An inquiry into workplace laws is keen to hear "fresh ideas" on how to better protect workers and enable business to prosper.
Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris released on Friday five issues papers to prompt discussion about changes to the workplace system.
A final report will be presented to the federal government in November.
"(We're) open to lateral suggestions so long as they are practical, beneficial and backed by solid evidence and argument," Mr Harris said.
Issues on the inquiry agenda include unemployment, penalty rates, job creation, productivity, flexibility, red tape and resolving industrial conflict.
However, the inquiry has excluded issues of union corruption, training, workplace safety, superannuation and the new fair entitlements guarantee for workers if their employer becomes insolvent.
Mr Harris said the commission was starting from the position that the workplace relations system went beyond economics and had a direct impact on people and society.
Business has argued the Fair Work system lacks flexibility, pushes up wages, does not encourage productivity and has slow and costly unfair dismissal laws.
Unions say it lacks a safety net for outworkers and contractors, limits the scope of bargaining, is too narrow in its general protections, and does not give enough power to arbitrate to the Fair Work Commission.
In a section on penalty rates, the commission says there are several approaches.
One would be to accept the principle that regulated penalty rates are essential to protect employee interests, and the focus should be on appropriate benchmarks.
Another would be that penalty rates should be a choice for individual enterprises and their employees, with little or no role for the regulator.
The Abbott government has said changes proposed by the inquiry will be taken to the election.
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