The treasurer promised "win-wins" over cutting red tape, with businesses and unions seemingly on the same page as attendees discussed how to make it easier to build new homes and green energy projects.
Lifting living standards by making the economy more productive was the "holy grail" for the summit, Dr Chalmers said in his opening address to the Parliament House cabinet room on Wednesday.
While there was plenty of agreement over the need for increased housing supply and faster approvals, now was the time for practical ideas to tackle excessive regulation, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
"This is where the rubber really hits the road," he told reporters during the morning tea break.
While more thorny issues around artificial intelligence await in the afternoon session, there was broad support for Housing Minister Clare O'Neil's suggestions around reforming the National Construction Code, Mr McKellar said.
Treasury advised pausing changes to the code in a document leaked ahead of the roundtable.
Non-essential changes to the code, such as energy efficiency and EV charging requirements, have increased the cost and complexity of building new homes without meaningful improvements in standards, said Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn.
Reforming the Howard-era Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation act also got a good hearing.
Unions, employer groups and environmentalists all agree the act is no longer fit for purpose. They want a new act that provides faster 'yeses' and faster 'nos' for projects from mining to housing.
Ms O'Neil conceded the housing market was not functioning correctly.
"This productivity issue may seem and sound a little bit remote to people watching at home but this is really about how can we build homes faster, more quickly," she told ABC News Breakfast.
"Because more housing means more affordable housing for Australians."
Not everyone was optimistic about the roundtable.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan held a rival roundtable that would tackle the "real" cause of Australia's productivity problem - expensive energy prices.
"We don't know what was discussed yesterday - it was closed - but the papers prepared for it don't even mention the issue of energy prices," he told Sky News.
Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said energy prices were discussed in the government's roundtable on Tuesday and expected it come up even more prominently over the next two days.
"We've got to make sure that we can deliver more energy into our system, we've got to make sure that we have a roadmap in terms of our renewable energy ambitions in that regard as well," he said.
AI will be the focus of the roundtable's afternoon session.
Regulation of the technology is set to become another dividing line between employers and unions, after business groups took exception with a union push to tax employers to fund worker training.
Mr Black said there was no need to change laws at this stage but the Australian Council of Trade Unions will push for the government to force employers to consult with staff before introducing AI tools to the workplace.
Dr Chalmers has previously said AI could be an economic "game changer" to boost Australia's ailing productivity and lift living standards.
But Monash University human-centred computing lecturer Jathan Sadowski warned the story was not so simple.
"AI changes the nature of work but it doesn't straightforwardly make work more efficient or more productive," he told AAP.
To use AI well, businesses would have to change their practices so they can complement the capabilities of the technology, which generally requires significant infrastructure work, capital investment and human labour, Dr Jadowski said.
Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie said she would push for strong protections for people who use social services in Wednesday's discussion.
17°C