Briefing paper
The same mistake twice: the self-defeating consequences of public sector pay freezes
This paper documents the harmful consequences of freezing public service pay, both for public sector workers and for the broader economy.
Briefing paper
Working from home: opportunities and risks
With many regular workplaces shut down to 'flatten the curve' of COVID-19, millions of Australians are now shifting their work to home. This paper surveys the scope of home work, considers its impacts on economic and gender inequality, and proposes several policy recommendations to make home work safer and fairer.
Report
Gender inequality in Australia’s labour market: a factbook
This publication outlines evidence on over 60 different statistical indicators of gender inequality in Australia, organised into 18 different subject groupings. It paints a composite picture of how women are blocked from full participation in work and economic activity, experience greater precarity in employment, are paid less for their efforts, and experience other forms of...
Briefing paper
The long-term consequences of wage freezes for real wages, lifetime earnings, and superannuation
A wage freeze is often described as a "temporary sacrifice," that supposedly ends once normal annual wage increments are restored. However, this paper confirms that the legacy of even a temporary pay freeze is a permanent reduction in lifetime incomes and superannuation, which can easily ultimately result in hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost...
Briefing paper
Needle in a haystack: searching for the impact of tax cuts on consumer spending and economic growth
Despite the supposed benefit of recent Commonwealth government tax cuts in boosting disposable income and stimulating more spending, the latest economic statistics have confirmed that Australia's economy is barely limping along.