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Feeling hopeless? You’re not alone. The untold story behind Australia’s plummeting standard of living

A new report on Australia’s standard of living has found that low real wages, underfunded public services and skyrocketing prices have left many families experiencing hardship and hopelessness.
But the report, Solving the Crisis – Raising Living Standards of Australian Workers, also concludes tha…

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August 13, 2025

Commonwealth Budget 2025-2026: Our analysis

As expected with a Federal election looming, the budget is not a horror one of austerity. However, the 2025-2026 budget is characterised by the absence of any significant initiatives. There is very little in this budget that is new, other than some surprise tax cuts, which are welcome given they mostly benefit people on low…

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March 26, 2025
Opinions
Lisa Heap

Does leave for menstruation and menopause advance women’s rights and gender equality at work?

There are growing calls for the establishment of new work rights, including additional leave, for those who experience menstruation and menopause*. These biological processes are normal and are experienced by large numbers of workers. Yet their sometimes debilitating effects have been ignored in the framework of workplace rights historically built around men’s experience of life…

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May 29, 2024
Articles
Greg Jericho

Who’s hurting most from rising interest rates? It’s probably you.

Soaring house prices, high household debt and the pervasiveness of variable rate home loans mean that Australians bear the brunt of interest rate rises, says Greg Jericho. A new report by International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows rising interest rates bite harder in some countries than others – and it’s grim reading for Australian mortgage holders….

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April 12, 2024
Opinions
Fiona Macdonald

Fixing the work and care crisis means tackling insecure and unpredictable work

The Fair Work Commission is examining how to reduce insecurity and unpredictability in part-time and casual work to help employees better balance work and care. The Commission is reviewing modern awards that set out terms and conditions of employment for many working Australians to consider how workplace relations settings in awards impact on work and…

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March 19, 2024
Media Releases
Fiona Macdonald

Aged care wage rise decision crucial for elderly Australians

The Australia Institute says wage rises for aged care workers will improve the lives of elderly Australians after a crucial Fair Work Commission decision.
The Commission today announced rises between 2 and 13.5 per cent for aged care workers from July 2024.
“Today’s decision is crucial to support…

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March 15, 2024
Opinions
Lisa Heap

On International Women’s Day: How the Fair Work Commission Can Really Take On the Gender Pay Gap

This International Women’s Day, it is time to call on Australia’s workplace umpire, the Fair Work Commission, to finally close the gender pay gap. Half a century after the commission’s predecessor granted women “equal pay for equal work” in a landmark case in 1969, the gap remains between 12% and 21%. Amendments to the Fair Work Act by…

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March 8, 2024

Aged care reforms fall short on quality, safety

Mandating sector-wide aged care training requirements would make elderly Australians safer while bolstering workforce stability, according to a new analysis by the Australia Institute.
The Centre for Future Work warns that reforms due to come into effect from July – including screening requiremen…

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March 6, 2024
Opinions
Fiona Macdonald

We Cannot Truly Value ‘Care’ Until Workers Using Digital Labour Platforms Get Fair Pay and Conditions

Unless minimum employment standards for care and support workers using digital labour platforms are guaranteed, decades of slow progress towards proper recognition of care work and equal pay for women could be undone. Australia risks returning to the days when the value of a female care worker’s effort and their working conditions were largely determined…

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January 23, 2024

Deteriorating Disability Worker Pay, Conditions Undermining NDIS

An urgent overhaul of poorly paid and casualised disability support work is needed to ensure the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s viability and protect participants from substandard care, a new report by the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work says.
Going backwards: How NDIS workfo…

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September 22, 2023
Centre for Future work

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