Australia’s upcoming federal budget will unveil a sweeping productivity push, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers promising a migration overhaul, tax breaks for small businesses and a major effort to slash red tape reforms he says are essential to lifting living standards and reviving the nation’s stalled productivity growth.
Chalmers told the ABC that Tuesday’s budget will include “one of the most important parts” of his economic agenda: a wide‑ranging package aimed at reversing a decade‑long productivity slump that has fallen to a 60‑year low. He said Australia cannot achieve higher wages or stronger living standards without turning that trend around.
The government will explore expanded uses for the myID digital identification system and even consider a government‑backed crypto token as part of its modernisation drive. Chalmers said the goal is to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to operate, innovate and invest.
A headline measure will aim to cut the cost of complying with government regulations by $10 billion a year. Business groups have been pushing for a 25 per cent reduction in compliance costs by 2030 roughly $40 billion arguing that Australia has slipped to the middle of the pack as an investment destination.
Chalmers said the government must “think about it in new ways” and act across multiple fronts if it wants to fix the structural issues holding back economic capacity. The budget’s migration reforms are expected to be a key part of that strategy, though full details are yet to be released.
With productivity stagnating, investment softening and businesses facing rising costs, the treasurer is positioning the budget as a turning point one aimed at making Australia more competitive, more efficient and better prepared for the decade ahead.
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