Topics for Group Assignment 

• Micro Economics – Choose any one Industry from the list below and discuss Reforms in that industry in Australia – which include government competition policy, labour reforms and labour laws, minimum wages, productivity and training and technology (broad band). Individual industry like Education, Financial industry, Meat industry, Agricultural, Mining, Financial planning, Downfall of Car industry in Australia , Manufacturing and Tourism 
• Comparative advantage – How companies and countries are becoming specialised in certain industries to compete and expand their businesses. Compare Australia with any other  country. 
• GDP- Compare Australia with any other economy  and discuss their GDP last 2 to 5 years and factors affecting their GDP
• Unemployment – Discuss the unemployment rate, types, issues, and government policy of Australia and comment unemployment in various states of Australia. You need to specify in different region like NSW, WA, Tasmania, Qld or SA. 
• Inflation – Compare Australia with any other country from the list which includes Germany, UK, USA, China, India, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and discuss inflation and causes of inflation and the various governments policy on inflation.
• Monetary Policy – Discuss Australia's Monetary policy during last 3 to 5 years. What are its affects and its problems on Australian Economy? 
• Carbon Tax/Emission Trading scheme – Compare Australia with one of these countries or group of countries like Europe, USA and China/India and discuss the similarities or differences in ETS and its affect on the economy. 
• Economic Growth – Compare Australia with any other advanced economy or developing country and discuss their economic growth during last 5 years and its effects on the society. (both positive and negative)  
• Australian Budget in May for 2014. Discuss the various aspects of expenditure and revenue in the budget. Comment on various stakeholders' reaction to this budget like Businesses, Consumers, Employees, Social welfare groups and Industry etc. 

From the perspective of sustainable development of any nation, education plays a very important role in terms of capacity building and enhancement of productivity. In the education sector, the state always provides foremost importance to the school system, both primary and higher. The predicted decline in economic growth in Australia depicts a fall in the level of productivity, which is caused by the falling number of skilled workforce. Within the coming few decades, the number of working population may fall drastically, and this downward movement in the skilled workforce is reflected in the predicted economic slowdown. Moreover, Australia has also been experiencing a fall in the quality of education, when it is compared with the other countries across the world (Wilson, Dalton, & Baumann, 2015). Though the rate of unemployment has been found to be lower than the average of the OECD countries, the rate is on the rise, and it can be a matter of concern for the policymakers (Pont, Figueroa, Zapata, & Fraccola, 2013).

Over the years, researchers have identified these issues, and along with the policymakers, they have come up with a number of policy-level decisions, which can bring forth a huge transformation in the Australian education sector. As education participation is gradually falling over the years, the government has started to invest more in early education, as it can ensure the higher returns on educational investment (Heckman, 2008). The government has also identified the necessity of the vocational training programs, which will be focused on enhancing the skill sets of the job market candidates. Therefore, the government has been reforming the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system. The reformatory initiatives have majorly four themes, which are (a) approachability towards industry, (b) value and directives, (c) finance and control, and (d) ensuring proper flow of information (Australian Government, 2016).

Though the educational reforms are majorly focused on these two areas, the education and training department of Australia, the government is also focusing on the K-12 and higher education system. In order to integrate these two sectors of education, a national level platform is required, and in order to fulfil that purpose, a National Education Agreement (NEA) was made across different levels of government (Australian Government, 2010). Some of the objectives of this initiative are to bring forth the flavour of standardization in the nation-wide curriculum, providing funding and scholarships to needy candidates, enabling the students to learn foreign languages, and bringing equity and equality in the learning outcomes.

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