In 2009, the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Australia eighth in the world for government efficiency, or the extent to which government policies are conducive to competitiveness. In Australia, governments at all levels work cooperatively with business to respond effectively to global and domestic economic trends. Australia was ranked fourth in the world for the adaptability of government policy in response to changes in the economy.

Over the past 30 years, the emphasis of government policy has been on making Australia more internationally competitive and globally integrated, and better able to withstand external shocks. The series of macro- and micro-economic reforms introduced over this period, including the move to a flexible exchange rate regime, deregulation of financial markets, tariff reductions, and labour market and taxation reforms, have created an environment which is favourable to business and enables companies to capitalise on commercial opportunities.

In terms of the impact of bureaucracy, public service agencies at all levels of government in Australia were ranked seventh in the world in the IMD survey for facilitating business activity.
Companies can be certain that government decisions regarding their businesses are made on the basis of transparent criteria.