Red tape in Australia has gotten so thick, compliance has become a major industry in its own right.

In 2024, businesses employed 52,000 dedicated workers just to comply with regulation, a report released by the Australian Institute of Company Directors on Monday claims.

That's more staff than are employed by the entire coal mining sector - Australia's second-largest export industry.

The paper, written by economics consultancy Mandala Partners, estimates the thickets of federal red tape, that have grown like topsy in the past decade, are costing Australian businesses and the economy $160 billion, or 5.8 per cent of GDP.

That's up from 4.2 per cent of GDP in 2013, when the last economy-wide regulatory stocktake was compiled.

The analysis lays out the scope of the challenge facing Treasu

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