Democratic backsliding often advances not through dramatic constitutional change, but through the quiet manipulation of parliamentary procedure. This report shows how rules on agendas, debate, discipline and legislative scrutiny can be turned into tools for silencing opposition, concentrating power and weakening democratic accountability. It distils lessons for building more resilient parliaments.

A paper by Victoria’s three core integrity agencies calls for urgent reform to how the integrity sector is funded, to increase transparency and enable them to effectively hold the Victorian Government to account. The paper recommends practical reforms to strengthen transparency and independence. It outlines 12 practical reforms across three key areas.

This paper contends that key details of the Australian Government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme have been hidden from proper parliamentary oversight. It reveals how the Help to Buy Program Directions 2025 hand sweeping powers to the executive, exempting crucial policy rules from parliamentary disallowance and scrutiny.

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 guide provides a helpful checklist outlining the minimum steps that must be taken to develop effective legislation. It is intended to facilitate parliamentary scrutiny of the legislative development process, representing best practice in terms of design, consultation and impact assessment. If not followed the legislation may produce undesirable outcomes, prove unworkable or even be...