Amid an evolving range of international approaches, this report finds that the Australian Government is yet to provide a clear direction for AI regulation. It highlights the importance of regulatory certainty as an enabler of AI-driven productivity. It outlines five principal channels for productivity gains: labour-improving tools, automation, firm-level reorganisation, sectoral reallocation and knowledge creation.

Rising cost-of-living pressures continue to strain household budgets across Australia and policymakers require timely and reliable measures of financial hardship. This paper introduces a new high-frequency indicator of financial stress derived from failed direct debit payments in bank transaction data. This indicator could offer policymakers an early warning indicator of financial stress and inform targeted...