Podcasts
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 takeaways
Links mentioned in this podcast episode:
Webinar: Federal Budget 2026-27 – how will it affect you and your business?
Contact the Industry Development & Policy team here.
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In her role as Australian Industry Group’s Head of Industry Development and Policy Louise provides strategic leadership and guidance for Australian Industry Group’s policy agenda in building competitive industries through global integration, infrastructure development and innovation. She ensures that through policy leadership members have a voice at all levels of government, by representing and promoting their interests on current and emerging issues.
Louise represents Australian Industry in several multilateral forums, such as the B20 Taskforces, Global Business Coalition, and the East Asia Business Council working group on RCEP. She advocates for the interests of Australian Industry Group members during Free Trade Negotiations and translates those agreements to support the strategic aims of members. She is a member of CSIRO’s Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence Think Tank and the Manufacturing Advisory Group, the NESP Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub and the Advisory Group of The Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS).
Louise has studied a Bachelor of Arts (Arabic Language and Culture) at Deakin University and an Advanced Diploma in International Trade at RMIT. She has also studied Arabic at universities in Jordan and Egypt.
Jeffrey Wilson is Head of Research and Economics at Australian Industry Group.
He leads our economics team and provides strategic direction in developing the research program to support our advocacy, service delivery and policy activities.
Dr Wilson specialises in international economic policy, with a focus on how trade and investment shape the Australian business environment.
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