What the Budget does and doesn’t deliver: progress since the 2025 productivity roundtable

In this episode of DBrief, Louise McGrath and Dr. Jeff Wilson from the Australian Industry Group unpack the 2026-27 Federal Budget and assess how it measures up against the economic reform agenda set at last year’s productivity roundtable. They revisit the key priorities discussed at the roundtable - particularly productivity, regulatory reform and tax simplification - and examine where the budget has delivered progress and where momentum has stalled. The conversation highlights several practical wins, including expansion of the Trusted Trader program, further removal of nuisance tariffs, and initial steps toward a more consistent national approach to product standards, the construction code and regulatory reporting. Louise and Jeff also explore areas where reform remains incomplete. While there are signs of progress on reducing regulatory burden and improving coordination across governments, more complex challenges - including tax simplification, payroll tax harmonisation and the design of the R&D tax incentive - remain unresolved. The episode reflects on how these decisions affect day‑to‑day business operations, from trade and compliance to investment and innovation. Key takeawaysExpansion of the Trusted Trader program and removal of nuisance tariffs will reduce compliance costs and friction in cross‑border trade.Progress toward a single economic market is emerging, including steps to align product standards, workforce regulation and the building code implementation across states.The “tell us once” principle signals intent to reduce duplication in regulatory reporting, though implementation is still underway.Tax simplification - a core ask from industry - saw little progress, with complexity remaining a significant burden for business.Payroll tax harmonisation remains unresolved, despite being a major operational challenge for national businesses.Changes to the R&D tax incentive provide some benefits at the large end of the market but may limit access for smaller firms and do not address underlying complexity.Links mentioned in this podcast episode:Federal Budget 2026/27 - Federal Budget measures for businessContact the Industry Development & Policy team here.