Following the review, the Government released new National Guidelines for Community Engagement and Benefits for Electricity Transmission Projects. Consultation is now also underway to develop a Renewable Energy Developer Rating Scheme - a key recommendation fo the report. | 3 and 5 | |
| Reform planning and permitting for clean energy precints, including a single point of contact for permitting. Clean Energy Precincts |
The newly established Net Zero Economy Authority (NZEA) helps investors navigate funding programs and identify priority net zero industries. The Government has also collaborated with states and territories to create the National Renewable Energy Priority List (Priority List), which will provide coordinated support for regulatory planning and environmental approval processes for identified priority renewable energy projects across Australia. |
3 | |
| Governments should support workers and communities affected by the energy transition, rather than businesses, and avoid policies that reduce incentives to move jobs and retrain. Powering the transition |
Supporting workers is a core objective for the NZEA. It aims to prov ide career support, training and reskilling to help workers move into new industries. This is supported by the Energy Industry Jobs Plan. Retraining schemes and job support have been introduced by the states like Queensland (Job Security Guarantee), Victoria (Structured Transition Agreement) and New South Wales (Future Industries Facility). |
3 and 5 | |
| The new Net Zero Economy Authority must have clear objectives to focus on the structural adjustment challenge in the most affected communities. Powering the transition |
The Net Zero Economy Authority has clear goals under its legislation, directing it to - Promote orderly and positive economic transformation; - facilitate greenhouse gas emissions reductions; and - ensure regions, communities and workers are supported to manage the impacts and share in the benefits of the net zero economy. |
3 | |
| Governments must do more to communicate the energy transition challenge through forward-looking policies to cut emissions, detailed jobs-market modelling and clearly outlining what the transition will look like in the most affected communities. Powering the transition |
Jobs and Skills Australia's Clean Energy Capacity Study provided further detail around the job market implications of the transition, and climate policy modelling capacity has been re-established in Treasury. | 3 and 5 | |
| Accelerating the shift towards climate adaptation through disaster prevention including by increasing allocations to the Disaster Ready Fund. Budget Reset 2: Mind the Gap |
The Government has not increased funding allocated to the Disaster Ready Fund since this recommendation was made in 2023. | 3 |
Migration
Migration
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modernise the temporary-skill-shortage (TSS) visa, including reviewing the skilled-occupation lists and removing the need for labour-market testing. Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
The Federal Government's migration strategy released in 2023 aligns with many of CEDA's recommendations, particularly a three-tiered approach to temporary migration. The Skills in Demand visa was introduced in 2024, with a new Core Skills Occupation List replacing three previous lists. However, the requirement for labour-market testing remains. | 1 | |
| Improve skills matching and labour-market outcomes in the permanent skilled migration system. Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
Review of the points test in 2024, but reforms yet to be finalised. | 1 and 2 | |
| Improve the interface between temporary and permanent migration, including more visa protections for temporary migrants and greater transparency and pathways on permanent residency. Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
The new Skills in Demand visa introduced in 2024 has pathways to permanent residence, with measures also taken to reduce "visa hopping". | 1 and 6 | |
| Introduce an intra-company, fast-tracked visa with a wage threshold. Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
The Federal Government's migration strategy released in 2023 delivered fast-tracked visas with higher wage thresholds. Further reform is still needed to better enable intra-company transfers. View media release |
1 | |
| Streamline family visa application process to reduce applicant costs and waiting times. Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
Application processes for partner and child visas were simplified in 2024, with fast-track options for some family categories. However, timeframes remain lengthy for some family visa categories. | 5 and 6 | |
| Establish an essential skills visa to directly recruit for care workers, with pathways for long-term residency. Duty of Care: Aged care sector in crisis Duty of care: Aged care running on empty Australia’s future migration system Jobs & Skills Summit - unlocking skilled migration |
The Albanese Government's 2023 migration strategy flagged further evaluation of an essential skills pathway. It is not yet in place. View media release |
1 and 4 | |
| Expand access to English language training. Making better use of migrants’ skills report |
New Adult Migrant English Program business model to be delivered from January 2026, with longer access, higher-level proficiency goals, greater flexibility and stronger support. | 1 | |
| Improve recognition of international qualifications. Making better use of migrants’ skills report |
In early 2025 a scheme was launched to expedite recognition of nursing qualifications from eligible countries. | 1 | |
| Review the potential to give greater weight to the skills and experience of secondary applicants to skilled migration visas. Making better use of migrants’ skills report |
Review of the points test in 2024, but reforms yet to be finalised. | 1 | |
| Reduce migrant labour-market discrimination through initiatives that build local knowledge and experience. Making better use of migrants’ skills report |
No federal policy has been implemented. | 1 and 6 | |
| Reform temporary skilled migration to enable fast, simple pathways for highly skilled clean-energy workers, including via intra-company transfers. Powering the transition |
The Federal Government's migration strategy released in 2023 aligns with many of CEDA's reccomendations, particularly around a three-tiered approach to temporary migration. Further reform is still needed to better enable intra-company transfers. View media release |
3 and 1 |
Housing
Housing
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review planning and zoning rules in all jurisdictions to reduce obstacles to higher density in areas with good access to jobs and transport. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
The Housing Accord announced in 2022 is in line with these recommendations, although there has been little practical change yet. At a state level, there has been some progress, including in Victoria and New South Wales. View source |
4 and 5 | |
| Improve protections for renters to make their tenure more secure. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
The 2023 "Better Deal for Renters" agenda has been codified by most states and terrioties, providing better protections for renters such as banning "no grounds" evictions. | 4 and 5 | |
| Review land tax, negative gearing and foreign-investment rules to reduce barriers to institutional investment in rental housing. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
New Build to rent (BTR) tax reforms give owners and investors in eligible developments access to accelerated deductions of 4% on capital works relating to BTRs and concessional final withholding tax rate of 15% on eligible fund payments. | 4 and 5 | |
| Federal, state and territory governments should work together to phase out stamp duties and shift to land taxes. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
Apart from the ACT's phase-out of stamp duty, no progress elsewhere. | 4 and 5 | |
| Continue to increase social-housing supply while trialling portable rent assistance for social-housing tenants. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund and $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator will increase long-term funding of social-housing construction. | 4 and 5 | |
| Continue to review Commonwealth Rent Assistance to ensure it is sufficient and reform eligibility rules to better reflect housing need. Employment White Paper submission Tackling barriers to (beneficial) housing mobility |
The rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance was increased in the 2023 and 2024 Federal Budgets. | 4 and 5 |
Budget
Budget
| Recommendation | Progress | Progress 2050 goal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build momentum on tax reform to build the tax system that is required to address the economic, fiscal, social and environmental challenges Australia will confront over coming decades. Budget Reset 2: Mind the Gap |
The 2025 Productivity Roundtable held by the Federal Government will examine Australia's tax settings and consinder avenues for reform. The Productivity Commission is also conducting its own review. | 1 | |
| Improving the efficiency of spending by introducing a rolling schedule of program evaluations. Budget Reset 2: Mind the Gap |
Australian Centre for Evaluation established in 2023, with an aim to improve the volume, quality, and use of evaluation evidence to support better policy and programs. | 1 | |
| Increase scope of Intergenerational Report. Budget Reset Paper |
Expanded scope for the 2023 Intergenerational Report, notably around the physical and economic impacts of climate change, but the focus continues to be on Federal Government finances, with no analysis of the fiscal outlook for the whole of the Federation. | 1 | |
| Modernise the Charter of Budget Honesty Act. Budget Reset Paper |
Unresolved - no legislative changes to the Charter. | 1 |
Duty of care: Aged care running on empty
View media release
Duty of care: Aged care running on empty
View source
Duty of Care: Aged care sector in crisis
View source
Duty of Care: Aged care sector in crisis
Disrupting Disadvantage 2
Disrupting Disadvantage 2
Disrupting Disadvantage 3
Disrupting Disadvantage 3
Disrupting Disadvantage 3
Disrupting Disadvantage 3
Disrupting Disadvantage 3
Training to reduce disadvantage
Training to reduce disadvantage
Training to reduce disadvantage
Unemployment payments
Unemployment payments
Unemployment payments
Unemployment payments