History of the Bureau of Industry Economics

The Bureau of Industry Economics (BIE) was established in 1977 as a centre for research into the manufacturing and commerce sectors.

It was formally attached to the predecessor organisations of the current Department of Industry, Science and Resources, however it had professional independence in the conduct and reporting of its research.

The BIE promoted research into six areas: business infrastructure, government services, industry development, program evaluation, trade and environment and economic assessment. The principal focus of this research was on issues that affected industry as a whole, or broad segments of industry, rather than topics specific to individual industries or firms.

The BIE played a key role in developing public understanding of performance gaps and the potential benefits of reform through international and domestic benchmarking of the performance of Australia's economic infrastructure.

The creation of the Productivity Commission (PC) merged the activities of the BIE, Industry Commission (IC), and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission (EPAC).