The report explores the latest trends in business formation in Australia. It identifies measures to improve the operating environment for emerging businesses and calls for a refresh of supporting programs and policies in four key areas: regulation, finance, skills, and culture and competition. It finds Australia has experienced a long-term decline in business ownership rates.

There has been a rise in excessively stringent regulation across the Australian economy, Australia will need to reform these regulatory systems to meet its goals to increase housing supply and manage the energy transition. To date, no analysis has tracked Australian regulatory restrictions by industry. This paper presents a starting point for a new measure.

People who value working from home (WFH) are making a trade-off between their wage and the benefits they see from the arrangement. This paper suggests employers can also make a trade-off: choosing either to accept the cost savings from WFH arrangements or to pay a premium to mandate office attendance.