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Economics
- Banking & Finance
- Employment & Unemployment
- Future of Work
- Gender at Work
- Gig Economy
- Industry & Sector Policies
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- Labour Standards & Workers' Rights
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- Tax, Spending & the Budget
- Unions & Collective Bargaining
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March 2024
Submission to the Reserve Bank Reforms 2023 bill
The Australia Institute argued that the RBA review’s proposal to remove the Australian Parliament’s power to override the RBA on monetary policy is wrong.
Ending profiteering from publicly-funded research
Academic publishing houses are among the most profitable businesses in the world.
Polling – Tasmanian Election Issues
Australia Institute polling research shows a majority of Tasmanian voters support action on integrity in politics, salmon farming, forestry, and housing affordability.
Polling – Right to Disconnect
Survey respondents were asked if they would support or oppose the federal government legislating a right to disconnect that would direct employers to avoid contacting workers outside of work hours, unless in an emergency.
Submission to the Fair Work Commission Modern Award Review 2023-2024, Work and Care
The Fair Work Commission’s Review of Modern Awards 2023-24 is considering the impact of workplace relations settings on work and care. This submission argues for good quality, secure part-time jobs to achieve more gender-equitable sharing of care and to support women’s full economic participation.
Professionalising the Aged Care Workforce
This paper presents the case for an aged care worker registration and accreditation scheme
February 2024
Polling: Stage 3 Tax Cuts in Dunkley
On behalf of The Australia Institute, uComms conducted a survey of 626 residents across the Federal Seat of Dunkley on behalf of The Australia Institute during the evenings of 5 and 6 February 2024 using self-completed automated voice and SMS polling methodologies.
Polling: Stage 3 Tax Cuts in Kooyong, Mackellar and Wentworth
On behalf of The Australia Institute, uComms surveyed residents of the federal electorates of Kooyong, Mackellar and Wentworth on 5 February 2024.
Benefits of Modifying the Stage 3 Tax Cuts by Electorate
Lower income electorates on the fringes of capital cities and rural areas will get the largest benefit from modifying the Stage 3 tax cuts.
Save the Skate
Recognised as one of the values of Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area, the endangered Maugean skate is heading for extinction without Australian Government intervention.
January 2024
Polling: Stage 3 Tax Cuts and Election Promises
The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,017 Australians about their attitudes on the Stage 3 tax cuts, restructuring or scrapping the cuts, and views on the importance of keeping election promises.
Plastic waste in Australia
By 2050, the amount of plastic consumed in Australia will more than double. Despite government policies aimed at creating a ‘circular economy’, just 14% of plastic waste is kept out of landfill. Recycling plastic is inefficient, expensive and hazardous, and there is little demand for recycled plastics. Policies to cap or phase down the use of plastics, including a plastics tax, are needed.
December 2023
The PALM Scheme
Australia’s meat processing and agricultural industries are employing an increasing number of temporary workers on the PALM Visa scheme from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste.
Bush Firefighter Reserves?
An overwhelming majority (85%) of Australians support better conditions for volunteer firefighters through an Army Reserve style model in the face of longer and more ferocious bushfire seasons.
Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee on the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023
This joint submission by the Centre for Future Work and the Nordic Policy Centre argues for immediate further reform to bring Australia’s Paid Parental Leave (PPL) scheme up to international best practice standards.
Mid-Term Review of Albanese Government’s Labour Policy Reforms
A review of the Albanese government’s labour and industrial relations reforms at the mid-point of its term in office concludes that the government deserves “positive marks” for several measures taken to strengthen collective bargaining and accelerate wage growth.
A Better Future for Self-Employment
This report considers and challenges two common myths about self-employment.
Ensuring equitable access to Voluntary Assisted Dying
The Australia Institute is grateful for the opportunity to make a submission to the review of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2023. The ACT Government and Minister for Human Rights Tara Cheyne should be commended for introducing this bill.
November 2023
Polling: Cost of Living
The Australia Institute surveyed a sample of 1,379 Australians about their wages growth and the cost of living over the past year.
Christmas Waste 2023
Gift giving is a long-standing Christmas tradition. Yet Australia Institute research shows that approximately 6.1 million adult Australians, expect to receive Christmas presents this year that they will never use or wear.
Jobs and Trees
Forestry represents just 1% of Tasmanian jobs and Tasmanian forestry production is largely based on plantation timber rather than native forest logging.
Short Changed
This year marks the fifteenth annual Go Home on Time Day (GHOTD), an initiative of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute that shines a spotlight on the maldistribution of working hours and the scale of unpaid overtime worked by Australians.
Research integrity watchdogs: Lessons from Denmark and Sweden
Denmark and Sweden are home to two of the world’s best research integrity watchdogs. This is because these nations have implemented legislation that provides their watchdogs with the power to effectively handle cases of ‘research misconduct’, which is when researchers intentionally manipulate or falsify data to gain a competitive edge over their peers.
Polling: Climate Change and Health
The Australia Institute surveyed a sample of 1,535 Australians about their concerns regarding the impacts on human health from fossil fuel projects.
Research Misconduct in Australia: Part 2
Australia needs a research integrity watchdog, but what would a best-practice regulatory body look like? Using world-leading examples from five nations, this report makes nine recommendations for the design of an independent research integrity watchdog that would enable Australia to effectively tackle research misconduct.
Research Misconduct in Australia: Part 1
Australia has no independent body to investigate allegations of misconduct in scientific research, unlike most countries with developed research sectors. Research institutes largely investigate allegations themselves, leading to potential conflicts of interest. A research watchdog is needed to ensure the integrity of Australian science.
Small Fish, Big Pond
Australian Bureau of Statistics data suggests that salmon farming in Tasmania provides between 1,100 and 1,700 jobs, less than 1% of the state’s employment.
Ending native forest logging without market mechanisms
Logging in Tasmania’s native forests should cease as soon as possible. The transition away from logging should not involve the use of carbon credits; the examples in this paper show that market mechanisms are at best a distraction from, and at worst a hinderance to, an effective transition.
October 2023
Majority Support for water buybacks across Basin States, Party Lines and Regional Australia
Under the Restoring our Rivers Bill 2023, changes proposed by the Government include a return to water buybacks, which had been capped by the previous Liberal-National Government in favour of subsidies for water-saving projects. The Australia Institute has found that the use of buybacks, additional water recovery to compensate for Basin Plan delays and reducing
University Councils, Transparency and the Adelaide University Merger
Howard-era reforms to higher education have led to a lack of transparency and democratic accountability within the councils that govern Australia’s public universities.