Lobbying is a legitimate act of democratic participation which can support informed and inclusive decision making. However, lobbying may lead to specific interests being favoured over the public interest. This brief outlines proposed international standards for lobbying regulation, investigates how Australia’s current federal scheme compares, canvasses developments across other jurisdictions and highlights avenues of reform.

This country note on Australia outlines the regulatory and institutional frameworks on anti-corruption and public integrity. It provides contextual factors, and reports on lobbying, conflict of interest, political finance, access to public information, judicial integrity, prosecutorial integrity and disciplinary system for civil servants. It benchmarks Australia's performance against other OECD countries.

This paper examines the central shortcomings of the Australian regime for regulating lobbying and proposes comprehensive reform to address them. It calls on the federal government to work towards re-building trust with the public by prioritising transparency, integrity and equality in lobbying. The paper proposes comprehensive legislative reform is urgently recommended. It provides 15 recommendations.

This report focuses on corporate influence in competition policy, highlighting the benefits of legitimate corporate engagement, the risks when influence becomes undue and the challenges in distinguishing between the two. It outlines responses available to policymakers to help them minimise the risk of undue influence including transparency frameworks, prohibition policies and institutional integrity responses.

An extensive review of 20 of Australia’s largest and most influential trade associations finds that company memberships in these associations may not be to the benefit of shareholders, represent a potential democratic risk and most trade associations play little apparent role in self-regulation. The report recommends greater transparency on how these organisations spend members’ money...