Commission-initiated research and annual reporting on productivity, industry assistance and regulation

Commission-initiated research

The Commission has a statutory mandate to conduct a program of research to support its inquiries, annual reporting and other responsibilities, including promoting community awareness and understanding of various productivity and regulatory issues.

A key part of the Commission’s research program are reports which provide evidence on topical policy issues and help to outline future directions for reform.

For example, a paper on An Ageing Australia looked at over-the-horizon policy options that may be consistent with demographic change, for example, indexing retirement benefits to longevity. Another paper examined the links between housing assistance and participation in employment. And another continued investigation of issues relating to the ageing of Australia's population, this time focussing on the housing choices made by older Australians.

A recent research paper on inequality provided a stocktake of the evidence measuring the prevalence of, and trends in, inequality, economic mobility and disadvantage across Australian society. And research on rising protectionism considered challenges, threats and opportunities for Australia.

PC Productivity Insights also reports on trends in the productivity of the economy — each edition unpacks the latest ABS productivity statistics. Each edition unpacks the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) productivity statistics, and report on the findings of the Commission's most recent research into productivity issues.

Annual Reporting

The Commission is required under its Act to report annually not only on its activities, but also on industry and productivity performance generally, as well as on the effects of industry assistance and regulation. Its Annual Report Series comprises:

• The Annual Report, which is tabled in Parliament, reports on the Commission’s operations and performance across its various activities.
• The Trade and Assistance Review reports on trade policy and assistance developments and contains the Commission’s latest estimates of government assistance to Australian industries.
• The Commission also reports on trends in the productivity of the economy — each edition unpacks the latest ABS productivity statistics.