The Productivity Commission has released a report on labour mobility which recommends immediate action to implement a National Occupational Licensing System (NOLS).
Commissioner Alison McClelland said more can be done to improve labour mobility and address areas of skills shortages.
"There are no simple levers that governments can use to influence where people live and work," she said.
"Rather, the Commission has identified a number of significant policy areas where the programs are poorly designed and, among a number of negative effects, have the unintended consequences of reducing geographic labour mobility.
"Reform in these areas would lessen impediments to that mobility and have broader community benefits."
The Commission has identified a number of significant policy areas that could be reformed to lessen impediments to labour mobility and provide broader community benefits, including:
cutting stamp duties;
improving assistance for unemployed people to find employment in other locations;
overcoming housing shortages and high prices; and
urgently addressing the substantial delays in the implementation of the national occupational licensing system.
The report specifically identifies that:
Jurisdiction-based licensing is an impediment to mobility and competition. The reform efforts in this area by the Council of Australian Governments have been slow, and need to be reinvigorated with streamlined governance and institutional arrangements.
Draft recommendation 12.5 states that COAG should take remedial action now to ensure:
national occupational licensing reforms commence in 2014
the reform’s governance structure is streamlined, in order to facilitate timely decision making
reform processes, such as licensing fees and systems, are simplified and consistent across all jurisdictions.
The Commission is seeking comment on this draft report and invites written submissions February 7, 2014. A final report will be submitted to the Australian Government by May 2014.