How leading directors are driving productivity recovery in Australia

With Australia’s productivity crisis high on the national agenda, the AICD has been increasingly focused on the role boards can play in lifting productivity levels, both within their own organisations and the economy more generally.

This edition gives directors a comprehensive lens on Australia’s productivity challenge at a time when national performance is slipping and international competitiveness is under pressure. It combines high-level context with practical insights.

This focus complements the national conversation at the moment, which is much needed.

Advocating for directors and equipping them for the task with the necessary frameworks, tools and perspectives is what the AICD does, and I’m proud to point you to a suite of work that our policy team has contributed to the federal government’s economic reform (productivity) process.

In July, I was pleased to host our own series of productivity roundtables with senior directors, to get a comprehensive understanding of your take on what’s holding back productivity for your organisations and sectors. The director community has embraced the opportunity to engage on the economic reform and productivity agenda, which is critically important not only to our organisations and businesses, but to the national economy and our country’s overall prosperity.

There is a sense among the directors I talk to that the current productivity debate presents a unique opportunity to make the structural changes required to create a legacy for future generations. Like any good board, we want to see the government take a long-term view that sets us up for future success.

You can get a comprehensive insight on our productivity roundtables from our Head of Policy, Christian Gergis.

Meeting the challenge

Meeting the scale of the challenge requires a unified, cohesive approach — a working coalition of government, business, unions and civil society, with a shared commitment to delivering long-term, positive national outcomes. The business community has an important role to play in helping to shape and articulate the shared needs and interests of these groups and the need to accept some trade-offs.

As I outlined in last month’s Company Director, the AICD is part of a Joint Business Coalition — led by the BCA, ACCI, Ai Group and COSBOA — to present a united view ahead of the reform roundtables. This is a critical and important exercise in demonstrating our genuine commitment to the reform process.

It was also pleasing to see the Productivity Commission’s interim reports on its Five Pillars inquiry, released progressively last month, have picked up on many of the AICD’s key recommendations. The first of these interim reports — Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy — presents a compelling case for a regulatory overhaul.

Consistent with the AICD’s position, it unequivocally acknowledges that over-regulation puts a significant brake on productivity growth and acknowledges our current regulatory systems hinder dynamism, that the regulatory burden on businesses is getting worse, and that Australia has fallen on key international regulation indices.

The PC’s draft recommendations seek to promote regulation that underpins growth and dynamism, including greater scrutiny of regulations at a cabinet level and through a strengthened Office of Impact Analysis. This is something the AICD has advocated strongly for in our submissions, which call for balanced, fit-for-purpose and modern regulation. Unfortunately, the PC doesn’t make specific regulation reform recommendations, for example a review of the Corporations Act. This is something AICD will continue to argue for on behalf of our members.

General Manager of Education and Policy Leadership Louise Petschler discusses the AICD’s roundtable submission. And our Chief Economist, Mark Thirlwell takes a deep dive into Australia’s Budget position and why productivity growth is central to our country’s fiscal sustainability, including big ticket items for the government, such as intergenerational inequity and defence spending.

It’s an extensive body of work the AICD has undertaken to advance the productivity agenda and to make sure the director community has a voice in this important national discussion. You can expect to see ongoing AICD focus through our policy, communications and events channels.

Essential Director Update

Productivity will also be part of the discussion at our premier complimentary member-only Essential Director Update (EDU) series, which commences this month with an extensive program across metro and regional centres.

Keynote speakers this year are  Fortescue NED Penny Bingham-Hall FAICD and Australian Retirement Trust and South Bank Corporation director Bruce Cowley FAICD. Penny and Bruce will present in every capital city and selected regional locations. I look forward to hearing their keynotes and the panel discussions that make the EDU such a rich experience and why it’s come to be regarded as a must-attend event in the director calendar.

This article first appeared under the headline 'Productivity agenda’ in the September 2025 issue of Company Director magazine.