The policy background is the UK Coalition Government’s introduction of radical reforms to the welfare and benefits system, encapsulated in the Welfare Reform Act of 2012. These reforms are shaped by an over-arching drive to “make work pay” and reduce the number of workless households, while also simplifying the welfare system and cutting welfare expenditure...

This productivity commission report looks into the new changes to superannuation funds in award wages. Australia’s three-pillar retirement income policy comprises a means-tested and government-funded age pension, supported by both voluntary saving and compulsory superannuation contributions. Superannuation effectively became compulsory in 1992 with the introduction of the superannuation guarantee. This guarantee now requires employers to...

This report provides an opinion on whether it is appropriate to return additional amounts to customers on top of funds that are being returned via the price freeze. The revenue we approved in 2009 for Melbourne Water included a maximum component of $684 million (in nominal or dollars of the day terms) in the period...

This paper investigates the validity of the hypothesis that suggests there is a link between fiscal deficits and inflation in developing countries and further explores this link in the absence of public sector wage expenditure. Sri Lanka, a developing country with a persistent fiscal deficit, a large public sector and increasing inflation, has been chosen...

On 23 August 2012, the House of Representatives referred the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Bill 2012 ('the ACNC Bill'), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Consequential and Transitional) Bill 2012 and the Tax Laws Amendment (Special Conditions for Not-for-profit Concessions) Bill 2012 ('the TLAB') to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services...