History of the Industry Commission

The Industry Commission (IC) was established in 1990 as the major public independent review and advisory body on industry policy for Australian governments. Its predecessors were the Industries Assistance Commission and the Tariff Board.

The Commission was set up within the Treasury Portfolio under its own Act of Parliament, the Industry Commission Act 1989. Its role was to conduct independent public inquiries into a broad range of issues in the economy referred to it by Government.

The Commission was also required to report annually to Parliament on the performance of Australian industry through its main research publication, the Annual Report. It also produced information papers, discussion papers, independent research reports and staff research papers.

The Commission assisted the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments monitor the performance of government trading enterprises and government service providers. Through its Office of Regulation Review, it encouraged the appropriate use of regulation.

The creation of the Productivity Commission (PC) merged the activities of the IC, Bureau of Industry Economics (BIE) and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission (EPAC). The legislation to establish the PC in 1998 abolished the IC and EPAC.