Ahead of the 2025 federal election, this paper calls on all political parties to commit to valuing quality and effective sector stewardship across disability services. It makes recommendations in relation to pricing, provider registration, sector regulation and workforce funding.

This report outlines evidence that Australia's federal policy framework on waste reduction and recycling has failed to achieve its objectives. It recommends the introduction of a circular economy framework, a review of the role that could be played by financial incentives, and implementation of mandatory national rules and regulations to improve environmental and economic outcomes.

This note analyses the significance of student debt as part of the cost-of-living crisis, the current Job-ready Graduates package and HECS-HELP debts, and the need for policy reform to support younger generations and reduce intergenerational inequity. It summarises what the major parties are promising to address student debt ahead of the 2025 federal election.

One of the key labour market indicators that the Reserve Bank of Australia monitors and forecasts is the unemployment rate. This paper finds that information contained in measures of unmet demand, such as job advertisements and vacancies, and consumers’ expectations for unemployment, are useful in informing the RBA’s near-term forecasts for the unemployment rate.

A whole-of-economy analysis demonstrates the implied costs of the Federal Coalition’s nuclear plan run well into the trillions of dollars – ranging from $4.3 to $5.2 trillion by 2050. The analysis reveals a hollowing out of Australian industry, permanently higher energy costs, higher costs from unabated carbon pollution and trillions of dollars in lost GDP.