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 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.

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

Theft of legal guns is now the main source of illegal guns 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.

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

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

As China shapes the world, who are the people shaping China? This brief discusses seven prominent people in China whose lives reflect a diverse and fast-evolving society.

State government cultural funding is dependent on federal revenue, yet Australia’s Federal Government raises little tax revenue by international standards. Arts advocates and state leaders should be vocal in urging the Federal Government to raise more revenue. Raising the State’s GST revenue to match economic growth since 2001 could put $76 million per year into

Scholarships, grants and other links between Australian universities and fossil fuel industries

Australia taxes wealth very lightly. Imposing a 2% wealth tax on those with net assets over $5 million, an inheritance tax on large estates, and scrapping the CGT discount could raise $70 billion per year.

Productivity might be the word on everyone’s lips in the lead up to the Albanese Government’s Economic Reform Roundtable  however weak productivity isn’t the cause of many of the problems experience by workers in Australia today nor is increasing productivity the solution. Rapid inflation after the pandemic, combined with rising interest rates and slow wage

On July 2, 2025, the Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss, wrote to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Murray Watt. The letter follows the minister’s provisional approval of the expansion of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas export operation in Western Australia, asking that he make public the conditions imposed on

A Whistleblower Protection Authority is a crucial missing piece in Australia’s anti-corruption laws, and it enjoys the support of 84% of Australians.

YouGov conducted a survey of 842 Tasmanian voters on behalf of The Australia Institute between 12 and 16 June 2025, using an online survey polling methodology. Full details are provided in the methodology statement. The poll is compliant with the Australian Polling Council’s requirements. The margin of error on the effective sample size is 4.2%.

Climate change is already here and getting worse, causing increasingly damaging disasters, and pushing insurance prices higher.

Restricting the number of investors in the housing market is possible if there is an increase in interest rates on investment loans. In 2017, this kind of regulation reduced house prices in Australia. Reintroducing this policy could, as interest rates fall, help make housing more affordable for owner-occupiers.

Securing newspaper endorsements was once a key part of running a successful Australian election campaign, through which Australian media shaped Australian politics. Televised debates between the prime minister and opposition leader were also major campaign events that allowed TV stations to shape the attitudes of a substantial number of voters. However, in the 2022 and 2025 elections, major media companies have been left to bellow from the sidelines.

Capping Vice-Chancellor remuneration is a necessary step to bring good governance to universities and refocus the sector on education and research.

Almost 30 years after Port Arthur, there are more guns in Australia than ever before, and the Howard Government’s landmark National Firearms Agreement is falling short of its stated aims. There is no National Firearms Register and minors can use firearms in every state. Eight OECD countries have lower gun homicide rates than Australia.

The university sector is in a governance crisis, fuelled by its lack of accountability to staff, students, federal or state governments. Australia needs a plan to make the sector accountable to the federal government and make university education and research a public service.

Universities spend vast sums on consultants, advertising, and travel. Reducing these expenses could have prevented the deep cuts that some of these same universities have made to their staff and courses in recent years.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia has 8,469 journalists, but where do they actually live? Which communities have their stories told firsthand while others are told by outsiders?

More than one in three workers in Australia usually work from home at least some of the week. Working from home has become an established working arrangement for many employees in jobs where it is possible to work remotely. Yet, there is strong opposition from some employers to working from home and regular reports of

Australians gamble more than any another nation. Gambling starts well before the age of 18 – almost one in three (30%) 12-17-year-olds gamble. This increases to almost half (46%) of 18-19-year-olds, and these habits persist into adulthood. By highlighting the high rates of gambling among young Australians, this paper shows the need for greater regulations

The state of print news competition in Australia is dire, and local and regional news is slowly dying.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme helps keeps the prices Australians pay for medicine low. In the USA, the pharmaceutical industry is calling on the Trump administration to put retaliatory tariffs on Australia as a way of pressuring Australia to make changes to the PBS so that it can make more money. This would make medicines more

Red Imported Fire Ants have the potential to cause significant environmental, social and economic damage.

The Australia Institute commissioned uComms, which surveyed 860 Australians living in Sydney between 17 and 18 March 2025 on environmental issues and salmon farming in Tasmania. Results show that: 61% support stopping salmon farming in areas where it is putting the endangered Maugean skate at risk of extinction; more than twice as many who oppose