Real incomes are poised to barely grow over the next six years and living standards are destined for a slowdown, unless a wave of major economic reforms and technology innovation by business can unleash a productivity boom like in the 1990s.

The International Monetary Fund has projected that incomes adjusted for inflation would average just 0.3 per cent growth a year through to 2024, well below the long-term average of 1.8 per cent since the 1960s.