Ms Gillard on Thursday afternoon opened the first Council of Australian Governments Business Advisory Forum in Canberra, attended by most state and territory leaders and key business chiefs.
The forum is being held a day ahead of the COAG meeting between Ms Gillard and the premiers and chief ministers.
"Whatever part of the economy people are in, it's always a good day to focus on productivity," she told the forum.
"It's always a good day to focus on what we can do together to cut red tape, to ensure that regulation and government processes work well and work appropriately.
"This is a partnership where we want to discuss some of the issues that are at the forefront of the minds of business and therefore should be at the forefront of the nation's leaders as we meet tomorrow."
Ms Gillard said she welcomed new unemployment figures for March, released on Thursday, which showed the rate steady at 5.2 per cent.
"But we know from our business representatives around the nation and our state premiers and chief ministers that the way in which our economy is responding to these days of change is different for different industry sectors and different parts of the country.
"While there is spectacular growth in some parts of our economy, our high Australian dollar and competition for labour and capital means that other parts of our economy are under pressure."
The forum is expected to conclude at 2.30pm (AEST) followed by a media conference.
