Artists, authors, musicians and other creatives have a huge impact on Australian culture, how Australians see themselves, and how the world sees Australians. Australia’s arts and culture cannot be produced overseas, and cannot be moved offshore. It must be made here. 

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes towards their favourite music artists’ potential involvement in various forms of climate action. The results show that very few Australians have participated in any kind of climate action in the past 12 months – less than 20% in most cases, and

To get a firearm licence in Australia requires having a “genuine reason” to own a gun. In most jurisdictions, this requirement can be satisfied by being a paid-up member of a sports shooting club. Shooting groups promote this fact, advertising that you can join “from the comfort of home”. This may explain why up to 253,000 NSW firearms licences list shooting sports or recreational hunting as a reason for gun ownership, but fewer than 36,000 people in NSW participated in either activity in 2025.

Redbridge, on behalf of The Australia Institute, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,010 Australians about their knowledge of, and opinions on, abortion. The results show that the majority (62%) of Australians support access to abortion. Across voting intentions, a majority of respondents support access to abortion.

Low-income workers are suffering the most from falling real wages. LITO changes could give them a $2,300 tax cut. This would be fully paid for by a 25% tax on gas exports. Key beneficiaries would be young people and those in regional areas, with National Party electorates benefiting the most.

Inflation is rising again and, unfortunately, so are interest rates. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent decision to raise the cash rate from 3.6% to 3.85% involves a misreading of the factors driving inflation. Analysis of wage, inflation and productivity data during 2025 and RBA’s own forecasts for 2026 and beyond reveals that rising wages

Participants in Australia’s temporary worker program for the Pacific and Timor-Leste – the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme – generate almost $1 billion in economic value, but less than $200 million ends up going home with them. This submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration’s Inquiry into the value of skilled migration to

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 CGT discount has made housing unaffordable, increased inequality, distorted lending, and is reducing investment and productivity. It should be scrapped.

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

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 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.

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.