Contract inefficiencies cost global economy AUD $3.13 trillion

Techday NZ

2 days ago

Australian workplaces are experiencing a notable productivity slowdown, with new research indicating that inefficient contract management processes are contributing to the country's economic challenges.
The latest report from Docusign, in collaboration with Deloitte, identifies outdated and manual agreement procedures as a factor behind ongoing micro-inefficiencies in businesses, which, when accumulated, significantly impact national productivity levels. The findings come as the Productivity Commission's most recent bulletin highlighted only a 0.2% growth in output, while hours worked rose by 0.3%—leading to stagnation in productivity results in early 2025.
Despite widespread adoption of digital transformation initiatives and artificial intelligence (AI), many organisations still depend on fragmented contract workflows. According to Docusign, such inefficiencies equate to more than AUD $3.13 trillion in lost economic value on a global scale each year.
Key findings
The Docusign-Deloitte survey focused on the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region, uncovering the scale of the so-called 'Agreement Trap'. Lengthy negotiation cycles and delays in approval are prompting business leaders to prioritise operational efficiency measures. The study shows that 68% of ANZ decision-makers rate their contract creation capability as advanced, with 55% attributing significant performance improvements to this maturity. "Reversing Australia's weak productivity performance is one of the most urgent economic challenges we currently face, and slow business processes are only exacerbating the issue. It is perhaps no surprise that we're seeing businesses focus on tactical use cases like contract creation; what may seem like siloed inefficiencies at the individual business level actually causes a considerable strain on productivity when multiplied at the scale of the economy,"
said Shaun McLagan, Group Vice President and General Manager for ANZ at Docusign.
The digital maturity gap
The report highlights a disconnect between reported digital maturity and tangible impact on business performance. While 75% claim advanced capability in routing, editing, and approval workflows, only 39% saw notable enhancement from these capabilities. Similarly, 85% reported high maturity in customer experience; however, less than half (44%) credited this with significant performance benefits.
In the area of business intelligence, 90% of ANZ leaders stated that insights and intelligence are mature functions within their organisations. Nonetheless, only 25% said these capabilities had significantly boosted business performance, which is behind the 33% reported by Japanese counterparts.
McLagan commented: "ANZ leaders are rightly focused on driving microefficiencies, but many are still struggling to extract strategic value from their contract management systems. Despite investments in automation and advanced tools, the business impact often lags behind technological maturity. Organisations must think bigger, and more strategically, about how agreements can unlock long-term performance gains."
AI and contract lifecycle management
Artificial intelligence is increasingly regarded as a key enabler for agreement management transformation. Globally, business leaders estimate 60% of each capability within contract lifecycle management could be AI-assisted within the next three years. Nearly half (48%) of global leaders surveyed rank contract creation as a priority area for AI application, ahead of functions such as insights and intelligence (35%), customer experience (35%), agreement storage and categorisation (32%), review and risk evaluation (30%), and obligation and renewal management (28%).
The report cautions, however, that while automation can drive immediate productivity gains, businesses could repeat previous mistakes by ignoring use cases with potential for long-term strategic value.
McLagan said: "Contract creation being an essential area for AI indicates a key pain point for organisations. However, AI and intelligent agreement management represent an opportunity for businesses to think beyond automating away pain points and digging deeper into the untapped potential trapped inside static contracts."
He added, "Agreements are the heartbeat of the economy. As Australia seeks to turn the tide on its productivity slump, closing the gap between digital maturity and real-world business impact in agreement management will play a key role in growing the modern economy."
Survey methodology
The Docusign and Deloitte survey drew on responses from over 1,400 business leaders across 14 countries, including Australia and New Zealand. Organisations surveyed ranged in size from 125 to 20,000 employees and included representatives from sales, procurement, customer experience, human resources, legal, and information technology roles. Respondents were at director level or above and held responsibility for contract management functions. The research combined quantitative data with qualitative interviews for context.