The Australian Logistics Council has put supply chain and logistics reforms at the top of its pre-Budget submission to the Australian Treasury targeted at lifting freight productivity and easing cost pressures on the industry.
ALC chief executive Dr Hermoine Parsons says freight is essential economic infrastructure that is in need of an overhaul.
“Without targeted reform, inefficiencies and constraints in the supply chain and logistics will continue to translate into higher costs, lower productivity and reduced resilience across the economy,” Dr Parsons says.
The ALC submission points to growing productivity, resilience and cost pressures within the sector off the back of structural inefficiencies, constrained infrastructure and workforce shortages.
With about 700,000 people employed in Australia’s supply chain and logistics sector, the business it generates accounts for around 8.6 per cent of the country’s GDP.
The ALC’s submission includes several priority areas for action in the 2026–27 Budget, including:
- Productivity, regulation and performance;
- Interconnected infrastructure and industrial land;
- Sustainability, decarbonisation and energy transition;
- Fuel security, resilience and emergency preparedness; and
- Workforce, safety and digital capability.
On the productivity front, the submission calls for an acceleration of the of National Automated Access (NAAS) structure for heavy vehicles and the creation of a national freight regulatory harmonisation taskforce to iron out operating inconsistencies across state borders.
To ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support logistics growth, the ALC is calling for the establishment of a mode-agnostic National Freight Corridors Fund to target high-impact bottlenecks, first- and last-mile constraints and single-point failures across road, rail, ports and airports.
Assistance for the decarbonisation journey is called for in the form of infrastructure planning on key freight routes to ensure fuel and power is available for the next generation of electric and alternative fuel powered trucks.
To address critical workforce vacancy rates across Australia’s supply chain — including a shortage of more than 28,000 truck drivers and an ageing driver workforce, ALC recommends expanding proven workforce programs such as Wayfinder: Supply Chain Careers for Women; supporting industry-led micro-credentials; aligning migration and skills settings with freight needs; accelerating uptake of proven heavy vehicle safety technologies; and lifting baseline digital and cyber resilience across freight operators, particularly SMEs.
For the full list of recommendations in the ALC 2026–27 Pre-Budget Submission, please visit the ALC website here: https://austlogistics.com.au/knowledge-centre/