The annual release of AEMO’s Gas Statement of Opportunities invariably triggers coverage suggesting that Australia, one of the world’s biggest gas producers, is about to run short of gas.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,009 Australians about their level of home and contents insurance coverage. The results show that: • Of Australians who own their house outright or have a mortgage, 78% say their house is fully insured, 15% say their house is underinsured, and 4% say their house is

The Australian Public Service (APS) is responsible for delivering some of the most crucial social services to all Australians. The APS workforce includes employees who deliver frontline services like in Medicare and Centrelink, those who administer the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and those who assist service personnel and veterans via Veterans Affairs. These are

The Democracy Agenda for the 48th Parliament identifies 13 major reforms that would improve parliamentary debate, government accountability and openness and the operation of integrity institutions. Three of the reforms would improve the deliberations of the 48th Parliament of Australia and make other reforms more achievable. These reforms could be agreed to at the beginning

Late last year, the Albanese Government introduced the Electoral Reform Bill, with plans to pass it into law less than two weeks after it became public. Negotiations with the Coalition collapsed, causing the bill to be delayed until the February 2025 sitting. The bill would increase public funding of political parties and candidates, introduce new

The Australia Institute has conducted an extensive study of 20 of Australia’s largest and most influential trade associations. The study assesses and compares the size, membership, political activities and members’ services offered by each association, and finds that there is tremendous variety in the types and scale of trade association activity. Most trade associations had

In June 2024, Premier Peter Malinauskas proposed the Electoral (Accountability and Integrity) Amendment Bill. He says it meets his election promise to ban political donations in South Australian elections. In November, a revised version of the bill was introduced to Parliament.

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 1,041 Queensland residents about whether they support 12 policies introduced by the Queensland Labor Government. The results show that: • Each of the 12 policies is supported by most Queenslanders. • The net effect of each of the 12 policies is to make Queenslanders more

Over 20 years ago the Australia Institute recommended creating a rewards system for whistleblowers. In the decades since, rolling corporate scandals have revealed white-collar crime is pervasive while American rewards systems have proven highly successful. By instituting a whistleblower rewards system Australia can more effectively uncover, combat, and deter these crimes, promote ethical business behaviour, and broadly benefit societal wellbeing.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about the circumstances under which the National Anti-Corruption Commission should be allowed to hold public hearings. 67% of Australians say that public hearings should be held under either unlimited circumstances or when a public hearing would be in the public interest, more frequently than

Traffic fines in Australia hit low-income earners disproportionally hard. One potential solution to this problem is traffic fines that are proportional to the income of the offender. This discussion paper outlines one way of applying this model – drawn from Finland –to Australia, including a breakdown for states.

A submission to the inquiry into Australia’s youth justice and incarceration system, summarising an earlier Australia Institute report.

Australians continue to invest in the production of nuclear weapons through their superannuation. In 2023, major superannuation funds invested at least $3.4 billion in companies that produce the worst weapons of mass destruction.

The Democracy & Accountability Program has a significant body of work on voter engagement and participation in Australia and on the weaknesses in NSW’s political finance system that could undermine public confidence in democracy in the state.

The proposals highlighted in this submission provide prioritised measures that would make the use of public resources in parliamentary elections more democratic and ensure public money is better spent.

The cost of party and candidate campaigns in the 2022 South Australian election exceeded public funding by $3.3 million. The shortfall was covered with private funding, including political donations.

Australia’s electoral participation is relatively good, though there is significant room for improvement, including doing better to count the votes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and making citizenship more accessible for Australian residents.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,014 Australians about whether they support public funding for political parties and candidates to run election campaigns and cover administrative costs. The results show that: Three in five (60%) Australians oppose public funding of political parties and candidates. Only one in four (27%) Australians support public

The Electoral Disclosure and Funding Amendment Bill 2024 seeks to address shortcomings of existing electoral laws; however, further amendments are required to adequately account for fairness for new political entrants, allow community voices to engage in elections, and strengthen regulation of corporates and industry bodies seeking to influence elections as third parties.

Parliaments exist to share power, and power sharing has been a feature of Australian parliaments for as long as they have existed: between different interest groups, different communities and different political movements; across the upper and lower houses; within parties (via factions); and between parties (including coalition agreements like those between the Liberals and the Nationals).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we work and the jobs we do. AI innovations in workplaces can have positive benefits, including through productivity gains. However, AI applications can also have significant risks for workers and for job quality. AI applications, including automated decision making, are not neutral processes. Software can be designed and

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about the prosecution of Julian Assange. Respondents were asked if they think the Federal Government is doing too much or too little to secure the release of Australian citizen Julian Assange. One in three Australians (34%) think that the Federal Government is doing too

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians about Australia’s anti-siphoning laws.

For many years competition has been enshrined as a goal of economic policy.

In 2019, the Australia Institute published Canberra: Laboratory of democracy, which described innovative, politically controversial policies from the Australian Capital Territory that were popular across the country.

This discussion paper describes the evolution of key democratic reforms in Tasmania, principles for a healthy democracy, and details 16 reforms that Tasmanian parliamentarians
– Liberal, Labor, Independent and minor party – could pursue in the 51st Tasmanian Parliament.

NSW political donations laws are opaque; truth in political advertising laws are missing; and donation caps, spending caps and public funding overwhelmingly favour incumbents over new entrants.

An overwhelming majority of voters in the seat of Cook, the electorate of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, support truth in political advertising and a strong National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Lobbying can give vested interests unfair advantages, be unduly secretive and serve to exclude the public from negotiations over policy.

The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program made a submission to the COVID-19 Response Inquiry. The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program carried out significant research into topics that might be of interest to the panel. This submission outlines how these research papers come under each of the Inquiry’s terms of reference.