Earlier this year, Australia ranked 5th in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) 2023 Digital Government Index (DGI). This placed Australia ahead of the European Union’s digital government pioneer, Estonia, and just behind Denmark and Norway. Among the 38 countries listed in the DGI, Australia also scored 1st in the government services category ‘digital by design’ and received special mention for being one of only five OECD countries with an integrated approach to investments in digital technology and services. To explain Australia’s DGI success, this Flagpost brin ..read more

In this month’s release: latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey, women’s experiences with the health system and the latest scam/fraud data.  ..read more

The United Nation’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Count her in: Invest in women. Accelerate progress’. This theme focuses on strengthening women’s economic inclusion through providing the tools and opportunities to participate in economic decision-making. Women’s economic empowerment assists to close gaps in pay, industry employment, occupation choices and transitional pathways, while their higher workforce participation generally leads to better health, education, and political outcomes. This article summarises key employment and business statistics for women (15 to 64 yea ..read more

In this month’s release: Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey and latest schools data Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail. Statistical reports Release date ABS Building Approvals, January 2024 4 Mar ABS Australian System of National Accounts: Concepts, Sources and Method...  ..read more

The second House of Representatives (HoR) debating venue, the Federation Chamber, is unique among Australian Parliaments. 30 years ago amendments to the Standing Orders (SOs) were made on 10 February 1994, to establish a second chamber to function in parallel to the HoR. After an existing committee room in Parliament House was refurbished at a cost of $854,902 (p. 51), the inaugural meeting of the second chamber was held 4 months later on 8 June 1994. It was on that occasion, John Howard remarked: If the Main Committee can add to the intelligent dispatch of busine ..read more

The Australia, UK and US enhanced defence and security partnership (AUKUS Partnership) can be expected to bring significant change to Australia’s defence trade control framework. Ahead of Parliament debating the Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill, this article provides background by briefly explaining Australia’s current defence export regulatory framework.  ..read more

In this month’s release: The health of the nation and the latest data on food insecurities in Australian households. Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail. Statistical reports Release date ABS Building Approvals, December 2023 1 Feb ABS International Trade Price Indexes, December 2023 1 Feb ABS Producer Price Indexes, December 2023 2 Feb ...  ..read more

Welcome to the new year.  In this month’s release: Injuries in Australia, including those caused by extreme weather and sports injuries; Rental Affordability Index report and 2022 Retirement Census. Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail. Statistical reports Release date ANZ ANZ Job Advertisements, December 2023 4 Jan ABS Retail Trade, November 2023 ...  ..read more

On 30 November 2023 Dave Sharma became the Australian parliament’s 644th Senator, filling the casual vacancy created when Senator Marise Payne resigned on 30 September 2023. In doing so Senator Sharma becomes the 53rd person to sit in both chambers of Australia’s federal parliament, following his service in the House of Representatives as Member for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022. This Flagpost article reviews the history of those who have followed a similar path and the reasons it can occur.  ..read more

This month focuses on the following topics: intimate partner violence among 18–19 year olds, the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program and life expectancy in Australia. Forthcoming releases If you are interested in any of the forthcoming releases or datasets, please contact the Parliamentary Library to discuss in more detail.     Statistical reports Release date ABS Permanent Migrants in Australia, 2021 1 Dec ABS Marriages and Divorces, 2022 1 Dec AIHW ...  ..read more