LFRA joins national alliance to strengthen call for productivity reform

The Large Format Retail Association (LFRA) has joined the Alliance of Industry Associations, a national coalition of leading Australian industry bodies advocating for practical economic reform to lift productivity, improve investment certainty and raise living standards.

The Alliance brings together 28 member organisations from across the economy, including business, agriculture, energy, retail, telecommunications, infrastructure, professional services, education and investment. The Business Council of Australia is helping coordinate the Alliance’s work, supporting a unified industry voice on national productivity reform.

For the LFRA, joining the Alliance aligns strongly with the Association’s long-standing advocacy for clearer, more consistent and more practical planning and regulatory settings across Australia.

Philippa Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of the LFRA said the Alliance’s focus on reducing unnecessary red tape, improving planning and project approvals, and supporting stronger investment closely reflects the issues experienced by Large Format Retail members.

“Large Format Retail businesses operate across multiple jurisdictions, but planning definitions, zoning rules, approval pathways and compliance obligations can vary significantly between states, territories and local government areas. These inconsistencies add unnecessary complexity, affect investment decisions and can make it harder for businesses to grow, compete and serve customers,” Ms Kelly said.

A key priority for the Alliance is calling on all levels of government to commit to a 25 per cent reduction in regulatory burden by 2030, supported by an economy-wide regulatory stocktake and better coordination across jurisdictions.

This reflects a central message of the Alliance: red tape reduction is not about removing important protections, but about making regulation more consistent, practical and effective. Unnecessary regulation affects Australians through higher costs, slower services, and delays to homes and infrastructure.

In a 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission, the Alliance has outlined practical, consensus-based reform priorities focused on lifting productivity, improving investment certainty and restoring growth in living standards. These include reducing red tape through better regulation, improving planning and major project approvals, boosting investment and innovation, and progressing comprehensive tax reform.

The Alliance’s broader reform agenda is focused on the practical settings needed to attract investment, remove structural barriers and support stronger, more sustainable economic growth.

These priorities are particularly relevant to Large Format Retail, and would provide greater certainty for businesses, support investment, increase competition, create jobs and help the sector continue delivering choice and value for consumers.

The LFRA will contribute to the Alliance’s work and continue advocating for reforms that make it easier to do business, strengthen productivity and improve outcomes for Australian households and communities.