Productivity Commission
PC
16 April 1998 – present
The Australian Government's independent research and advisory body on economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians, which conducts public inquiries and research on productivity and microeconomic reform.
How it came into existence
Established on 16 April 1998 by the Productivity Commission Act 1998, which formally merged the Industry Commission, the Bureau of Industry Economics and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission; the three had operated together administratively since 1996.
- Public inquiries into microeconomic reform
- Industry assistance reporting
- Regulation review
- Industry economics research
- Medium-term economic research
Legislation: Productivity Commission Act 1998
Changes during its life
- 3 December 2007The Office of Best Practice Regulation, successor to the Office of Regulation Review, moved from the Commission to the Department of Finance and Deregulation.
- Assessment of progress under the National Water Initiative
Function conferred by the National Water Commission (Abolition) Act 2015.
- Review of regulation (Office of Regulation Review)
- Regulation impact statement oversight
Succeeded the Commission's Office of Regulation Review, which had continued the work of the Business Regulation Review Unit since 1989.
- Office of Best Practice Regulation
- Regulation impact statement oversight
Main functions
- Public inquiries referred by the Government
- Research on productivity and economic performance
- Annual reporting on industry assistance
- Secretariat for the Review of Government Service Provision
- Competitive neutrality complaints
- Assessment of national water reform
Where it sits
In the portfolio of Department of the Treasury.
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Treasury
- Accountable authority
- Chair – Productivity Commission Act 1998 section 5(2)(b)
- ABN
- 78 094 372 050
Lineage
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Sources
Primary sources
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance)
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))