A Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia

The Australian Logistics Council submission to the Select Committee on Productivity in Australia positions freight and logistics as a core driver of national productivity, with performance outcomes shaped predominantly by system design rather than industry capability. It draws on ALC’s broader policy work to argue that Australia’s freight sector is efficient and increasingly advanced, but constrained by fragmented regulation, misaligned infrastructure and land use planning, inconsistent workforce and licensing frameworks, and limited end-to-end data visibility. The submission highlights that the most significant productivity constraints arise at system interfaces—particularly ports, intermodal terminals, and urban freight access points—where governance fragmentation creates delays, variability, and inefficiencies. These issues are not attributed to operator performance, but to structural and institutional misalignment across jurisdictions. It further emphasises that reliability, not average speed, is the dominant determinant of supply chain efficiency, with variability driving higher costs through inventory buffers, reduced asset utilisation, and increased land demand. The submission proposes a nationally coordinated reform agenda focused on regulatory harmonisation, integrated freight and land use planning, improved freight data systems, workforce alignment, technology enablement, and decarbonisation coordination, underpinned by strengthened national governance to support consistent implementation and system-wide productivity gains.