Per Capita undertakes research and develops policy recommendations in a number of focus areas. Our overarching focus is fighting inequality in Australia. Once our ideas are developed, they are subjected to rigorous peer review, and then communicated widely, both in the public domain and through our own extensive network of senior decision makers in government, industry, and the public service.
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Responsible Technology
August 19, 2025
Checking for MistAIkes, the hidden negative externalities in the AI productivity debate
This report challenges popular notions of AI productivity benefits, and looks at detailed, evidence-based, real-world studies which paints a more complex and realistic picture.
Gender Equality
August 18, 2025
A Home of One’s Own: Philanthropic and social sector solutions for women’s housing
Australia is experiencing a housing crisis, and its impact is highly gendered.
Work and Workers
August 12, 2025
Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committee’s Inquiry into the provisions of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025.
From the earliest days of Australia’s industrial relations system, it has been understood that decent work is about more than what occurs in the workplace. It is about protecting the time workers need for rest, family and community life. When work takes up that time, it should be fairly compensated. This principle has long been part of our workplace laws, but recent changes to modern awards have shown that penalty and overtime entitlements can be reduced. This Bill is an important safeguard to prevent that from happening again.
Per Capita supports its swift passage and notes the value of ensuring any potential unintended consequences are addressed in the drafting.
Equitable Housing
August 11, 2025
Poverty and Housing in South Australia
South Australia is experiencing rising levels of housing stress, poverty, and homelessness, driven by a combination of low incomes, rapidly increasing rental costs, limited housing supply, falling provision of social housing and under-resourced support systems.
Progressive Economics
July 28, 2025
Submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable
This submission from Per Capita to the Economic Reform Roundtable builds on the success of our Community Tax Summit and lays the groundwork for a broader tax reform paper to be released later this year.
Progressive Economics
June 11, 2025
Community Tax Summit 2025 – Summary Document
This document summarises the conversations at the Community Tax Summit 2025, held 20-21 February 2025.
Equitable Housing
April 9, 2025
Submission to the Inquiry into the Redevelopment of Melbourne’s Public Housing Towers
Per Capita joins many others in questioning the lack of transparency around the costs associated with retrofit or knock-down and rebuild of public housing towers in Melbourne. We also question the rationale that underpins the decision-making process.
Progressive Economics
March 31, 2025
The Lost Decade: How low wage growth stopped young Australians buying a home
This report examines the impact of a Lost Decade, during which real wages barely grew. It explores how this has affected young Australians setting out on their careers, trying to build the financial security needed to buy a home and start a family, and grasp the now elusive great Australian dream of home ownership.
Work and Workers
Work and Workers
August 12, 2025
Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committee’s Inquiry into the provisions of the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025.
From the earliest days of Australia’s industrial relations system, it has been understood that decent work is about more than what occurs in the workplace. It is about protecting the time workers need for rest, family and community life. When work takes up that time, it should be fairly compensated. This principle has long been part of our workplace laws, but recent changes to modern awards have shown that penalty and overtime entitlements can be reduced. This Bill is an important safeguard to prevent that from happening again.
Per Capita supports its swift passage and notes the value of ensuring any potential unintended consequences are addressed in the drafting.
Progressive Economics
March 31, 2025
The Lost Decade: How low wage growth stopped young Australians buying a home
This report examines the impact of a Lost Decade, during which real wages barely grew. It explores how this has affected young Australians setting out on their careers, trying to build the financial security needed to buy a home and start a family, and grasp the now elusive great Australian dream of home ownership.
Progressive Economics
February 17, 2025
Per Capita Tax Survey 2024
The Annual Per Capita Tax Survey (Tax Survey) provides an invaluable insight into the views held by Australians from across the country about the role of the tax and transfer system, and attitudes towards the role and value of essential public services in our national life.
Gender Equality
October 9, 2024
Submission to the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers Inquiry
The historical undervaluation of work primarily done by women remains a key driver of this gap and the entrenched inequalities in the labour market today.
Work and Workers
March 27, 2024
A Thousand Hours for Free? Ending Unpaid Placements in Social Work Education
There is a growing body of research highlighting the issues students face in completing degrees in social work.
The requirement to undertake 1000 hours of unpaid field education – equivalent to six months’ full time work – is contributing to a low completion rate despite the demand for social workers increasing.
Work and Workers
October 26, 2023
Submission to the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Inquiry
Key to the Fair Work Act was the inclusion of a fair and comprehensive safety net: a set of minimum employment conditions which cannot be stripped away. Today, too many workers find themselves excluded from this safety net, falling through loopholes in our workplace laws.
Work and Workers
September 18, 2023
Cracks in the Foundation: Exploring barriers to successful sectoral programs for young workers
The IT industry says yes to sector programs to solve its skills shortages and give young people a go at better quality jobs
Work and Workers
July 27, 2023
Towards Fairness and Security: Reforming Casual Employment in Australia
Casual employment is meant to be about irregularity, or the absence of a firm advance commitment of continued work. Instead, the real characteristics of casual employment are: low pay, low power, low safety and low security.
Gender Equality
Gender Equality
August 18, 2025
A Home of One’s Own: Philanthropic and social sector solutions for women’s housing
Australia is experiencing a housing crisis, and its impact is highly gendered.
Gender Equality
October 9, 2024
Submission to the Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers Inquiry
The historical undervaluation of work primarily done by women remains a key driver of this gap and the entrenched inequalities in the labour market today.
Homepage Feature
September 30, 2022
Submission to the Senate Select Committee Inquiry into Work and Care
Consideration of how we might better balance the demands of paid labour with the needs of our families and loved ones is fundamental to creating a more equitable and just society.
Gender Equality
November 30, 2021
Submission to the Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act
Per Capita welcomes the opportunity to contribute this submission to the Review of the Workplace Gender Equality Act, 2012 (the Act), which sets the scope of work for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). The Act has not been reviewed since its introduction in 2012, and the public’s understanding of the gender pay gap, and ... Read more
Gender Equality
August 31, 2020
The ‘Herstory’ of Superannuation
This report looks at the history of superannuation for Australian women, marks its progress towards equity, and identifies what more could to be done to improve the system in order to mitigate women’s vulnerability to poverty in retirement.
Gender Equality
March 3, 2020
Measure for Measure: Gender Equality in Australia
Gendered data matters. Regular, transparent reports on performance against an agreed set of indicators are critical if we are to achieve the goal of gender equality. Without accountability, closing the gender gap in Australia and across the globe will remain merely an aspirational goal, rather than an achievable target. This report is intended to provide the foundation for a long-term project to produce a national, comprehensive longitudinal study of the progress towards gender equality in Australia.
Ageing
April 2, 2019
Per Capita’s 2019 Fantasy Budget
Every year, progressive think tank Per Capita releases its fantasy budget: a set of budget priorities that, if implemented, would progress Australia towards a more equal society. Here are our budget priorities this year.
Work and Workers
February 28, 2018
The Future of the Fair Go: Securing Shared Prosperity for Australian Workers
The government must intervene to secure the hard-fought-for right of Australian workers to receive a living wage in return for their labour.
Post Carbon Economy
Post Carbon Economy
September 4, 2024
Charged Up: Strategies for Addressing the Skill Shortage in Electrical Trades for the Clean Energy Transition
The Federal Government’s ambitious plan to transform Australia into a Renewable Energy Superpower requires a corresponding ambition to fix critical shortages in the electrical workforce.
Post Carbon Economy
May 27, 2023
Submission to the Victorian Offshore Wind Transmission Consultation
We believe that these reforms will ensure that offshore wind is sustainable, both ecologically and economically, and will be part of a prosperous future in Portland and Gippsland.
Work and Workers
August 24, 2022
A Blueprint for Better, Cleaner Jobs
The political, ecological and economic challenge of decarbonising Australia’s energy and industrial base is crying out for leadership. The next five to ten years are crucial to ensure that the worst outcomes of the climate crisis are mitigated, and we have a unique opportunity to reframe our economy in the interests of the people who work within it.
Progressive Economics
Progressive Economics
July 28, 2025
Submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable
This submission from Per Capita to the Economic Reform Roundtable builds on the success of our Community Tax Summit and lays the groundwork for a broader tax reform paper to be released later this year.
Progressive Economics
June 11, 2025
Community Tax Summit 2025 – Summary Document
This document summarises the conversations at the Community Tax Summit 2025, held 20-21 February 2025.
Progressive Economics
March 31, 2025
The Lost Decade: How low wage growth stopped young Australians buying a home
This report examines the impact of a Lost Decade, during which real wages barely grew. It explores how this has affected young Australians setting out on their careers, trying to build the financial security needed to buy a home and start a family, and grasp the now elusive great Australian dream of home ownership.
Progressive Economics
February 17, 2025
Per Capita Tax Survey 2024
The Annual Per Capita Tax Survey (Tax Survey) provides an invaluable insight into the views held by Australians from across the country about the role of the tax and transfer system, and attitudes towards the role and value of essential public services in our national life.
Progressive Economics
September 25, 2024
Co-operative Employment Economics: Sustaining Employment and Community Prosperity
An exploratory analysis of the impact of Co-operative and Mutual Enterprise (CME) and Equity Owned Firm (EOF) models on employment returns and employment outcomes
Progressive Economics
February 8, 2024
Submission to the Inquiry into Price Setting Practices and Market Power of Major Supermarkets
Our submission discusses how highly concentrated markets, and the substantial market power of Australia’s supermarket duopoly can harm consumers, workers, and fuel inequality. It makes several recommendations for the committee to consider.
Progressive Economics
September 22, 2023
Submission to the ACTU Inquiry into Price Gouging and Unfair Pricing Practices
Our submission discusses how the state of competition in Australian industries can harm consumers and workers, and fuel inequality. It advocates for expeditious reforms to our consumer and industrial law, to empower consumers and workers, and lessen the effect of future shocks.
Progressive Economics
May 28, 2023
The Australian Inequality Index
The Australian Inequality Index is a ground-breaking new tool that provides a multidimensional measure of inequality across a range of economic, social, and demographic indicators.
Equitable Housing
Equitable Housing
August 11, 2025
Poverty and Housing in South Australia
South Australia is experiencing rising levels of housing stress, poverty, and homelessness, driven by a combination of low incomes, rapidly increasing rental costs, limited housing supply, falling provision of social housing and under-resourced support systems.
Equitable Housing
April 9, 2025
Submission to the Inquiry into the Redevelopment of Melbourne’s Public Housing Towers
Per Capita joins many others in questioning the lack of transparency around the costs associated with retrofit or knock-down and rebuild of public housing towers in Melbourne. We also question the rationale that underpins the decision-making process.
Equitable Housing
August 20, 2024
Submission to the Inquiry into the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024 (No.2)
This submission details our response to the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024 (No.2)
Equitable Housing
July 25, 2024
Submission to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Build To Rent) Bill 2024 and Capital Works (Build To Rent Misuse Tax) Bill 2024
In April/May 2024 CEH made a submission to the Treasury’s consultation into the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2024 exposure draft. In response to the revised legislation introduced to Parliament in June 2024 we make some additional comments here.
Equitable Housing
May 27, 2024
Treasury Build to Rent Concessions Submission
The CEH welcomes the Government’s announcement that investment in the Build-To-Rent sector would be supported through tax concessions.
Equitable Housing
May 27, 2024
Help to Buy Bill 2024 (Qld) Submission
The Help to Buy Scheme gives prospective first home buyers not living in social housing in Queensland the opportunity to access shared equity homeownership.
Equitable Housing
April 15, 2024
Submission to Everybody’s Home: People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis
In early 2024, Everybody’s Home convened a 'People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis'.
Equitable Housing
January 16, 2024
On Whose Account? Government Spending on Housing
This paper shows the shift away from treating housing policy as a core economic function of the government to a residual element of the welfare system. The absence of a comprehensive federal housing budget means that the distributional impacts of funding allocation and changes in spending on different groups in society remain largely unevaluated.
Education
Education
August 25, 2023
Submission to the Inquiry into the Higher Education Support Amendment
Per Capita supports the five priority actions outlined in the Interim Report, as well as the Government’s commitment to implement them all.
Education
February 28, 2023
Submission: Abolishing Indexation and Raising the Minimum Repayment Income for Education and Training Loans Bill
In this submission, we argue in favour of the Bill, agreeing with its stated aims of improving the fairness of the funding schemes for post-secondary education and the two proposed solutions, namely to increase the repayment threshold to the median wage and abolish indexation of the loans.
Ageing
April 2, 2019
Per Capita’s 2019 Fantasy Budget
Every year, progressive think tank Per Capita releases its fantasy budget: a set of budget priorities that, if implemented, would progress Australia towards a more equal society. Here are our budget priorities this year.
Education
July 12, 2018
Submission: Inquiry into the Competitive Neutrality of the National Broadcasters
Public broadcasting exists to serve the interests of the public as citizens, not as consumers.
Education
June 4, 2017
Stories to Tell: Protecting Australian Children’s Screen Content
Australian children’s screen content is facing an existential threat as a result of several distinct, but interrelated factors. This paper outlines these challenges and proposes a way forward for the ongoing support of original Australian children’s screen content in the digital age.
Education
March 6, 2014
Who’s Afraid of a Public School? Public Perceptions of Education in Australia
Children's education has become the new topic du jour in Australia. This report measures and explores the attitudes of Australians towards public education. By Verity Firth and Rebecca Huntley.
Education
October 21, 2013
Social Innovation, Public Good: New Approaches to Public Sector Productivity
How does one 'price' a well-educated child or a rapidly cured patient? This report argues that that we should look to the not-for-profit sector to measure social return on investment. By David Hetherington.
Education
July 21, 2013
Training Days: Models of Vocational Training Provision: Lessons from the Victorian Experience
Per Capita evaluates the experience of contestability in vocational training in Victoria. By David Hetherington.
Ageing
Gender Equality
August 31, 2020
The ‘Herstory’ of Superannuation
This report looks at the history of superannuation for Australian women, marks its progress towards equity, and identifies what more could to be done to improve the system in order to mitigate women’s vulnerability to poverty in retirement.
Ageing
July 13, 2020
Home for Good: Communities for Wellbeing
In this fourth Home for Good policy brief, we explore ways to build ‘communities for wellbeing’. By this, we mean the ways in which good housing outcomes extend beyond individual housing circumstances to the context of neighbourhood and broader community.
Ageing
May 6, 2020
Home for Good: Social Housing for an Ageing Population
In this, our third policy brief, we turn our attention to Australia’s social housing sector. In the context of declining home ownership and growing housing insecurity among older Australians, we ask whether social housing can provide the three critical functions of home as we age.
Ageing
March 23, 2020
Home for Good: Improving the Private Rental Market for Older Australians
This policy brief, the second in a series looking at housing options for an ageing population, draws on the work of Per Capita and TACSI, to explore and propose new and innovative pathways for private rental housing.
Ageing
February 25, 2020
Home for Good
This policy brief is intended to restore the idea of home as both a psychological and social asset to our discourse on housing, rather than just a financial asset. It is specifically concerned with the role of the home as we age, positing that successful ageing is dependent on a person’s access to a home that provides security, community, safety and autonomy.
Ageing
September 9, 2019
Mutual Appreciation: a social innovation thinkpiece
A triple threat is looming in relation to ageing in Australia, one with particular implications for women. While access to secure and affordable housing can mean the difference between poverty and a decent life in older age, full homeownership in Australia is increasingly a privilege.
Ageing
April 2, 2019
Per Capita’s 2019 Fantasy Budget
Every year, progressive think tank Per Capita releases its fantasy budget: a set of budget priorities that, if implemented, would progress Australia towards a more equal society. Here are our budget priorities this year.
Ageing
May 3, 2018
Emerging Ageing: Co-designing Responses to Positive Ageing for New and Emerging Migrant Communities
Emerging Ageing: co-designing responses to positive ageing for new and emerging migrant communities. A report by Per Capita's Centre for Applied Policy in Positive Ageing, in partnership with the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria.
Social Innovation
Distress Amplification: Robodebt notices and the intensification of distress in the unemployed
We have to do more: Examining School Leader Perspectives on Hygiene Poverty within Australian Schools
Australia’s Science and Research Priorities: Conversation Starter
Submission to the Inquiry into the National Cultural Policy
Multiples Matter: Investigating the support needs of multiple birth families
False Economy: The economic benefits of the NDIS and the consequences of government cost-cutting
Submission to the Inquiry into Media Diversity in Australia
Per Capita Submission to the Ten-Year Social and Affordable Housing Strategy for Victoria