Key development, diplomacy and defence policies have called for Australia to take a whole-of-nation approach to its engagement with the world. This moves beyond a whole-of-government approach to involve a range of other actors including business and investment, science and technology, education, sports, culture, media and civil society.

At a minimum, a whole-of-nation approach implies that global engagement is not just the domain of core international policy actors, but is the role of a far wider constituency.

This push for a more purposefully coordinated Australian statecraft has been driven by an increasingly challenging and complex external environment. There is a sense of having to do more with what we have as Australia’s relative weight in the Indo-Pacific diminishes.

Many of the issues that concern policy-makers require whole-of-nation attention, from building a stronger defence industrial base, to the issue of 'preparedness' – including social cohesion, security of critical infrastructure and civil mobilisation. These are not issues that can be dealt with by government alone.

Consultations with 113 individuals from 93 organisations revealed broad support for the idea of a whole-of-nation approach. Benefits include:

• increasing effectiveness by harnessing the knowledge and skillsets of the entire country to drive Australia’s international engagement
• leveraging Australia’s assets for maximum influence
• streamlining how Australia conducts its affairs
• making Australia a more consistent, predictable and reliable actor to engage with
• empowering a range of actors by investing in skills, capabilities and opportunities
• helping Australia fulfil its aspiration to play a global leadership role.