National Competition Policy

The National Competition Policy was Australia’s landmark microeconomic reform program. The key principle of the program was to develop a more open and integrated Australian market that limits anti-competitive conduct and removes the special advantages previously enjoyed by government business activities, where it is in the public interest to do so.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) - the peak intergovernmental forum in Australia - established and implemented the National Competition Policy following a report by the Independent (Hilmer) Committee on a National Competition Policy.

Spanning 1995-2005, National Competition Policy is widely recognised as having contributed significantly to Australia’s welfare. Australia's National Reform Agenda (NRA) is the successor program to the National Competition Policy. The NRA was agreed to by COAG and Treasury is responsible for implementing the major reforms that come from COAG. Recently Treasury implemented the Competition and Infrastructure Reform Agreement 2006 (CIRA), a significant reform program to come from the NRA.

Last reviewed 25 July 2011