Competition Policy for the Modern Economy Conference 2024

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The Competition Policy for the Modern Economy conference was held in Sydney on 11–12 November 2024.

Experts came together to talk about how improving competition in the economy could help boost Australia’s productivity.

The Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury opened the event. He said it came at a time when people are facing rising living costs and the economy’s productivity is slowing down. He explained how better competition could help address both problems.

The conference included modelling of a scenario where competition returned to the level it was in during the 2000s. The modelling showed that Australia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could increase by 1 to 3 per cent. That’s about $2,000 to $6,000 more for each household every year.

To get these benefits, Australia would need to deal with changes in the economy that have occurred since the first National Policy Competition (NCP) agenda of 1995 to 2004. Those reforms boosted GDP by 2.5 per cent.

These changes include:

  • moving to net zero emissions
  • the growing need for care and support services
  • the rise of digital technology and artificial intelligence.

The conference agreed that these changes – and today’s cost-of-living pressures – mean it’s time to update the NCP. Many said that bringing back a strong competition policy could help improve productivity across the country.

Agenda

Session papers

Session 1: Competition policy for a more productive national economy

Title Author PDF DOCX
Competition policy for the modern economy: Overview and paths forward Professor John Asker 483 KB Competition policy for the modern economy: Overview and paths forward –
Revitalising Australia’s National Competition Policy: Challenges and opportunities Ms Anna Barker and Treasury Competition Taskforce 587 KB Revitalising Australia’s National Competition Policy: Challenges and opportunities 508 KB Revitalising Australia’s National Competition Policy: Challenges and opportunities
Competition for a modern economy Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand 220 KB Competition for a modern economy –
Competition, productivity, and labour markets in Australia Associate Professor Maria Racionero 328 KB Competition, productivity, and labour markets in Australia 114 KB Competition, productivity, and labour markets in Australia

Session 2: Adapting competition regulation to a changing economy

Title Author PDF DOCX
Adapting competition regulation to a changing economy Mr Dan Andrews
Session chair and discussant 		595 KB Adapting competition regulation to a changing economy 696 KB Adapting competition regulation to a changing economy
Modern regulatory challenges Ms Gina Cass-Gottlieb 213 KB Modern regulatory challenges –
Regulation of competition Ms Margarida Matos Rosa 278 KB Regulation of competition 45 KB Regulation of competition
The power of microdata to shape better competition policy and regulation Mr Jonathan Hambur and Treasury Competition Taskforce 704 KB The power of microdata to shape better competition policy and regulation 1.1 MB The power of microdata to shape better competition policy and regulation

Session 3: The role of competition in highly regulated markets

Title Author PDF DOCX
Achieving net zero transitions Dr Helen Jenkins 2.7 MB Achieving net zero transitions 6.6 MB Achieving net zero transitions
Competition policy for the energy transition Professor Flavio Menezes 229 KB Competition policy for the energy transition 63 KB Competition policy for the energy transition
Competition in the care economy Dr Stephen King 622 KB Competition in the care economy 932 KB Competition in the care economy

Session 4: Tailoring competition reforms for the digital economy

Title Author PDF DOCX
Pro-competition market-enabling infrastructure: CDR as a case study Mr James Kelly 407 KB Pro-competition market-enabling infrastructure: CDR as a case study 248 KB Pro-competition market-enabling infrastructure: CDR as a case study