Priority Populations

The challenge

Priority populations in Australia include LGBTQ+ communities, people with disability, people experiencing homelessness or family and domestic violence, and Indigenous Australians.

Compared to the general population, these groups experience significantly worse health outcomes and often experience barriers to social and economic participation. Despite these persistent inequalities, these populations are often absent from, or inadequately captured, in mainstream economic analysis. This leaves critical evidence gaps about the different types of barriers they face and the policies that could help reduce inequalities. Without rigorous, disaggregated evidence, decision makers cannot reliably design interventions that promote economic empowerment or improve wellbeing for these communities. Closing these gaps requires causal methods, careful data linkage, and engaged partnerships with the communities whose experiences the research aims to reflect.

The research

The Priority Populations research agenda within the Wellbeing and Economic Empowerment Team produces rigorous, policy-relevant research centred on the experiences and outcomes of historically underrepresented populations. Using causal inference methods applied to survey and administrative data, we identify the factors and policies that shape economic and social inclusion for these communities. By centring groups often absent from mainstream economic analysis, we close critical evidence gaps and inform more inclusive policy.

The impact

The Priority Populations team produces rigorous, policy-relevant research centred on the experiences and outcomes of historically underrepresented populations. Using causal inference methods applied to survey and administrative data, we identify the factors and policies that shape economic and social inclusion for these communities. By centring groups often absent from mainstream economic analysis, we close critical evidence gaps and inform more inclusive policy.