Freedom of information (FOI) is a crucial part of the beneficial information feedback loop between the government and the people. However, this submission finds that Australia's FOI system is broken and cultural and legal changes are needed to fix it. It presents the South Australian FOI review process as a model that could be adopted...

Transparency is the cornerstone of democratic governance, yet Australia’s federal executive continues to undermine it through increasing non-compliance with Senate orders for documents. Compliance has fallen to new historic lows. This paper finds that the mechanism for accessing government information has failed, and substantial reform is required. It recommends the establishment of an Independent Legal...

This report outlines five key lessons of the value and usefulness of the Statement of Public Interest (SPI), introduced in the NSW Parliament in 2022 as a mechanism to support high quality and evidence-based legislative policymaking processes. It also makes six associated recommendations to overcome identified challenges to the SPI delivering on its objectives.

This report examines Australians' trust in their public institutions and explores ways to strengthen that trust. It notes the public sector underwent changes in the 2010s which affected its capacity and public perception. The report provides key insights for both policymakers and citizens, highlighting institutional strengths and areas of improvement.

This report investigates the role of trust between governments and communities, arguing that the reciprocal flow of trust is essential for effective policy and resilience to social harms. It identifies key behaviours and practices for building and maintaining trust, emphasising the need for effective consultation in genuine co-production of policies and programs.