This inquiry lapsed at the end of the 45th Parliament. On 30 July 2019, the Senate agreed to the committee's recommendation that this inquiry be re-adopted in the 46th Parliament. 

• Information about the re-adopted inquiry (46th Parliament)

This is an archived webpage that is no longer updated.

On 14 February 2018, the Senate referred an inquiry into the indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia to the Senate Economics References Committee for inquiry and report by the last day of sitting in June 2019.

Terms of Reference 

The indicators of, and impact of, regional inequality in Australia, with particular reference to government policies and programs in the following areas:

1. fiscal policies at federal, state and local government levels;
2. improved co-ordination of federal, state and local government policies;
3. regional development policies;
4. infrastructure;
5. education;
6. building human capital;
7. enhancing local workforce skills;
8. employment arrangements;
9. decentralisation policies;
10. innovation;
11. manufacturing; and
12. any other related matters.

Your submission

The committee is interested in receiving submissions addressing the above terms of reference. It would like to hear about:

• experiences of individuals and localities of unequal access to opportunities and unequal outcomes in non-metropolitan areas
• views on the causes of inequality between regions, especially between capital cities and other areas
• analysis of the economics of regional inequality, including wider impacts
• examples of solutions: what has caused some regions or towns to prosper?
• policy settings which could help address inequality between regions.

You do not need to address the full terms of reference and you may choose to comment only on the terms of reference that are of interest or relevance to you.

Submissions closed on 30 April 2018.