2022 Outlook Conference: Bold policy and nobody left behind

A recap of the 2022 Economic and Social Outlook Conference held on Wednesday 2 November.

Published 28 Nov 2022

Tax rebates boosted consumption for Australians

This year, Australians earning up to $126,000pa received a boost on their tax refund amount. Our latest TTPN survey results reveal how and when Australians spent the refunds.

Published 24 Nov 2022

New Academy of Social Sciences in Australia fellows

Professor Guyonne Kalb and Professor Roger Wilkins from Melbourne Institute appointed new fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Published 17 Nov 2022

New study finds Australia’s preschool expansion ‘has not better prepared’ kids for school

Read this article by Melbourne Institute's Prof Ragan Petrie and Prof Marco Castillo in The Conversation.

Published 16 Nov 2022

Long COVID linked to mental distress, unemployment and is affecting more women than men

This Taking the Pulse of the Nation report examines the association between long COVID and mental distress and employment.

Published 27 Oct 2022

Using evidence to design Australia's economics policy

Read the article by Professor A. Abigail Payne in Pursuit.

Published 26 Oct 2022

Social Housing and Poverty in Australia

Stable housing is a critical component in addressing financial and social stresses that can lead to poverty or prevent exit from poverty. This analysis explores the correlation between community-level measures of poverty rates and social housing density to better understand how we might best structure future analyses to inform policy and practice on locations for new housing, structure and delivery of social housing, and rent assistance more broadly, for those facing housing stress.

Published 21 Oct 2022

What explains high levels of food insecurity in Australia

Food insecurity is considered to be one of the precursors to poverty and future poor health. Recent reports show rising food insecurity over the past few years, particularly for young adults and females. We explore what factors are associated with food insecurity in Australia.

Published 20 Oct 2022

Some GPs just keep their heads above water. Other doctors’ businesses are more profitable than law firms

Read the article by Prof Anthony Scott in The Conversation.

Published 13 Oct 2022

Media release: ANZ–Melbourne Institute Health Sector Report (2020-21) launching Wednesday

Published 11 Oct 2022

High rates of food insecurity, but few Australians getting help

Food insecurity can serve as a precursor to both poverty and chronic disease. The TTPN survey results reveal that just as financial stress remains an issue for many, we should acknowledge that food security is an issue in Australia that requires more attention.

Published 05 Oct 2022

Australians using various strategies to deal with higher cost of living

Australians have experienced substantial increases in their cost of living over the past few months. The survey results reveal that many Australians are drawing on their savings, as well as skimping on food and energy usage, with single-parent households struggling the most.

Published 21 Sep 2022

When you change jobs, you get more pay – but the increase is less than it used to be

Read this article in The Conversation by Prof Guay Lim and Assoc Prof Viet Nguyen from the Melbourne Institute.

Published 06 Sep 2022

ARC Linkage: Securing the next generation in farming and food careers

Dr Esperanza Vera-Toscano, Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute, Faculty of Business and Economics, is a member of a cross-discipline research team that recently secured funding for an ARC Linkage project.

Published 31 Aug 2022

Despite lower unemployment rates and decreased restrictions from the pandemic in 2022, stress remains high in Australia

The devastation of the pandemic has already had a marked effect on people’s mental health. Now, combined with financial pressures due to inflation and interest rates, it seems more Australians are suffering both mental and financial stress, despite unemployment levels and pandemic restrictions easing.

Published 27 Aug 2022

Announcements; Media

New Partnership Announcement: Melbourne Institute and Roy Morgan Join Forces to Take the Pulse of the Nation

Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research at The University of Melbourne and Roy Morgan, Australia’s largest independent researcher, are pleased to announce they have entered a strategic partnership to deliver Taking the Pulse of the Nation, a national survey providing real-time insights on Australian behaviours and attitudes on current social and economic issues.

Published 19 Aug 2022

Private health insurance rebates: Are they working to increase uptake among older people?

Our Research Insight explores how private health insurance rebates can improve seniors' wellbeing and ease pressure on the healthcare public system.

Published 16 Aug 2022

Pandemic times not all bad for household relationships

Though it is widely recognised that one major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a reduction in the way Australians socialise, it seems for some groups the pandemic may have improved their wellbeing and brought households closer.

Published 11 Aug 2022

Do caps on superannuation tax-breaks really improve the budget?

Our Research Insight explores whether whether caps on superannuation tax-breaks really improve the budget.

Published 26 Jul 2022

Australians demand more action on climate change from the government

Most Australians believe there have been insufficient efforts from previous governments to address climate change. As the climate crisis becomes more serious, most Australians are committed to cutting their own energy use in an effort to address the issue.

Published 21 Jul 2022