Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
2CC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH STEPHEN CENATIEMPO
TUESDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Non-competes, immigration

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: It’s time to talk federal politics with the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, and the Member for Fenner, Andrew Leigh. Andrew, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Stephen, great to be with you.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: And to you too. You’re giving a speech at the Sydney Institute today believe?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yes, my fourth time speaking to the Sydney Institute, and this time talking about non-compete clauses - clauses that shackle one in five workers to their jobs and make it tougher for the people to get a pay rise.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Andrew, you’ve been talking about this since the election. Is there anything being done about it?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yes, there is. So, we’re banning non-competes for people earning under $183,000, which is nine out of 10 workers, and that will…

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Why 183 and not 180 or 190? How do you get to that figure?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah, great question. It’s a standard benchmark in the Fair Work Act: the high-income earner threshold. And so that’s already there in legislation and it kicks in for a range of other things. It seemed a straightforward way of drawing the line. We’re looking at how we’d handle non-compete clauses above that range, but certainly below it we think that there’s no place for non-competes. And so, we’ll have that legislation in the Parliament before long. But we’ve just closed consultation. We’ve got some really shocking stories, you know, a graduate engineer on $63,000 that couldn’t work anywhere in the state. A health worker on $80,000 who had a non-compete with no end date at all covering all of Australia and New Zealand. So, you know, there’s some pretty shocking clauses being put on employees.

STEPHEN CENATIEMPO: Okay. What are you doing in this legislation, though, to protect intellectual property? Because, you know, I think about this industry here for instance and, you know, I mean, I guess we’re a little bit different to say, a hairdresser or, you know, somebody working in a retail job or whatever. But there are instances where somebody can be built up by a company only to leave and take that skill and expertise somewhere else. How do you protect businesses in this area?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Data Without Borders: Sharing for Smarter Policy

Public Sector Data Sharing Network
Online Address

Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Good morning. It is a pleasure to join the Public Sector Data Sharing Network.

For those of us who spend much of our time working with data, it is easy to forget that most Australians do not wake up thinking about linkage protocols or metadata standards. They are more likely to wake up wondering if the coffee machine still works or whether the kids remembered their homework. But while people may not think about data integration, they do care deeply about what it makes possible: better schools, safer medicines, smarter infrastructure and more effective social services.

As Assistant Minister for Productivity, I believe that good policy rests on good evidence, and good evidence rests on good data. Data sharing is the invisible plumbing that makes this possible. Like any plumbing, you tend not to notice it when it’s working smoothly, but you really do when it springs a leak. Our challenge is to build the pipes, valves and pumps of the data system so they deliver seamlessly, without Australians having to think twice about it.

Today, I want to reflect on the progress Australia has made, share concrete examples of how data sharing is improving lives, and look at what we can learn from other countries that are pushing the frontier.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is a world leader in data linkage. Two of its integrated data assets stand out: the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) and the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE). PLIDA safely links 37 datasets spanning the Census, tax returns, welfare payments, migration, health, education, disability, and state-level data such as crime, courts and corrections. More than 84 additional datasets have been linked for single-use projects, ranging from NAPLAN to hospital data. BLADE links taxation, trade, intellectual property, employment and insolvency data with ABS survey data, creating a rich resource for understanding business performance and productivity. Since 2017, almost 800 projects and 5,000 researchers have used these assets. Without them, our understanding of entrenched disadvantage, business dynamism, health and skills would be far more fragmented.

Consider some of the ways these datasets have shaped policy. The Life Course Data Initiative is a pilot that links PLIDA with select ACT and South Australian datasets, state birth registries, university and childcare data. It focuses on childhood disadvantage, looking particularly at ages zero to fourteen. This linked data can help us understand protective and risk factors in the early years, giving policymakers a sharper evidence base for interventions. And because it links so many different strands of a child’s life, it helps policymakers see people not as data points in silos, but as whole humans whose health, education and family experiences intersect.

The Department of Education and the ABS used integrated data to develop a fairer way of allocating non-government school funding. By linking family income data, government now bases non-government school funding on the actual median income of families of students at each non-government school, shaping the distribution of around $18 billion annually. It’s a reminder that sometimes data integration isn’t about adding complexity, but about making policy simpler and fairer.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
ABC AFTERNOON BRIEFING WITH PATRICIA KARVELAS
MONDAY, 15 SEPTEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: National Climate Risk Assessment Report, net zero, immigration

PATRICIA KARVELAS: I want to bring in my political panel for today. Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister of Productivity. Matt Canavan is an LNP Senator for Queensland. Welcome to both of you.

ANDREW LEIGH: G'day Patricia, great to be with you.

MATT CANAVAN: G'day Patricia.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Matt Canavan, starting with you on this Climate Risk Assessment. Does any of it land on you? And you think, ‘oh, this is serious, this is real.’

MATT CANAVAN: Well, I've always said there's an impact of industrialisation on the climate. I've just started reading through it, but the detail of it, when you get to the detail is pretty standard. The problem always with these reports is governments cherry-pick the most extreme and outrageous scenarios to justify what they already want to do. I mean, it's clear the government wants to increase its climate targets. Clear the government wants to increase carbon taxes on Australians. They want to massively expand the intrusion of government in your life. And so, they released this report – the government's released this report to try and scare people into accepting such change. That's what they've always done; governments have always done this. But if you go into the details, the report actually shows that there is not an increasing risk of cyclones to Australians. Finally, that's out there. I mean, hopefully people say that because every time we get a cyclone coming, including earlier this year to Brisbane, we're warned it's because of climate change. And so, climate change is something we should respond to, but it's not something we should panic over. And it's clear the government is not doing much on climate change. The emissions are the same as what they were when they came to office three years ago. They believe this report. Why haven't they taken any action?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TV INTERVIEW
SKY NEWS AUSTRALIA, AFTERNOON AGENDA WITH TOM CONNELL
WEDNESDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Shrinkflation, AI, Jacinta Price comments

TOM CONNELL: 'Shrinkflation'. You're aware of this term, where a price or a product is the same price but suddenly smaller in size. Chocolate chips, rice, whatever it might be. The government says it's going to crack down on it. Joining me is Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities, Treasury - other things. Andrew Leigh, thank you for your time.

ANDREW LEIGH: Thank you Tom.

TOM CONNELL: You're allowed to do this. I mean, it's kind of another form of increasing a price per unit. You're not going to make it illegal, but what will happen? You'll have to label a product for a couple of months. We're now smaller. How would this work for a consumer?

ANDREW LEIGH: Yeah, you're spot on Tom. That's one of the things we're considering, because people have come to us frustrated that they see biscuits being taken out of packets and they see cereal sizes shrinking. We've seen shrinkflation hit toilet paper and the concentration of detergents. And one of the things we're consulting on right now is whether to expand the Unit Pricing Code to cover more retailers, and how to treat instances in which products shrink and the price stays the same. We think it may be important for customers to be notified in that instance, so they might choose to shop around and buy a different product. So, that consultation's open for 9 more days on the Treasury website. People can have their say.

TOM CONNELL: Unit Pricing Code, and I can feel people thinking this is pointy, but it's great because if there's the same product and four different sizes, you can instantly see what the cheapest is. One will say it's 52 cents per litre and the next one's 70 cents per litre. The only downside to expanding that is it's not - I guess it's a bit of red tape for a small shop going up against Coles or Woolies. They'll go, ‘oh, this is hard for us, and makes things more difficult’. How do you balance the consumer and the business there?

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

AI helping shape a better future

Published in The Canberra Times

10 September 2025

Artificial intelligence is often described in apocalyptic tones. Depending on who you listen to, it is either about to take every job, or end work as we know it. But there’s a less dramatic, and more useful, way of looking at the future. Across advanced economies, the real problem isn’t too few jobs, but too few workers. Populations are ageing, birth rates are falling, and shortages are widespread. From hospitals to construction sites, demand for human expertise is growing. AI can help meet it – if we get the choices right.

The Productivity Commission has found that AI could underpin a new wave of productivity growth in Australia. That’s not an abstract number on a spreadsheet. It’s a reminder that technology, used wisely, can lift living standards. MIT economist David Autor argues that AI isn’t just about rules and routines. Done well, it helps workers combine knowledge, judgment and data to make better decisions. Imagine nurses using AI to interpret scans more quickly. Or technicians overseeing complex manufacturing processes. Or caseworkers solving problems that once needed a lawyer. These are not examples of robots replacing people. They are examples of workers becoming more effective, and better paid, because machines help them do more. Autor calls it restoring the “middle-skill, middle-class heart” of the labour market. That should be our national ambition.

This isn’t the first time new technology has disrupted the world of work. During the Industrial Revolution, artisanal trades gave way to mass production. At first, the consequences were grim: 12-hour days, unsafe factories, child labour. But over time, unions and reformers fought for safety laws, reasonable hours and fair pay. The result was a new era of skilled machinists, typists and operators, and the growth of a thriving middle class. The computer age shifted things again. Computers raised the productivity of professionals, but eroded middle-skill roles. Wages at the top grew faster than those in the middle, and inequality widened. The lesson is obvious: technology alone does not guarantee fair outcomes. Fairness comes from strong institutions and a labour movement willing to insist that workers share in the gains.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
FRIDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2025

SUBJECTS: Canberra talkback, covering Australia War Memorial display, CSIRO funding, aged care, Robodebt, NACC, energy, charities guidelines, ACT infrastructure funding

ROSS SOLLY: Dr Andrew Leigh, the Member for Fenner joins us this morning. Dr Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Good morning Ross. Great to be with you on this exciting new experiment.

ROSS SOLLY: Isn’t it? It is an exciting new experiment, and it will be interesting to see whether people want to take up the opportunity to throw questions at you. I have got some great questions…

ANDREW LEIGH: It might just be me and you if not.

ROSS SOLLY: Well, it might be. But, well, I’ve already great some great questions, and not all of them are political. Some people actually wanting to know a little bit about the private life of Andrew Leigh. And I might throw a couple of those at you in just a sec. Could I just ask you though, and I don’t know whether you’ve had time to think about it, but how we recognise Ben Roberts-Smith and his shortcomings and what he’s done on the battlefield? Do you have a view on that Andrew Leigh?

ANDREW LEIGH: The War Memorial makes an independent decision as to how they’re going to handle the display for Ben Roberts-Smith. Following the defamation case, they made a decision to put a plaque next to Ben Roberts-Smith’s display outlining what had happened in the defamation case. I still feel somewhat uncomfortable with that. Given the findings out of the defamation case I would feel more comfortable if that display were removed.

ROSS SOLLY: Removed altogether?

ANDREW LEIGH: That’s my view. That’s a personal view and recognising the independence of the War Memorial, I’ve certainly shared that view with them. They’re aware of that view. But the findings that came out of the defamation case I thought were of a nature that suggests that there are many others that would be more appropriately recognised by the War Memorial.

ROSS SOLLY: All right. Those views have been supported by quite a few listeners this morning, but a lot of others are saying keep the display on there but then give an explanation. As you’ve just said, it’s already there but a more detailed explanation of what went on and what he got up to on the battlefield. But anyway, we are hoping to get a response from the Australian War Memorial. They’ve obviously now have got a decision they need to make. All right, let’s go to some questions. Matt asks on the text line, ‘Andrew Leigh, what is the thinking behind the $90 million cut to the CSIRO in the Federal Budget?’

Stronger markets, stronger charities, stronger transparency
Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025
First Reading

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

House of Representatives

Thursday 4 September

I move that this bill be now read a second time.

This bill consists of measures designed to strengthen confidence in our markets, improve the way regulators operate, and support long-term economic growth. Its provisions span areas as diverse as corporate disclosure, the regulation of charities, oversight of financial regulators, energy market protections, and taxation.

One measure of particular significance for productivity is the continuation of the $20,000 instant asset write-off until mid-2026. Its value lies in encouraging businesses to invest in new equipment and technology. Productivity is not only about working smarter, but also about working with better tools. When firms are able to expand and upgrade their capital stock, they achieve what's known as capital deepening - more capital per worker - which is one of the surest routes to higher productivity.

By allowing immediate deductions, this measure reduces the barrier to making those investments and helps ensure that Australian workers are equipped to do their job more efficiently. Boosting productivity is a central focus of our government - reflected in the Treasurer's recent Economic Reform Roundtable, a valuable national conversation aimed at delivering higher living standards for all Australians.

The bill also recognises that strong markets depend on transparency. In our corporate sector, greater clarity about who holds influence over listed companies supports fairer and more efficient decision-making and ensures that directors and investors can respond on the basis of accurate information.

For the wider community, improved access to ownership information means that journalists, academics and others are better placed to shine light on potential concentrations of power.

In civil society, too, openness matters. Allowing the charities regulator to speak more directly to the public where there are concerns of misconduct ensures that trust in the sector is not eroded by silence or uncertainty. In both domains - business and the non-profit sector - transparency provides the oxygen that accountability requires.

Other provisions of the bill ensure that reviews of our financial regulators are conducted with sufficient depth, that consumer safeguards in the energy market remain in place during the transition, and that the law continues to operate as intended through a set of technical amendments.

Together, these measures promote investment, transparency and accountability - the conditions on which stronger productivity and public confidence ultimately rest.

I turn now to each of the seven schedules in the bill.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

OPINION PIECE

Shrinkflation: Less for the Same, and Harder to Spot

Published in The New Daily

3 September 2025

Have you noticed your shopping basket feeling lighter, even though the bill at the checkout hasn’t changed? A packet of chips that once stretched across a movie now disappears before the credits roll. A box of cereal that used to last the school week runs out sooner. An ice cream tub looks the same size on the outside, but inside it holds fewer scoops than it once did.

This quiet trend has a name: shrinkflation. The size of the product shrinks, the price stays the same, and it’s only when you get home that you realise you’ve paid more for less.

Shrinkflation isn’t new, but with household budgets tight, it feels sharper than ever. Few shoppers carefully weigh packets or check the fine print on labels. Most of us just reach for the same product we’ve always bought. When the contents go down but the packaging looks the same, it’s easy to miss the change.

That’s why the Albanese Government is consulting on changes to the Unit Pricing Code. The aim is straightforward: to make it easier for Australians to see what they’re paying for and to compare value between products.

Unit pricing tells you the cost per litre, per kilo or per 100 grams. It helps you work out whether the larger pack is really better value, or whether a different brand gives you more for your money. Done well, it’s one of the simplest tools to keep supermarkets competitive. But it doesn’t always work as it should. Sometimes the unit price is too small to read. Sometimes the measure varies between products, making comparisons confusing. And some retailers aren’t covered by the rules at all.

Our government’s consultation, which opens this week, will look at a range of ideas. One is a notification regime that would require supermarkets to let shoppers know when a product gets smaller. Another is ensuring that unit prices are more visible and easier to read, so people don’t need a magnifying glass at the shelf. We’re also looking at expanding the code so that more retailers, including those online, are covered. And we’re considering how to standardise the measures used for things like toilet paper or pet food, so shoppers can compare more easily.

Constituency Statement
Open Australia

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

House of Representatives

Wednesday 3 September 

Last weekend, a handful of speakers stood on the steps of our cities and shouted slogans against immigration. Their words weren't new. Some echoed the racist cries that have haunted Australia since the days when the White Australia policy was law. But their vision of a closed, fearful country isn't the Australia we live in today, because modern Australia is a multicultural success story. Nearly one in two Australians either was born overseas or had a parent who was. My wife was born overseas, so that includes our three children. Australia is home to hundreds of ancestries, and we speak hundreds of languages in our homes.

Surveys show that nine out of ten Australians believe multiculturalism is good for Australia. Think of Frank Lowy who arrived as a refugee from Hungary and went on to co-found Westfield, Tan Le, who came as a Vietnamese boat person at age four and is today a global leader in neurotechnology, Anh Do, who fled war-torn Vietnam and became one of Australia's best-loved writers or astrophysicist Brian Schmidt, who built a global team to win a Nobel prize.

Consider sport. At the very moment anti-immigration rallies were taking place, the Sydney Marathon was being won by Ethiopia's Hailemaryam Kiros, who ran the fastest marathon ever on Australian soil, and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. As we waited in the starting pen, I chatted with athletes from India, Spain and the UK. The biggest cheer was for Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge. My friend Arsenio Balisacan, a senior official in the Philippines Government was one of the many international runners who joined the race. That's what it means to be a World Marathon Major - you welcome people from around the world.

This weekend also saw the Canberra Raiders become NRL minor premiers for the first time in 35 years. The Raiders' line-up includes New-Zealand-born Josh Papalii, English-born Morgan Smithies and Samoan-born Ata Mariota. The Green Machine are stronger because they draw on migrant talent. Across the economy migrants are on average younger and more likely to start a business than Australian-born people are. They pay more in taxes than they draw in benefits. Migrants aren't just mouths to feed but muscles to build and minds to inspire. Our universities thrive because international researchers bring ideas and energy. Our hospitals and aged care centres depend on migrant workers who care for our most vulnerable.

So, when the voices of hate call for exclusion, we must answer with evidence and with pride: pride for an Australia where people from around the world come together to build something bigger than themselves, pride in a multicultural nation that's more open, more dynamic and more generous than those who peddle fear will ever understand. That's the real story of Australian immigration - not division but unity, not weakness but strength.

ENDS

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP 
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury 

Fair Work in the Age of AI
Symposium: ‘Seizing the Opportunities of AI While Protecting the Fair Go’
Parliament House, Canberra

Wednesday, 3 September 2025

Introduction

It’s a pleasure to join you at this symposium on Seizing the Opportunities of AI While Protecting the Fair Go. I want to begin by acknowledging the Australian Council of Trade Unions, the Centre for Future Work, and the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law for bringing us together today.

The Opportunity of AI

Some voices tell us AI means the end of work. We hear that robots will take every job, that plumbers and carers will be replaced by circuits and code. But the truth is more hopeful. Across advanced economies, the challenge is not too few jobs, it is too few workers. With ageing populations, shrinking birth rates and labour shortages, the demand for human expertise will remain strong.

The Productivity Commission has found that AI could underpin a wave of productivity growth in Australia. That is not just a number on a page, it is a reminder that with the right choices AI can help us lift living standards and sustain the fair go.

MIT economist David Autor has argued that AI is not just about rules and routines, it is about weaving information with tacit knowledge to support decision-making. If used well, AI can empower more workers, not just elite experts, to take on higher-stakes tasks. Nurses could handle more complex diagnoses. Technicians could supervise advanced manufacturing processes. Case workers could resolve problems that once demanded a lawyer.

This is what Autor calls restoring the “middle-skill, middle-class heart” of the labour market. In plain terms: AI can help rebuild good jobs that pay fair wages and demand genuine expertise.

Lessons from History

We have seen this before. During the Industrial Revolution, artisanal expertise gave way to mass production. At first, conditions were grim: long hours, dangerous factories, children pressed into labour. But with the rise of unions and social reforms, new forms of “mass expertise” such as machinists, typists and operators built a thriving middle class.

Later, in the computer age, expertise was reshuffled again. Computers empowered professionals but displaced middle-skill workers. The benefits went disproportionately to the top, while inequality grew.

The lesson is clear: technology alone does not guarantee fair outcomes. It takes strong institutions, above all unions, to ensure that workers are not left behind. Just as the labour movement fought for safety laws in factories and fairness in offices, unions today must help shape the AI age.