The Albanese Government is strengthening Australia’s first national wellbeing framework to support policy development and better align our economic and social goals in communities right across the country.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will deliver a newly renovated annual survey on the wellbeing of Australians, helping to inform a more comprehensive statement that the Government will publish every three years.
This is about measuring what matters most to Australians to deliver better outcomes for our communities and our economy.
Our national wellbeing framework puts people and progress, fairness and opportunity at the very core of our thinking about our economy and our society. The Government released its first statement last year.
The steps we’re announcing today will strengthen Measuring What Matters and deliver more data and analysis in addition to, not instead of, the more traditional ways we measure our economy like GDP, employment, inflation and wages.
Every three years, the Government will release a comprehensive Measuring What Matters statement examining trends in wellbeing, how we are tracking over time, where we’re doing well and where we need to do better.
These insights will be used to inform budgets and government decision‑making to deliver better outcomes for Australians.
Reporting of annual progress against the framework will be transferred from Treasury to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, embedding the wellbeing framework alongside other critical indicators like GDP, employment and wages.
We’re boosting funding too so that the ABS can deliver more frequent data and to assume responsibility for the Measuring What Matters dashboard as part of the next annual update which is expected in August.
We’re doing this by investing $14.8 million to expand and enhance the General Social Survey run by the ABS to paint a bigger, more detailed and vibrant picture of Australians’ wellbeing.
The survey will be conducted annually to deliver more timely data, the sample size will be increased to ensure that the survey provides insights into sub‑groups of the population and it will be expanded to include new questions.
The revitalised General Social Survey will enable collection of data across a range of topics, with a focus on Measuring What Matters most to Australians, including:
- Overall life satisfaction
- Participation in volunteering
- Experience of discrimination
- The ability of a household to raise emergency funds in response to unexpected circumstances
- Participation in formal study and informal learning
- Attendance at cultural events and participation in cultural activities
- Prevalence of serious psychological distress and chronic conditions
- Trust in others and key institutions
Measuring What Matters is all about helping to build a stronger, more productive, and more resilient nation that provides more opportunities and delivers a better future for more Australians.
Our Budget and our economic plan are all about fighting inflation and easing the cost of living at the same time as we lay the foundations of growth in our economy, and better aligning our economic and social goals is an important part of that agenda.