Small businesses touched by dozens of recommendations in massive Productivity Commission report

The Productivity Commission’s new report, which warns of longer workweeks and reduced wages if the nation does not become more efficient, is big in every sense.

Clocking in at over 1,000 pages, it levels 29 reform directives and 71 distinct recommendations to improve how the Australian economy operates.

Yet the vast document also addresses small business issues in several key moments, calling for decision-makers to reassess the workplace awards system, reconsider how banks finance entrepreneurs, and better share innovative ideas with startups.

Awards and workplace relations

In the wake of the federal government’s landmark Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation, Australia’s decision-makers must ensure the awards system is keeping pace with the needs of business, including SMEs, according to the report.