By La Trobe Financial CEO Chris Andrews…
Location, location, location. It’s a mantra etched into the Australian psyche — a reflection of our long-standing love affair, let’s call it an obsession, with property. From backyard BBQs to ballot boxes, property has dominated our national conversation. It’s shaped our economy, our culture, and even our identity.
But something is shifting.
During the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent decision to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.6%, Governor Michele Bullock found herself in unfamiliar territory. In a press conference typically dominated by inflation and employment — the RBA’s two formal mandates — the spotlight turned, almost unanimously, to productivity.
One by one, Australia’s financial journalists pressed the issue. And rightly so. While productivity isn’t an official RBA objective, it is a critical assumption underpinning every forecast and policy decision. Without it, the path to sustainable growth becomes murky. Inflation becomes stickier. Employment gains become harder to hold.
The RBA’s recent downgrade of Australia’s medium-term productivity outlook — from 1% to just 0.7% per year — is a wake-up call. It’s a big adjustment, and it signals a deeper concern: productivity in Australia has been essentially flat since 2016.
This is not just an economic issue. It’s a national challenge. And increasingly, it’s becoming a national obsession.
In the past few weeks, leaders of some of Australia’s largest employers — including the CEOs of Westpac and ANZ — have made pointed comments about workforce expectations and productivity. Their remarks, though controversial in some circles, reflect a growing urgency: we need to do more with what we have.
The good news? When Australia sets its mind to something, we deliver. Our property market is proof of that. We’ve built an entire economic engine around it — one that dominates our media, our investments, and our aspirations.
Now, imagine if we applied that same national focus to productivity.
The federal government is convening a roundtable. The Productivity Commission is preparing to weigh in. And across boardrooms and policy circles, the conversation is heating up. This is our moment to reframe productivity not as a dry economic metric, but as a measure of our collective ambition.
It’s also a moment for innovation. AI and technology must be embraced — not feared — as tools to unlock new efficiencies and empower workers. Productivity is not just a macroeconomic puzzle; it’s a personal challenge. It starts with individuals, teams, and leaders choosing to think differently, act boldly, and invest in the future.
At La Trobe Financial, we’ve long argued that productivity, missing in action for far too long, is the key to unlocking Australia’s future growth. It’s not the RBA’s job to fix it — but it is something they must factor in. And now, with the spotlight finally turning, we have a chance to make it a national priority.
At La Trobe Financial, we’re not just talking about the problem—we’re holding up the mirror and doing the internal work to be part of the solution. Since 2015, our assets under management have grown from $2 billion to $21 billion, while our team has expanded from 150 to 530 people. That’s a 197% improvement in productivity. A material contributor to this has been our sustained investment in technology, automation, and more recently, AI—tools that have helped us work smarter, not just harder, and allowed us to maintain our renowned high-touch human contact with our valued customers.
- Productivity in 2015: $13.33 million per employee
- Productivity in 2025: $39.62 million per employee
- Percentage improvement: 197.17%
This means La Trobe Financial has nearly tripled its productivity per employee over the past decade—a powerful testament to the impact an obsession on productivity can have.
Australia’s productivity story is being rewritten. Not reluctantly. Not quietly. But with purpose.
And for investors, innovators, and leaders alike — it’s a story worth obsessing over.
