A submission made by the Australia Institute to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Bill 2023.

Public interest journalism from the ABC has placed scrutiny on issues that governments would prefer to ignore, prompting numerous government inquiries and investigations – what Josh Taylor, writing in Crikey, called “The Four Corners effect”.

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology made a submission to the Federal Government’s consultation on Safe and responsible AI (artificial intelligence) in Australia. To make AI safer and more responsible, the Australia Institute recommends:

Stronger public universities are vital to the success of dynamic, innovative economies, and more inclusive labour markets. But decades of fiscal restraint and corporatization have eroded the democratic governance and equitable delivery of public higher education in Australia. There are widespread concerns among both university staff and the broader Australian community regarding many higher education issues: including funding, governance, the insecurity of work in universities, the quality of education, and the affordability of attending university.

The Australia Institute surveyed a representative sample of 604 South Australians about advertising at sporting events and in sporting broadcasts. Respondents were told that promoting tobacco products in sport is banned in South Australia and were asked whether they agree or disagree with a policy of extending that ban to prohibit the advertising of other goods and services.

The gigification of care is creating insecure work, undermining gender inequality and damaging workforce sustainability.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes towards government secrecy and whistleblowing. The survey was developed in collaboration with the Human Rights Law Centre. The results show that: Three in four (76%) say whistleblowers make Australia a better place. An overwhelming majority of Australians (84%) support stronger legal

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Australians about their attitudes towards the Federal Government’s response to the housing crisis. The results show that: Two in three Australians (68%) disagree that the Federal Government is doing enough to tackle the housing crisis, including 65% of Labor voters, and 83% of

Job advertisement numbers increased 46% compared to the pre-pandemic average after the mandatory bargaining code was introduced.

The Australia Institute made a submission to the inquiry into the administration of the referendum into an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The transition towards a low-carbon future is a pressing issue, and household electrification has emerged as a critical component of Australia’s ongoing shift in energy use. In response, The Australia Institute commissioned a research report to better understand current public sentiment towards home and vehicle electrification via new community research. This report provides a snapshot

The Australia Institute made a submission on the Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023.

Since the global financial crisis there has been a fundamental change in the operation of the Australian economy. Since World War Two, the majority of the benefits of economic growth have flowed to the bottom 90 per cent of income earners. However, as shown in Figure 1, between 2009 and 2019 the top 10 per

Polling in Mackellar reveals a majority of voters plan to vote for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in the upcoming election. uComms were commissioned on behalf of the Australia Institute to poll in the seat of Mackellar between the 9th and the 13th of March 2023. Polling brief and sample size attached.

As tertiary education has become increasingly essential to employment outcomes, financial security, and meeting the demands of the future economy, the importance of affordable or free tertiary education increases. Instead, education is getting more expensive. Tuition fees have increased significantly since their introduction, and debts are growing and taking longer to repay. The context of

This report examines the barriers to closing the gender gap by reviewing Australia’s position within the industrial countries of the OECD. The report also uses data from the ABS and the ATO to highlight gender disparities across all levels of income, ranges of occupation and ages, as well as disparities regarding who undertakes the greater

Life expectancy in Far West NSW is almost six years lower than in Sydney, with the divide getting worse. Those in the Far West are twice as likely to die prematurely compared to those in Sydney, and ‘potentially avoidable’ deaths are two and a half times more likely. Suicide is twice as likely for residents

Australia’s media caters to a population of 25 million, which is about the same as the combined population of the Nordic nations. The similarities end there.

The Australia Institute welcomes the modernising of Australia’s referendum machinery ahead of the referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Australian Constitution. To limit the impact of misinformation on the referendum debate, we recommend that the Parliament legislate truth in political advertising laws and stronger political contribution disclosures. The existing

Between 4 and 7 October 2022, the Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians about their understanding of the impact of poverty and their attitude to the appropriate level of income support. The results indicate an overwhelming majority of Australians support the principle that income support payments should keep people out of

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,001 Australians about their views on wages and cost of living. The majority of Australians report that their wages have not kept up with the cost of living over the past 12 months. For two in three Australians (68%) their wages have either not grown at

The Australia Institute made a submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ inquiry into inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on problem gamblers. It consisted of a short response to the most relevant terms of reference (points (f) and (i)), as well as two longer papers, Gambling

The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology made a submission to the ACCC’s Digital Platform Services Inquiry – March 2023 Report on social media services Issues Paper. The submission highlights the lack of competition in social media services and the need for regulation of social media influencers.

Homeshare programs have the potential to make a significant contribution to improving Australia’s work and care systems, but are being held back by inter-agency issues, the transfer of disability and aged care to the Commonwealth and lack of resources.

The Australia Institute surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,003 Australians about whether advertising of certain controversial products should be permitted on television. The results show that Australians agree that junk food, gambling, alcohol and tobacco advertising on TV should be banned, and more agree than disagree that ads promoting fossil fuels should be banned.

Given the context in which the term “woke” is used in media commentary, it may surprise readers to discover – for example – that only one in five people who described themselves as woke ahead of the 2022 federal election intended to vote for the Greens; less than the share of woke people who intended

Key results The Australia Institute surveyed nationally representative samples of about 1,000 Australians in June and July 2022 about their attitudes towards a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament for First Nations peoples as called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The respondents were asked how they would vote in a referendum on enshrining

Almost one in five Australians (and a higher proportion of young workers) acknowledge working with potential COVID symptoms over the course of the pandemic, according to new opinion research published by the Centre for Future Work. The research confirms the public health dangers of Australia’s existing patchwork system of sick leave and related entitlements. The main

This report from the Carmichael Centre argues that Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services should be treated as a strategic industry of national importance – not just a ‘market’, and not just a ‘cost’ item on government budgets.