Three new submissions by Consult Australia offer one clear message: to unlock productivity and competition, we must reduce the regulatory and financial drag on high-performing professional service businesses.
June 2025
Clearing the roadblocks
Both the federal and Queensland Productivity Commissions called for submissions recently. The federal Commission has a 5 Pillar Productivity Agenda exploring a range of issues, including how to ‘create a dynamic and resilient economy’. It has also been asked by the Treasury to provide analysis on occupational licensing and the adoption of standards in regulation to support reform of the National Competition Policy. While the Queensland Commission is focused on how to boost the productivity of the construction industry.
“We are pleased to support the work of the Productivity Commissions by highlighting barriers to business and sharing our solutions, including changes to regulations and procurement processes. We have also used this opportunity to make clear the significant cost burden on businesses because occupational mobility has not been realised for engineers – as automatic deemed registration just does not work,” says Kristy Eulenstein, Head of Policy and Government Relations at Consult Australia.
Creating a dynamic and resilient economy
The Commission’s Productivity Agenda was informed by its crowdsourced Australia’s Productivity Pitch, which gathered 500-plus ideas to boost national productivity. More than a third of ideas (36%) were focused on “creating a dynamic and resilient economy”.
Consult Australia’s submission on this topic tackles the regulatory drag on business dynamism.
“Over time, we have seen regulations become more complex, duplicative and inconsistent. Our recommendations are about removing unnecessary barriers to boost business productivity” Kristy says.
To demonstrate the issues, the submission includes case studies:
- Complexity – NSW’s building reforms where obligations exist across multiple acts, regulations and codes
- Duplication – the Commonwealth Supplier Code of Conduct, which repeats obligations including health and safety laws
- Inconsistency – how labour hire laws across jurisdictions sometimes capture consultancy businesses and sometimes don’t (and shouldn’t, as this sector was not shown to be exploiting labour hire arrangements).
“Members will be unsurprised that one of our recommendations is changes to the Australian Consumer Law to ensure misleading or deceptive conduct provisions protect consumers and small businesses” Kristy says
License to thrive
Consult Australia’s second submission to the federal Productivity Commission zeroes in on the cost and administrative burden member businesses face when registering engineers in multiple jurisdictions. A simple amendment to the ‘home State’ definition in the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth) would allow engineers to work across state lines without bureaucratic hurdles or duplicate registration processes and fees.
One Consult Australia member reported employing a full-time staff member, at $125,000 a year, to manage registration and accreditation requirements as well as relevant regulatory requirements and design panels. Other members have provided details of the time and cost to register their engineers in different jurisdictions.
“I appreciate the information members provide me on the business burden. I have estimated that fixing automatic deemed registration for engineers would unlock at least $54 million in productivity gains across the sector,” Kristy says.
Construction productivity
Reinstated by the Crisafulli Government in April 2025, the Queensland Productivity Commission’s first inquiry examines how policy and regulation are affecting Queensland’s construction sector.
In response, Consult Australia has lodged a detailed submission calling for collaborative partnerships and a focus on productivity before construction begins. The submission lays out a series of practical reform opportunities driven by real-world examples from members.
“Too often when talking construction, the government forgets the importance of design and the pre-construction stages,” says Kristy.
Consult Australia’s key recommendations are grouped under four categories:
- Client opportunities: Adopt the Model Client approach, improve subcontracting transparency and fairness, and establish a whole-of-government project pipeline.
- Procurement reform: Implement the Uplifting Productivity agenda, commit to collaborative contracting, front-load planning phases, end fee capping, advance ‘digital by default’ and incentivise innovation.
- Market behaviours: Amend the Australian Consumer Law and labour hire rules to better reflect the realities of professional services and address the culture of disputation.
- Project practices: Apply practical reforms outlined in the Unravelling Risk report to reduce disputes and delays.
Consult Australia’s submission also points to positive examples, such as delivery partner models that align with global best practice.
“Government agencies are asking for fresh thinking – but then the procurement process demands the same old routines, with the same gates, hurdles and red tape. How can we expect projects to land in a different place until we change that?” Kristy concludes.
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