Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will face a barrage of criticism from the nation’s biggest employers over recent workplace changes that chief executives report are making them cautious about hiring and driving them abroad.

In what is shaping up as the second dressing-down by a key business lobby group in just over a week, Mr Albanese is scheduled to hear Business Council of Australia chief Bran Black unload at the group’s annual dinner in Sydney on Tuesday.

Buffeted by increasing regulation, populist calls for divestment and “so-called Robin Hood proposals” by the Greens to “impose even greater taxes on our success”, Mr Black will declare the country is falling behind as an attractive place to invest.

“The upshot is best illustrated by the fact that I now have members — major employers — who are actively choosing to invest overseas rather than in Australia,” he said, without naming the companies.

Business leaders ramp up criticism

Mr Black, who heads an organisation that represents the biggest mining, banking, supermarket, energy and agriculture employers, joins other business leaders ramping up criticism of the government’s economic and employment policies.

Last Monday, Mr Albanese received a frosty reception at the Minerals Council of Australia annual parliamentary dinner, with chief executive Tania Constable warning that conflict was already coming to “every workplace in every industry” because of Labor’s industrial relations changes.

“Rather than feeling confident in our growing national prosperity, many CEOs feel we are losing our way,” Mr Black will tell the dinner audience, which is set to include Mr Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and dozens of top 200 CEOs.

“Instead of taking the big steps on the things that matter, we are taking incremental — but noticeable — steps backwards.

“I’ve spoken to many CEOs who’ve said they are far, far more cautious about hiring after the government’s raft of recent workplace changes.”

Mr Black will cite figures showing some 1,200 businesses declared insolvency in July alone as evidence of the downside consequences of government policy and political decision-making.

He will also note the government’s intergenerational report has predictions of declining living standards, runaway growth in budget deficits and public debt that will fall on future generations.

“Nothing — and I am being brutally honest here — nothing we have seen seriously proposed by any side of politics in recent times would significantly alter that projection,” he said. 

“We’re past the opportunity for incremental steps, and so the only thing that will matter is bold steps in policy.”

He said those included reversing recent industrial relations laws, abolishing multi-employer bargaining and “top-down” workplace laws and tax reform, including replacing stamp duty taxes with land tax.