Grattan Institute

Australia is squandering the potential benefits of temporary skilled migration. Politically unpopular, politicians often restrict visa sponsorship to fewer, low-skill, low-wage jobs. Instead, governments should be evaluating how best to improve the system to attract global talent, boost the budget, and reduce exploitation. Join Henry Sherrell, Deputy Director, Migration, Will Mackey, Senior Associ...

Australia has an enviable universal healthcare system, but there are still gaps where people miss out. Listen to Anika Stobart, Linda Lin, and Kat Clay in conversation on how to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare costs in Australia and create a fairer health system for those who need it most. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/not-so-universal-how-to-reduce-out-of-pocket-healthcare-paymen...

Australia needs bold policy reform to build back better after the COVID recession. Our 2022 Orange Book maps out a policy blueprint to reignite wages growth and boost Australians’ living standards. Listen to our CEO and Program Directors discussing their recommendations for the next federal government - whether Coalition or Labor - from the Orange Book 2022.

Home ownership rates are falling fast, especially among the young and poor. For those without access to the Bank of Mum and Dad, buying a home is now an impossible dream, one which has impacts well into retirement. But what if the government could help level the playing field? Join Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, with Brendan Coates, Economic Policy Program Director, to talk about his la...

Australia’s unemployment rate is at 4.2% - the lowest in more than a decade. And it’s not too far off slipping below 4%, something that hasn’t happened for half a century. But who deserves the credit? Economic management during pandemic by the Prime Minister and Reserve Bank governor? Or to quote ACTU Secretary Sally McManus in her tweet, that “the reason why unemployment rates are low is because...

Listen to CEO Danielle Wood, with renowned writer Benjamin Law, as they discuss Grattan's top six thought-provoking, compelling, and relevant books from 2021. It was an extraordinary year, and these are extraordinary reads – not only for the Prime Minister, but for all Australians interested in public policy. With introduction by Angharad Wynne-Jones from State Library Victoria, this podcast featu...

For many parents, the pandemic has brought into sharp focus the role of teachers, and just how much work they do. Not only are teachers expected to teach their core subjects, but supervise lunchtimes and after-school activities, support students’ mental health, and complete a large amount of administration work – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For our latest report, Making time for great...

In May 2021, the Federal Government announced a $18 billion package in response to the findings of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Eighty thousand additional home care packages were announced to help reduce the significant waiting lists. But has this been enough to help provide care to some of our most vulnerable community members? Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications,...

The John Button Oration provides the opportunity for a prominent Australian to give a talk on policy in honour of the legacy of John Button. This year the oration was given by Grattan CEO, Danielle Wood, on the topic of The Next Generation’s Australia. We are grateful to the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne School of Government for hosting this event, and Professor John Howe for his intro...

After years where inflation has been low and stable, suddenly there’s lots of talk about inflation. But how worried should we be? And what does it mean for the Australian economy, for interest rates and for Australian workers’ wages? Join Brendan Coates, Economic Policy Program Director, Alex Ballantyne, Senior Associate, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, as they tackle whether or not...

At COP26, 197 countries signed the Glasgow climate pact, which aims to phase down unabated coal power throughout the world. Find out what happened at COP26 and the impact these decisions will have on Australian climate policy, in a conversation with Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Change Program Director, Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, and James Ha, Associate. Read the Towards Net Zero repor...

Last week, the Federal Government released their plan to meet Australia’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050. It’s a major breakthrough in Australia’s climate war, but is it enough? Just in time for the Glasgow climate conference COP26, Grattan’s climate change and energy team have released the last report in their report series, Towards net zero: A practical plan for Australia's governments...

Australians have a passionate love affair with cars. We use them to travel this vast and wide country, to visit friends and family, and carry our tools. Not to mention, do burnouts. But cars and their by-products also have a detrimental effect on our environment, health and wellbeing. And reducing our emissions from cars is just one of the puzzle pieces in reaching net zero by 2050. So, what polic...

Earlier this month, The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, or APRA for short, wrote to home loan lenders across the country to recommend strengthening mortgage lending assessments. The reason for this? The explosive and rapid increase in housing prices due to extended lockdowns and low-interest rates, and a rapid growth in bank lending to buy them. Households are borrowing more money than...

Net zero emissions. It’s the target everyone is talking about, from the Federal Government, to foreign governments, and from boardrooms to broadsheets. Although achieving net zero emissions globally is essential for limiting climate change, the target and how we get there are not very well understood. And one of the most contentious issues is offsetting: can we really pay others to reduce their em...

In 2019, the agriculture sector was responsible for 15% of Australia's carbon emissions. But how do you take action in a sector where most emissions come from animals like cows and sheep? It's also a sector which is vulnerable to climate change. Changes in rainfall patterns, threats of heatwaves and bushfires, all threaten the livelihoods of farmers. Join Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications,...

Most Australians wouldn’t have given too much thought to the Reserve Bank of Australia. Apart from when it changes official interest rates following its monthly meetings, the role and importance of the RBA, and its governor Phil Lowe, is little understood or even acknowledged. But the Reserve Bank is now facing rare criticisms by leading economists for not having met its core targets for nearly a...

Children aged 12 and over will be eligible for vaccination from September 13. While this is great news for parents with children over 12, it’s left many parents of young children concerned. After all, what happens to unvaccinated kids when we open up? And when they go back to school and childcare, is there a plan for managing the inevitable outbreaks? Jordana Hunter, Education Program Director, an...

On Sunday, Dads across Australia were celebrated by their families for Father’s Day – whether in-person or virtually. But for new dads, Australia has one of the least generous parental leave schemes in the developed world. And Australian fathers have been reluctant to access what little leave is available to them. To coincide with Father’s Day, the Grattan team has released a new report – Dad Days...

With NSW and Victoria in lockdown, cases rising every day, protesters clashing in the streets, and Delta reaching our most vulnerable remote communities, you might be feeling that the only light at the end of the tunnel is the successful vaccination rollout to Australia. But even the modelling around vaccinations is fraught with differing opinions. At what point should Australia open up? 70% vacci...

Australia faces the great challenge of climate change. If we keep going the way we are going, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned the earth is likely to see a 1.5C increase in temperature by 2030, resulting in increased catastrophic weather events such as drought, fire and flood. These warnings call for urgent change. In 2020, the industrial sector was responsible for 3...

Compared to the rest of the world, Australia has fared incredibly well throughout the global COVID pandemic. We have had fewer cases and deaths than most countries, fewer days in lockdown, and one of the shortest recessions. But that’s not to say maintaining this suppression strategy hasn’t been easy. Sydney is experiencing a large Delta outbreak yet; Victoria just came out of its fifth lockdown....

Australia’s governance is going backwards. Without change, there is little prospect for many substantial policy reforms that would increase Australian prosperity. Should we pine for the golden years of Australian policy reform, or is there a way forward from here? Listen to Grattan’s founding CEO, John Daley, in conversation with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, on his last Grattan report...

Australia’s state and territory governments have all committed to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 - or earlier. And the Federal Government has indicated they’d like to meet that goal too. But to get there, Australia needs to dramatically cut its emissions across each sector of the economy. Some sectors, such as transport, have had lower emissions since the COVID-19 pandemic, but those emissions a...

The federal government’s Your Future, Your Super Bill, which passed Parliament in June, is the latest in a long line of reforms aimed at reining in Australia’s woefully high superannuation costs. But how many of us really understand whether our super fund is performing well – or not? Join Brendan Coates, Grattan's Economic Policy Program Director, Xavier O’Halloran, Director of Super Consumers Aus...