Australia has one of the world’s most privatised high school systems. These schools charge families high and rising fees and receive significant government funding, all without delivering substantially better results.

The Triple J Hottest 100 featured fewer Australian songs in 2024 than in any year since 1995. Australians are spending more on music than ever before, but less is going to Australian artists. Policy support matters – Australia’s arts funding is among the lowest in the developed world. US artists dominate Australian charts, but the

Holding the parliamentary inquiry into the Restoring Electoral Fairness Bill over the holiday break will limit the ability of the committee to investigate the consequences of the bill for Queensland democracy. That is worrying, because there are serious concerns with the changes proposed by the Queensland Government. Queensland’s ban on political donations by property developers

Australia Institute research shows that in 2024 there were over 4 million guns legally owned in the civilian population in Australia. This is 25% more than before the Port Arthur shootings in 1996 when there were around 3 million guns. That figure fell below 2.5 million after the Howard Government gun reforms. This shows that

At present, the Commonwealth has no “clear power” to ban a consulting firm that monetised confidential Treasury information, which meant that PwC was not banned from bidding for government contracts in the wake of the tax leaks scandal. This Bill fills that gap in the Commonwealth’s powers and ensures that PwC, alongside other firms that

Labour mobility is a significant contributor to Pacific Islands’ economies. Australia and New Zealand’s temporary labour migration schemes for Pacific workers have expanded into more industries including personal care work in aged care. This has led to the loss of skilled health workers from Pacific Island countries, including registered nurses, to lower-skilled personal care jobs

The Albanese Government has acknowledged Australia’s gas export problem. However, rather than implement a tax that would reduce domestic prices, raise revenue and help the climate, the government looks to be weighing options that favour either Santos or its rivals Origin and Shell.

Australia’s recorded music industry is making more money, but less of it is staying in Australia. Fewer new artists are achieving lasting success because, on streaming services, they must compete on an uneven playing field with international and established acts. This paper suggests two ways that new artists could be better supported: by supporting local

The Environmental Protection Reform Bill 2025 would weaken environmental protection by replicating the problematic NSW biodiversity offsetting scheme. The Bill establishes a ‘payments to destroy’ fund that transfers responsibility for nature destruction from project proponents to the public, creating time lags in responding to environmental impacts and reducing the likelihood that such responses will replace

There are currently no disclosure standards for Australian companies’ charitable spending. This means claims of corporate giving are hard to verify and frequently dubious. Clear and consistent disclosure standards would help investors, consumers, and the public make more informed decisions.

Despite long standing international commitments to spend 0.7% of national income on foreign aid, Australia’s support for developing countries has declined significantly over the past fifty years. In recent years, Australian governments have begun to shift their emphasis away from their failure to meet promised Official Development Assistance (ODA) and towards poorly defined commitments to

Widespread dissatisfaction with paid work hours, and employees working excessive unpaid overtime, are two of the key findings of the 2025 Go Home on Time Day (GHOTD) survey. The annual survey, undertaken by the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute in early September, asked 1,001 Australian workers about their paid working hours and

The Australia Institute’s research recommends greater parliamentary oversight of the use of consultants in Australia’s public service, including using orders for documents to require consultants’ reports to be produced. This bill, which would establish a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Consultancy and Services Contracts, is a welcome step forward. The proposed committee would consider and report

The Australia Institute analysed the accounts of the University of Newcastle. It found that despite claims of a $16.3 million deficit, the audited accounts show a $61.3 million surplus, and net assets worth more than $1.8 billion at the end of 2024, up $150 million from the previous year. The university’s Vice-Chancellor dismissed the conclusion

Over half (54%) of Australians believe that the current primary purpose of universities is to make a profit, despite just 3% believing that should be the primary purpose of universities.

YouGov conducted a survey of 1500 Australian residents on behalf of The Australia Institute between 23rd Oct and 30th Oct 2025, using an online polling methodology. Full details are provided in the methodology statement. The poll is compliant with the Australian Polling Council’s requirements.

YouGov conducted a survey of 1541 Australian voters on behalf of The Australia Institute between from 2nd Oct to 9th Oct 2025, using an online polling methodology. Full details are provided in the methodology statement. The poll is compliant with the Australian Polling Council’s requirements.

In the past five years, Australian governments have allowed export gas volumes equivalent to 20 years worth of Australian domestic usage. Gas exports, not green tape, are undermining Australia’s energy security and driving up energy prices for Australians.

Poker machines are more likely to be located in areas of Australia in which at least 10% of the population is Indigenous. The exception to this national pattern is Western Australia, where poker machines are confined to one casino. As losses from pokies disproportionately affect Indigenous Australians, stronger poker machine regulation would significantly benefit Indigenous

The creation of energy from waste facilities is not an effective ‘solution’ to managing residual waste. Rather than risking the health and environment of regional communities through these facilities, better solutions will focus on reducing the amount of residual waste produced in the first place.

The Bill should not pass because the Energy Roadmap proposals could increase Queensland’s emissions by 310 million tonnes to 2050, almost a years’ worth of Australia’s national emissions. This increase from the electricity sector will impose abatement costs of perhaps $98 billion on other parts of the economy. Within the Energy Roadmap there is an

The Australia Institute made a submission opposing the proposal to extend Peabody’s Wilpinjong Coal Mine, located near Mudgee, NSW.

The Hunter Valley Operations (HVO) mines are among the largest coal expansion proposals in Australia, representing potentially over a billion tonnes of total greenhouse gas emissions. The Australia Institute made a submission to the NSW planning process opposing the latest proposals. As with previous proposals to extend HVO North and South, emissions costs are underestimated and project

Theft of legal guns is now the single biggest source of new guns on the black market in Australia, yet public information on the topic is scarce. This report compiles new data from state law enforcement agencies and other sources to find that over 9,000 firearms have been stolen since the start of 2020. At least 44,600 have been stolen over the past 20 years – one every four hours. Police recover only around a quarter of guns taken.

China’s territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea have remained largely consistent since 1949. While China has become more assertive in exercising those claims in recent years, its actions have not been solely responsible for tensions in the region. The involvement of non-claimants has neither facilitated a settlement of the disputes nor reversed China’s growing military advantage in the area. Beijing’s interests point to continuing its current policy of managing the disputes through dialogue with fellow claimants.

The Australia Institute sought and received correspondence between The Australian government and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, under Freedom of Information. These documents relate to the impact of commercial salmon farming on the endangered Maugean skate in the World Heritage Wilderness Area of Macquarie Harbour in Tasmania.

Australia is a thriving, inventive democracy, but measured reforms would strengthen and protect political institutions.

Adani sold coal for $100/t through a period that saw relevant coal prices reach $280/t, resulting in apparent royalty underpayments of almost $400 million. The Queensland Government’s decision to abandon its pursuit of these royalties may be linked to regulatory action around Adani’s Abbot Point coal terminal.

The Albanese government is lagging on transparency: Only 21% of 2023-24 FOI requests were granted in full compared to 81% in 2006-07. Whereas the average request once took 13 hours to determine (2006-07), it now takes 51 hours (2023-24). In other words, the Albanese government employs four public servants to do what only took one

Audited financial statements show that the ANU made a ‘profit’ of $90 million in 2024 and $136 million in 2023. Despite such strong financial results, ANU leadership justifies cuts to staffing and courses by pointing to ‘underlying operating deficits’. The underlying deficit changes the audited result in ways that cannot be justified. They appear designed