Australia’s working future

The Government’s vision for a dynamic and inclusive labour market is set out in Working Future: The Australian Government’s White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities, released in September 2023. This white paper is about helping more Australians make the most of the big changes underway in the economy and society. It includes a full employment objective where everyone who wants a job is able to find one without having to search for too long.

Figure 2: The 5 objectives contributing to the Australian Government’s Working Future vision

Circular chart, in the centre is: The Government’s vision is for a dynamic & inclusive labour market in which everyone has the opportunity for secure, fairly paid work & people, businesses & communities can be beneficiaries & thrive. The 5 objectives are 1.Delivering sustained and inclusive full employment 2.Promoting job security and strong 3.sustainable wage growth 4.Filling skills & building our future workforce 5.Overcoming barriers to employment and broadening opportunity 6.Reigning productivity growth

Source: The Treasury

Australia’s economy and labour market will be shaped by 5 forces in the coming decades:

  • population ageing
  • technological and digital transformation
  • climate change and the net zero transformation
  • rising demand for care and support services
  • geopolitical risk and fragmentation.

Maximising the opportunities these shifts present, and ensuring all Australians can participate and benefit, will require a more productive, dynamic and resilient economy. This is an economy with a bigger, better-skilled and more adaptable workforce.

Achieving the Working Future vision requires concerted action across a comprehensive range of policy levers. The white paper provides a roadmap to position the Australian labour market for the future, through:

  • investing more in education, skills and training
  • expanding opportunities to work
  • boosting labour productivity.

The roadmap outlines the practical actions being taken, and the further reform directions required, to achieve Australia’s potential. Steps have already been taken towards achieving the future reform directions outlined in the roadmap.

Working Future: The Australian Government’s White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities is built on the solid foundations provided by the Jobs and Skills Summit held in September 2022. Extensive consultation informed the approach taken in the white paper, including with over 250 stakeholders from civil society, unions, employers, and state and territory governments.

Find out more

Australian Government (2023) Working Future: The Australian Government’s White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities, The Treasury website, accessed 22 July 2024.

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