Articles
18 July 2025
Innovative new research demonstrates the full extent of professional and educational impacts on women from domestic violence. Government responses, such as employment services and paid leave entitlements, should be scaled up to meet the needs of affected women.
Anne Summers
10 July 2025
To improve lives, we need policy systems that can listen, learn and adjust. Bayesian methods combined with changing technology offer a new pathway to address persistent challenges by informing decisions and evaluating success.
Sally Cripps, Ben Gales and Anna Lopatnikova
7 July 2025
Writing for The Policymaker is a pathway to policy influence through in-depth analysis, well-explained ideas and collaborative editorial support.
Hugh Piper
2 July 2025
After disasters, housing recovery uses what’s immediately available, such as transportable cabins, motels, campgrounds and government lots. These stopgaps help in the short-term but also expose the extent of fragility in the housing system. What if instead we saw housing as critical infrastructure post-disaster?
Timothy Heffernan, Mittul Vahanvati and David Sanderson
25 June 2025
Achieving Net Zero by 2050 demands a larger, more inclusive clean energy workforce. Here’s how energy experts recommend we boost women’s participation and leadership in the sector.
Bahareh Berenjforoush Azar, Camille Dickson-Deane & Eva Cheng
17 June 2025
Australia can boost the supply for affordable housing by working with regional partners to generate greater efficiencies in international supply chains for construction.
Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi, Greg Morrison and Barrie Harrop
13 June 2025
The construction industry can significantly boost its productivity by embracing digitalisation. Here’s how government can support the sector’s technological transition and drive growth in the NSW economy.
Srinath Perera, Sean Jin and Marini Samaratunga
2 June 2025
Targeted strategies to boost recruitment and retention of men in nursing can help address Australia’s health workforce shortages.
Jodie Brabin
27 May 2025
In fast-moving regulatory spaces with a paucity of data, experimentation can deliver timely and robust evidence to inform decisions.
Saul Wodak
23 May 2025
As governments seek to boost density and supply to make housing more affordable, there is an opportunity for planning policy to also foster healthy and connected communities.
Parisa Ziaesaeidi
14 May 2025
A focus on the built environment is critical for Australia to achieve its circular economy targets. Here are five key requirements for developing an effective, full-lifecycle and targeted policy for enhancing circularity in the built environment.
Sepani Senaratne, Shashini Jayakodi and Srinath Perera
7 May 2025
By reframing the problem of growing drug-induced deaths in Australia as an “overdose crisis”, policymakers can prioritise harm reduction strategies that draw on the experiences of people who use drugs.
George (Kev) Dertadian
30 April 2025
NSW’s recently released Innovation Blueprint 2035 is a critical milestone for the state’s industry policy. But the real challenges lie in implementation. Here are five policy priorities to drive impact at scale.
Jarryd Daymond
23 April 2025
Digital technologies are evolving rapidly, offering enormous potential – but the platforms shaping this future are driven by profit, not necessarily the public interest. Securing Australia’s sovereignty over digital infrastructure is essential to building an online ecosystem grounded in democratic values.
Raffaele Ciriello
16 April 2025
APPI experts share their policy opportunities for the next term of government spanning productivity, artificial intelligence, energy, health, early childhood education & care, and defence & foreign policy.
Libby Hackett, Jordan Ward, Jack Isherwood, Bonnie Bley, Hannah Lobb, Isabella Whealing and Hugh Piper
16 April 2025
The Policymaker's Federal Election Tracker is a tool to track political commitments made by Australia’s major parties.
Jack Isherwood and Annemie Verbeke
3 April 2025
A well-designed, universal school meals program at the state level could help give children the nutrition they need to thrive in their education.
Katherine Kent, Liesel Spencer and Miriam Williams
31 March 2025
Australia has led the way in endometriosis education, advocacy and care. However, continued progress on this chronic, incurable disease requires a renewed focus on policy reform, funding, research and evaluation.
Cristy Brooks, Amelia Mardon and Mike Armour
12 February 2025
The Adverse Childhood Experiences model lacks a First Nations lens. Focusing on early interventions and culturally safe, community-led strategies, as well as enhanced data collection, would improve health equity.
Shakeel Mahmood
5 February 2025
Supporting Australians’ reproductive needs and choices isn’t just good for individual health – it’s also a productivity imperative. Here’s how we can build a legal framework for universal reproductive health leave.
Michelle O’Shea, Nicola Street & Daniell Howe
23 January 2025
Food insecurity is a growing problem for Australians – but we need better data and evidence to understand it. Here’s how government can implement more robust and comprehensive data collection to inform policymaking on food security.
Sue Kleve, Katherine Kent and Rebecca Lindberg
17 January 2025
Prevention, early intervention, harm reduction and education should be prioritised in the NSW Government’s new Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Strategy.
Jack Wilson, Kate Ross and Steph Kershaw
18 December 2024
We published more articles and authors than ever before in 2024, as The Policymaker continued to grow as a leading platform for public policy analysis and ideas. Here are our five most popular articles from this year.
Hugh Piper
17 December 2024
Greater access to EV charging in densely populated areas can encourage sustainability. Here’s four expert recommendations to boost EV charging installation in apartment buildings.
Tom Longden and Gina Gatarin
10 December 2024
Want to get your research and recommendations in front of key policymakers? Here’s how to write a cut-through article for The Policymaker.
Hugh Piper
3 December 2024
NSW has an abundance of public parks and natural beauty. Here’s how we can ensure more of these spaces are inclusive hubs for community cohesion and environmental resilience.
Parisa Ziaesaeidi
18 November 2024
Better coordinated approaches that prioritise preventative health could help stem diabetes prevalence in Australia.
Cristy Brooks and Freya MacMillan
13 November 2024
Effective city-level planning is essential for Australia to meet its Net Zero targets. Australia can learn from leading global cities to improve policy coordination, employ targeted finance and harness research to develop more effective local climate policy.
Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi and Greg Morrison
12 November 2024
This episode focuses on the energy transition with university experts, those leading the charge in the non-profit sector and government policymakers to the importance of collaboration to build Australia’s Net Zero future.
The Policymaker Podcast
11 November 2024
The show’s first episode focuses on AI and Equity, exploring the complexities and opportunities of championing equitable outcomes in this fast-moving space.
The Policymaker Podcast
31 October 2024
Building on international initiatives, a Future Generations Commissioner in Australia could put long-term interests front of mind for today’s policymakers.
Taylor Hawkins
14 October 2024
Australia can lead on comprehensive climate risk management by regulating corporate financial disclosures to include the physical risks posed by climate change.
Adam Arian and John Sands
8 October 2024
Australia can move beyond sustainability and circularity towards an approach to industrial innovation prioritising regenerating nature and our social wellbeing.
Vanita Yadav
30 September 2024
SMEs are critical to NSW and Australia’s manufacturing landscape and are vital to economic renewal. However, manufacturing SMEs have struggled to increase productivity by harnessing advanced technologies. As government deepens its focus on industry policy, here’s how to fix that.
Dilupa Nakandala
16 September 2024
As the challenges to maintaining economic resilience, social cohesion, and mental wellbeing grow, national time banks could mobilise social production and safeguard prosperity.
Jo-An Occhipinti, Ante Prodan, William Hynes, John Buchanan, Goran Ujdur and Harris Eyre
13 September 2024
Despite having a robust and mature retirement savings system, many Australians are choosing property as their preferred retirement investment. By addressing underlying trust issues in the superannuation system, government can alleviate this added pressure on the property market and encourage a more balanced approach to retirement planning.
Reza Tajaddini, Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni & Amir Arjomandi
2 September 2024
By measuring outcomes beyond immediate upfront costs, governments can develop a more holistic understanding of the downstream effects of their decisions. Here’s where to start.
Cressida Gaukroger
27 August 2024
Innovative analysis of paleoclimate data from the last thousand years is informing better environmental management. What more can governments do to harness this valuable natural record to improve policymaking?
Philippa Higgins, Chris Turney, Jonathan Palmer, Tristan Derham, Lucinda Duxbury and Matthew Fielding
20 August 2024
Local microfactories have the potential to sustainably supply the metals and critical materials needed for Australia’s green transition. But what are the right policy settings to support the reprocessing of waste for manufacturing?
Veena Sahajwalla & Anirban Ghose
15 August 2024
Recent changes to Australia’s Paid Parental Leave scheme are a positive development. However, government can do more to value care work as a social good, including by encouraging fathers to take paternity leave and integrating parental leave with childcare and education policies.
Sarah Duffy & Emilee Gilbert
12 August 2024
Regional inequality is driving an increased demand for greater engagement between researchers and policymakers in the UK. What lessons can Australia’s knowledge brokering community learn from its British counterpart?
Liz Shutt
5 August 2024
For Australia to better empower low-income households, we should focus on affordability. Here’s how governments and the private sector can work together to achieve this.
Daniel Tracey
31 July 2024
Australians should embrace prefabricated homes as an efficient and sustainable way to boost supply and lower prices. Government should lead the way with a supportive policy framework.
Parisa Ziaesaeidi
26 July 2024
While the environmental and energy impetus for residential battery storage is well established, adopting a “mission” approach could help governments deliver on broader social, economic and sustainability objectives.
Jack Isherwood
25 July 2024
Industry policy is experiencing a renaissance as governments address compounding economic, social, environmental and strategic challenges. What can we learn from policymakers and researchers working on these grand challenges?
Simon Rowell
24 July 2024
Some governments are starting to develop better frameworks to understand the benefits of investing in long-term wellbeing and prevention. Here’s where to start.
Hannah Lobb
17 July 2024
A childcare system that responds to the actual needs of families and local communities will improve equity and increase productivity. Here’s what a flexible, place-based approach might look like.
Teddy Nagaddya, Jenna Condie, Sharlotte Tusasiirwe and Kate Huppatz
3 July 2024
“Housing affordability” and “affordable housing” are distinct but related policy objectives. Australia needs an integrated strategy that protects vulnerable groups while fostering an economy that supports quality, reasonably priced housing for all.
Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi & Hassan Gholipour Fereidouni
26 June 2024
Government has emerged as a decisive strategic investor in Australia, helping shape markets to address complex policy challenges. How did it get here and what can it do next?
Simon Rowell
31 May 2024
Harnessing the skills and insight of people with experience in the system is the key to sustainable and transformative reform of our child protection systems.
Jessica Cocks, Rob Ryan and Ben Spence
21 May 2024
Appointing some ministers from outside parliament could help boost representation and improve policymaking.
Osmond Chiu
8 May 2024
What does successful knowledge brokering between climate scientists and government look like?
Angela Kaplish
2 May 2024
Australia needs a more deliberate approach to industrial policy to achieve a productivity dividend within tight budget constraints – here’s how.
Christopher Day
29 April 2024
Financial literacy, workplace skills, health consciousness and independent living should all be core lessons for Australian high schoolers.
Maxwell Yong
22 April 2024
With Australia’s Online Safety Act under review, regulators should take heed of the UK’s experience in imposing duties of care on digital platforms.
Rys Farthing and Lorna Woods
20 March 2024
The transition from school to university is a pivotal moment in the lives of young people – how can we better support their choices for improved individual and social outcomes?
Maxwell Yong
13 March 2024
Australians have proven themselves resilient in the face of housing pressures – but structural reform to boost supply and dampen rising costs is desperately needed.
Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi
6 March 2024
What role can stories play in supporting people-centred policymaking and place-based reform?
Thea Snow
27 February 2024
While the political and policy focus has rightly been on regulating artificial intelligence, we also need to plan now to harness AI’s power as a policymaking tool – especially, its capacity to model outcomes in complex systems.
José-Miguel Bello y Villarino
7 February 2024
Simple quantitative metrics don’t do justice to the breadth and complexity of human experience. Researchers and policymakers can benefit from frameworks implementing a nested relationship between data and lived experiences, metrics and relational processes.
Juliet Bennett
2 February 2024
As governments look to reform our social services systems, they must tap into the transformative power of relationships.
Cliff Eberly and Wenqian Gan
22 January 2024
Australia deserves a public service that embodies its multiculturalism – diversity targets are a proven way to get there.
Jin Lim
18 January 2024
With poor mental health outcomes for young people linked to a lack of agency to shape society, how can we better reflect the interests of youth in policy and politics?
Harry Grant
15 January 2024
Australia’s superannuation funds can anchor long-term investments that are essential for the development of new industries, especially manufacturing, and the transition to a low emissions economy.
Christopher Day
22 December 2023
In its second year, The Policymaker has grown to become a leading platform for public policy analysis and ideas informed by research expertise and experience – here are our five most popular articles in 2023.
Hugh Piper
19 December 2023
As AI becomes invisibly embedded in everyday life, we must remain laser focused on controlling and regulating how it uses data and the data it generates.
Ian Opperman
12 December 2023
NSW’s minister for industry and innovation outlines his vision for the NSW economy with research and evidence driving the government’s industry, decarbonisation and innovation policies.
Anoulack Chanthivong
6 December 2023
A child protection system preoccupied with risk aversion is impeding the emotional growth of children. We need a new model based on relational care and reciprocity to break the cycle.
Jarrod Wheatley
29 November 2023
How can the law and policy governing disaster responses better facilitate shared decision-making between communities and government?
Pam Joseph, Cate Massola, Margot Rawsthorne & Amanda Howard
8 November 2023
What are the challenges to academic influence in public policy? And what practical steps are available to bridge the gap between researchers and policymakers?
Susan Harris Rimmer, Ed Morgan and Sofija Tanveska
31 October 2023
While governments often prioritise rebuilding roads and other physical infrastructure post-disaster, just as great a focus is needed on supporting communities to build resilient social infrastructure.
Timothy Heffernan
24 October 2023
What is the potential for AI to automate repetitive, low complexity tasks in knowledge sectors? And what can government do to manage this transition?
Ian Opperman (with ChatGPT)
18 October 2023
Grasping the opportunities and managing the risks of generative AI is a generational challenge. The eSafety Commissioner explains how Australia is starting to tackle this issue.
Julie Inman Grant
10 October 2023
Skills mismatches will grow due to climate change and its economic fallout. Microcredentials can enable rapid and inclusive re-skilling while offering universities an opportunity to re-invent their mission in a “climate changed” world.
Jack Isherwood
28 September 2023
Australia’s referendum on the Voice has highlighted the need for better regulation of social media platforms to prevent falsehoods corroding our democratic discourse.
Alice Dawkins & Rys Farthing
25 September 2023
Revenue-contingent loans for research-based start-ups could provide a sustainable model for boosting Australia’s R&D output.
Ken Baldwin, Bruce Chapman & Glenn Withers
18 September 2023
A well-informed policy debate around legalisation should consider evidence from around the world on regulatory options for the supply, retail and consumption of currently illicit drugs.
Paul Kelaita & Alison Ritter
4 September 2023
The path to optimal collaboration between policymakers and researchers is long and winding – but innovative new institutions are helping accelerate the journey.
Peter Shergold
25 August 2023
Australia has joined the race to regulate AI – but we aren’t paying enough attention to the gender-related challenges generated by these systems. Here’s how we can start to fix that.
Ramona Vijeyarasa
16 August 2023
Breaking down the barriers to collaboration between researchers and policy practitioners takes relationships of trust, innovative knowledge-brokering institutions and better mutual understanding.
Brian Head
15 August 2023
Generative AI is here to stay. But with a nuanced understanding of the technology, sophisticated regulation and a long-term view, we can minimise its harms and capitalise on its transformative potential.
Ian Oppermann
2 August 2023
As Australia embraces a broader definition of national progress, we should use metrics that prioritise the wellbeing of the economy and society together.
Jo-An Occhipinti
13 July 2023
Australia and the world need a new economic and social paradigm that prioritises people and the planet.
Katherine Trebeck
7 July 2023
Australia can be a leader in sustainable business and contribute to a greener and more socially responsible future by developing strategic supports, incentives, stricter regulations and collaboration platforms for small and medium enterprises.
Youqing Fan
4 July 2023
A passive approach to emerging artificial intelligence technologies could generate significant social problems – but “mission economy” and “just transition” approaches to AI can unlock a better, more inclusive future.
Jack Isherwood
20 June 2023
Policymakers should prioritise the risks of inequality, a loss of creativity and self-interested manipulation when thinking about AI.
Jenny Gordon
24 May 2023
In the face of global warming and the limited capacity of renewables, Australia squandered its hydrogen opportunity. What can we do to catch up on the clean energy transition?
Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou
2 May 2023
Policymakers can empower communities to contribute to greater energy efficiency and resilience by applying a “just transition” lens to new technologies such as community battery storage.
Jack Isherwood
28 April 2023
Putting First Nations people in the driver’s seat of community development isn’t just the right thing to do – it delivers better outcomes too.
Jasmine Miller and Colina Reuben
26 April 2023
Policymakers should draw on Australian and international lessons from prescribing cannabis to implement effective regulation for the medicinal use of MDMA and psilocybin.
Jack Wilson, Emily Stockings, and Maree Teesson
17 April 2023
Decarbonising Australia’s industrial sector will be essential for Australia to reach net zero. The Australian Government can set the right policy signals with ambitious long-term goals to diversify economically in new clean industries and coordinate investment in specific locations.
Anna Skarbek and Joshua Danahay
11 April 2023
Better coordination across all three levels of government and strategic investments in migrant services can boost migrant settlement in regional areas – helping Australians new and old.
Melissa Phillips
23 March 2023
Queensland’s new bail laws will infringe on the human rights of children. A better approach that understands the needs of vulnerable children is needed.
Hannah Gandy
16 March 2023
Closing – and exceeding – the gap on Indigenous employment outcomes means addressing discrimination and breaking down barriers to achievement.
Nareen Young and Joshua Gilbert
16 March 2023
It’s 32 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. While progress has been slow – and in some cases retrograde – there is a path to better outcomes for Indigenous people if they are empowered to lead policy responses.
Krystal Lockwood and Heron Loban
27 February 2023
How to disrupt policy and enable collective intelligence – for people and place – by asking the questions that matter most.
Alex Fischer & Nick Davis
14 February 2023
Modern slavery is a wicked problem for Australia—but effective coordination of the actors involved in prevention, law enforcement and victim protection can enable a more effective response.
Claire Morse and Conrad Townson
12 January 2023
The harms and costs of alcohol to Australia are clear. Government needs to mandate effective messaging around alcohol consumption.
Rachel Visontay, Louise Mewton and Maree Teesson
22 December 2022
It’s been a big first year for The Policymaker—here are our top five most-read articles for 2022.
Hugh Piper
19 December 2022
The NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner explains why it’s in everyone’s interests to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking as a system-level challenge.
James Cockayne
10 December 2022
New draft codes from tech companies could pose risks to Australian children. A better approach—led by government—is needed instead.
Rys Farthing and Judith Bessant
9 December 2022
What is required to translate recent policy progress into practice when it comes to engaging men and boys to prevent violence in our society? Changing the way men relate to themselves, to people in their lives and to deeply embedded norms that put pressure on men to be a certain way are key parts of the solution.
Matt Tyler
2 December 2022
To combat this human rights abuse, we need to understand the scale of the problem, amplify survivors’ voices and work towards a fair compensation system.
Jennifer Burn
2 December 2022
The battle against modern slavery is increasingly occupying the mind of investors—collaboration can contribute to its demise.
Måns Carlsson
23 November 2022
Local governments are vital laboratories for policy innovation and experimentation. How can Australia better harness this potential?
Pauline McGuirk
16 November 2022
Australian universities contribute to the public good. But we need to be more ambitious about realising their potential. It’s time to remedy and reimagine our research system.
Duncan Ivison
14 November 2022
Solving our biggest global challenges means putting people and communities at the centre of policymaking.
Peter Shergold
31 October 2022
Labor’s October Budget was good news for aged care—but the hard questions of funding the Support at Home program remain. Here’s two ideas for cost sharing models.
Rachael Lewis and Mike Woods
26 October 2022
Solving our biggest global challenges means putting people and communities at the centre of policymaking.
Amanda Tattersall
25 October 2022
Australia has world-leading research on recycling and green manufacturing. Here’s how the right policy settings can harness it.
Veena Sahajwalla
20 October 2022
The Albanese government’s October budget presents an opportunity to transform the purpose and principles of economic policy.
Alicia Mollaun
11 October 2022
Improved data management, monitoring and analysis could be critical to combatting racism – here’s a plan for how research and numbers can help us tackle one of Australia’s biggest social issues.
Jehonathan Ben, Amanuel Elias, and Rachel Sharples
Aged care workforce shortages require action from the Jobs Summit & resourcing for high quality care
5 September 2022
While reforms to improve the quality of aged care are welcome, the government must also consider how to resource providers to meet higher standards.
Nelson Ma, David Brown
31 August 2022
The new Labor government has a historic opportunity to boost young people’s wellbeing as part of its economic agenda—here’s how.
Travers McLeod
30 August 2022
Is now the moment to (re)introduce an independent "buffer body" for the tertiary sector that will enable universities to respond to future jobs, skills and research needs?
Libby Hackett
29 August 2022
Digital technologies offer an opportunity to tackle Australia’s youth mental health crisis. But effective solutions will require us to think innovatively and listen to the voices of young people with first-hand experience.
Amira Skeggs
18 August 2022
While fiscal stimulus applied during the COVID-19 crisis has boosted employment, the much bigger challenge remains productivity and wage stagnation. This will require an ambitious national reform agenda to transform Australian industry.
Roy Green
8 August 2022
New research shows that by taking into account the broader financial benefits of domestic manufacturing, building key transport infrastructure locally can be the fiscally smart decision.
Christopher Day
28 July 2022
We should reimagine how capital markets can better back women entrepreneurs, especially those at society’s margins, and boost women’s economic security more broadly. The design of a new venture capital fund announced by the NSW Government can demonstrate what’s possible.
Vafa Ghazavi
25 July 2022
While Australia is doing well on full employment, it’s time to prepare for the next downturn by upgrading the economy’s recession-fighting toolkit.
Zac Gross
4 July 2022
Focusing on both employment law and how we design visas could help address the systemic underpayment of migrant workers.
Anna Boucher
20 June 2022
For Australia to become more inclusive—where no one is left behind—children need to be front of mind for policymakers when developing and implementing our post-Covid recovery framework.
Alicia Mollaun
6 June 2022
There is now an effective consensus around net zero—and Australia has a range of promising sector-specific climate policies for getting there. Policymakers need to shift their focus to doing so at minimum cost.
Steven Hamilton
9 May 2022
The declining performance of Australia’s secondary schools is limiting productivity growth. An ambitious, inclusive plan for policy reform is needed to move things in a better direction.
Jenny Gordon
9 May 2022
Governments at all levels need a new mindset which places Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander shared decision making at the centre of policy development, design and delivery.
Pat Turner
9 May 2022
Australia’s material footprint per capita is rising. But with the right policies, we can break the nexus between depleting our ecological resources and improving economic growth.
Kar Mei Tang
9 May 2022
COVID-19 reminded us that insights from the lab and the social world must be considered in tandem to tackle some of our hardest public health challenges.
Peter Doherty
9 May 2022
Almost all the materials used for electrification are finite. Waste recycling should play a major role in the transition to a decarbonized economy.
Veena Sahajwalla
9 May 2022
High-quality mental health care is possible. But it will demand structural reform, effective accountability, and the will to make it a reality.
Ian Hickie
9 May 2022
Policymakers help to design the future. Their challenge is to embrace a world of twenty-first century dynamic, complex systems.
Genevieve Bell