There is so much urgent work to be done to strengthen Australia’s democracy and the Australia Institute has a track record of creating change.

We are already making progress on truth in political advertising reforms.

Australia still has no national anti-corruption watchdog. And the government’s proposed model for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission is weak and ineffective. And two years overdue.

When the Australia Institute first exposed the serious gaps in our federal accountability systems a few years ago, neither major party supported creating a national corruption watchdog. It wasn’t even on the national political agenda.

But through a drumbeat of independent research, fierce advocacy and a groundswell of public support, over the past five years the Australia Institute has firmly placed the need for a national anti-corruption watchdog on the national political agenda. Now all sides of politics support the establishment of a national integrity body. That’s a huge political shift in a short space of time.

Our new Democracy & Accountability Program builds on decades of work by the Australia Institute to make the case for better, more representative political institutions and for the powerful to be held to account.

We need to fix politics for the long term and we can’t do it without your help, so please consider a tax-deductible donation to our EOFY appeal today.