Singapore saw a majority of COVID-19 infections plaguing low-skilled migrant construction workers by late April 2020. In the initial phases of the outbreak, mainstream frames were quick to highlight the gathering of low-skilled workers in open areas as sites to be surveilled, shaping the divisive...

While digital exclusion is a long-standing problem, it has often struggled for attention and resources in recent years in a crowded public policy landscape. This report is a response to this challenge, setting out a series of 12 recommendations calling for ambitious action from policy...

The aim of this paper is to summarise the results from a survey experiment on a probability-based, representative sample of the Australian population during mid-August 2020, that tested explicitly the relative weight that Australians put on different characteristics of individuals, in terms of who should...

This paper argues that lockdowns and social distancing regulations introduced to manage the health concerns associated with COVID-19, have imposed significant social, economic and institutional costs, while being of debatable efficacy.

The economic crisis caused by lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 has distorted the Australian economy. The economic costs of lockdowns have not been equally shared across the country. This paper outlines five key pieces of evidence that lockdowns, rather than freezing the economy in...

Drawing on evidence from the Victorian Hotel Quarantine Inquiry, this policy brief aims is to lay the foundations for better understanding the features and limits of contracting-out, and to urge reassessment of its appropriateness in relation to government functions that carry significant consequences for public...

This policy brief addresses whether the Victorian government’s communication strategy and crisis team needs a re-think in light of recent experience.

This policy brief places the Australian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in global perspective, focusing on how the pandemic has affected the democratic system and assessing how the government’s response complies with democratic standards.

The COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled a crisis for democracy around the world. Based on a survey of 398 journalists, civil society workers, activists, and other experts, as well as research on 192 countries by Freedom House’s global network of analysts, this report provides an in-depth...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been the greatest challenge Australia's aged care sector has faced. Those who have suffered the most have been the residents, their families and aged care staff. This report makes six recommendations, among them - a requirement that the Australian government report...