South Australian Productivity Commission

What South Australian Productivity Commission does

The South Australian Productivity Commission (SAPC) is an independent statutory advisory body established on 22 October 2018 by the Government of South Australia and headquartered at 30 Wakefield Street, Adelaide. Its statutory Objects and Functions are set out in Premier and Cabinet Circular 046, and it operates under the Office of the South Australian Productivity Commission (OSAPC), which had grown to 13 FTE by early operation. The Commission's mandate is to facilitate productivity growth, unlock economic opportunities, support job creation, and remove regulatory barriers in South Australia, providing independent evidence-based analysis not aligned to any political party or interest group.

The Commission delivers its work through five core offerings: formal Inquiries referred by the Premier (using issues papers, draft reports, and public submissions), Commissioned Reports, Reviews (regulatory and policy assessments), a Research Program, and a Publications library. Since inception it has delivered inquiries on government procurement, local government costs and efficiency, research and development, health and medical research, extractives supply chain, renewable energy competitiveness, and positioning South Australians to share in economic growth. The first procurement inquiry resulted in 28 of 30 recommendations being accepted by government, demonstrating material policy impact.

The Commission is wholly government-funded through parliamentary appropriations and does not sell products or services. Its primary customer is the Government of South Australia (specifically the Premier), with South Australian businesses, universities, research institutions, and the general public serving as consulted stakeholders rather than paying clients. Leadership comprises Chair Adrian Tembel (following inaugural Chair Dr Matthew Butlin), Commissioners Jim Hallion AM, Professor Edwina Cornish, and Professor Christopher Findlay, with Steve Whetton as Chief Executive of the OSAPC. The Commission participates in the Australasian Productivity Commissions forum alongside Australian state and New Zealand counterparts.

Name

South Australian Productivity Commission

Legal name

South Australian Productivity Commission

Website

https://sapc.sa.gov.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The South Australian Productivity Commission is an independent statutory advisory body that conducts public inquiries, commissioned reports, and reviews referred by the Premier to improve the state's productivity, competitiveness, and regulatory efficiency. It serves the Government of South Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Economic Policy Advisory

NAICS

Administration of Economic Programs (926), Administration of General Economic Programs (92611), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (9211)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade, Industry & Economic Development Administration (BPAIAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Governor/Executive Office & Cabinet Administration (BPAIABAA), State/Provincial Labor, Employment Standards & Workforce Development Administration (BPAIABAN)

Keywords

• Economic policy advisory
• Productivity research
• Public inquiry services
• Regulatory review
• Government policy analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Adelaide

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: The Commission is a South Australian Government body established on 22 October 2018. It operates as an independent advisory body funded by the government to improve economic growth, productivity, competitiveness, and reduce costs of regulation in South Australia.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The South Australian Productivity Commission is a statutory government advisory body that conducts public inquiries, commissioned reports, regulatory reviews, and economic research on matters referred by the Premier of South Australia. Its core work involves producing evidence-based findings and recommendations to improve the state's productivity, competitiveness, regulatory environment, and economic growth, delivered through a formal inquiry process that includes issues papers, draft reports, public submissions, and final reports to the Premier.

Product overview

The South Australian Productivity Commission offers a portfolio of public inquiry and advisory services organized around five core offerings: Inquiries (formal investigations on matters referred by the Premier), Commissioned Reports (external party-commissioned studies), Reviews (regulatory and policy assessments), a Research Program (economic research on state productivity), and Publications (reports, submissions, and governance documents). The Commission's findings and recommendations to government constitute its primary outcomes, delivered through a structured inquiry process involving issues papers, draft reports, stakeholder consultation, and final submissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inquiries

Quantifiable outcome

• 28 of 30 recommendations accepted by government in first inquiry into government procurement
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Australasian Productivity CommissionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2019Forum bringing together chairs of Australian and New Zealand productivity commissions to discuss common work programs, priorities, and reform agendas with focus on productivity and building capability.
• Department of the Premier and Cabinet (SA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPC Circular 046 sets out the Objects and Functions of the Commission, how Inquiries are referred, undertaken and reported on, and how the Commission and public sector agencies cooperate.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NSW Productivity and Equality Commission: NSW state-level body running productivity and inequality-focused inquiries; directly comparable in mandate and inquiry structure.
• New Zealand Productivity Commission (Te Kōmihana whai Hua o Aotearoa): Trans-Tasman counterpart participating in the Australasian Productivity Commissions forum with SAPC; conducts similar inquiry-based reviews.
• Queensland Productivity Commission: Queensland's independent economic advisory body conducting public inquiries into productivity, regulation and competitiveness — a near-identical operating model.
• Australian Productivity Commission (Commonwealth): The federal counterpart to SAPC, conducting national productivity, competitiveness and regulation reviews with similar inquiry methodologies and statutory independence.
• Victorian Productivity Commission (Better Regulation Victoria): State-level productivity/regulation review body (successor to VCEC, where Dr Butlin was formerly Chair). Closest analogue in terms of scope and statutory design.
• Tasmania Productivity Commission: Tasmanian productivity advisory function that supports state economic reform; comparable in size and scope to SAPC.

Broad incumbents

• OECD Economics Department: International economic research and policy analysis body whose country surveys and productivity work influence the methodologies SAPC draws on.
• Western Australian Department of Treasury (Economic Policy): Performs broader economic and regulatory advisory functions across the WA state government, with a much wider mandate that includes productivity-relevant analysis.
• Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC): Federal regulator and inquiry-conducting body whose competition, productivity and regulatory reform reviews intersect with SAPC's mandate on regulatory burden.

Emerging players

• Infrastructure Australia: Independent statutory body advising on nationally significant infrastructure priorities; partial overlap with SAPC's competitiveness and economic reform remit.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-australian-productivity-commission

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about South Australian Productivity Commission