Victoria, along with other federal, state and territory governments, have worked together to enact a coordinated legislative and regulatory response to child safety in Victoria’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. This paper summarises the events and discussions that have resulted in these reforms, including the series of reports since 2015 that have highlighted...

This review considers and proposes appropriate standards for the processes by which board members are appointed to Australian Government boards. It finds the current board appointment arrangements are not fit for purpose and proposes a series of reforms to the processes by which board members are identified, selected, appointed and supported in their roles.

This is the first report on the implementation and progress made by all governments on each of the 222 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. The report tracks each recommendation, noting whether it is underway, pending, under review or completed.

Horizontal fiscal equalisation has been a core concept for Australia in one form or another since Federation. This occasional paper explores whether the GST distribution system is too complex. It finds there is a trade-off between assessing states’ relative fiscal capacities as comprehensively as possible and simplifying assessment methods.

Public hospital spending in Australia is high and rising fast. This report shows that spending on Australian public hospitals increased by $3 billion every year on average over the past decade. Yet hospitals are still under strain. The report provides recommendations for the next National Health Reform Agreement and for state and territory governments.