Australia
Current Score
Global Rank
Percentile
Last Updated
Ranking Trend
Australia's rank movement over the last 30 days
Score Analysis
Analysis of Australia's policy signalling profile
Australia's Social Policy Signalling Index score is assessed at 75, placing it at the top end of the spectrum globally in terms of signalling intensity. This high score is attributed to a combination of robust legislative and regulatory frameworks, such as the presence of an eSafety Commissioner and Online Safety Act, which emphasize content moderation and online safety. Additionally, Australia's corporate sector exhibits strong DEI signalling, reflected in ASX mandates and gender pay gap reporting requirements. The legal recognition of same-sex marriage and comprehensive anti-discrimination protections further bolster Australia's position. These elements, combined with active legislative activism, justify the high intensity score.
Examining the dimension scores reveals a varied landscape of signalling intensity. The Speech & Expression Climate and Legislative/Regulatory Activism dimensions are at the forefront with scores of 99.68 and 99.71, respectively, indicating Australia's significant focus on legislative measures and expression-related policies. Conversely, the Institutional DEI Policy Intensity score of 40.80 suggests a lower emphasis on DEI policies within institutions compared to other dimensions. Education & Curriculum Signalling and Media & Platform Moderation scores are moderate, reflecting balanced regulatory approaches. The score for Corporate/Investor Signalling is notably high at 98.85, underscoring the strong emphasis on corporate diversity and equity measures. Overall, Australia's policy landscape demonstrates a comprehensive approach to signalling intensity across multiple dimensions.
Score Breakdown by Dimension
Weighted components of the composite score
Recent Events
Events that influenced this country's score
Australian Gaza aid flotilla activists allege abuse after Israeli abduction
Activists allege assaults and torture during Israeli detention after flotilla intercepted in international waters.
At four, her head was shaved and her clothes burned. Aunty Lorraine doesn’t want her trauma to be forgotten
The now 88-year-old is urging Australian governments to throw their support behind a new national plan for Stolen Generations survivors as they enter their final years Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Aunty Lorraine Peeters only remembers the metal gates opening as she was driven away from her home, at Brewarrina mission in north-west New South Wales. She was taken, along with her brothers and sisters, at just four years old. Her home for the next six years would be the Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls Home, where she was separated from her siblings, trained as a domestic servant and systematically brainwashed to be white. Continue reading...
Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson buys Australian diagnostic group I-MED for US$2.4 billion
Jardine Matheson, an investment company headquartered in Hong Kong, announced on Monday the A$3.4 billion (US$2.4 billion) acquisition of the entire stake of an Australian diagnostic and teleradiology group. The acquisition of I-MED Radiology Network, which spans 215 diagnostic imaging clinics across metropolitan and regional communities in Australia and New Zealand, is one of Jardine Matheson’s largest in recent years, following its full takeover of the luxury hotel unit Mandarin Oriental in a...
The BHP files: World’s biggest miner BHP backtracks on climate action with key projects put on ice, leaked documents reveal
Exclusive: Cache of internal documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners show multinational has war-gamed ways to massively delay decarbonisation Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The world’s biggest miner has halted or delayed projects to cut vast amounts of emissions and has quietly war-gamed options to push major climate investments in its Western Australian iron ore operations into the next two decades, internal documents show. An exclusive investigation based on documents leaked to the Guardian and the ABC’s Four Corners can reveal that BHP, one of Australia’s biggest historic emitters, has dumped plans for a facility that could have significantly reduced emissions and has put on ice renewable projects designed to power its iron ore operations in the vast, resource-rich Pilbara region. Continu
BHP defies its own climate strategy to spend hundreds of millions on polluting diesel trucks in Pilbara
Exclusive: Mining giant says technology is not yet advanced enough to run a fully electrified fleet but experts say it is hooked on federal fuel tax credits Revealed: the internal BHP memo that slammed the brakes on world’s biggest miner’s climate push Read more from the BHP files investigation here Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast BHP has continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying diesel trucks in the Pilbara despite internal documents suggesting it would increase emissions and be “misaligned” with its decarbonisation goals. The mining giant is Australia’s biggest consumer of diesel and trucks are its biggest single source of diesel emissions. Replacing the fleet with battery-electric trucks is considered a critical step in the multinational’s efforts to decarbonise. Continue reading...
Document leak at Australia's richest company shows how it put off going green
Hundreds of pages of internal BHP documents reveal how the company sold itself as a climate leader while internally finding reasons to put off action in the Pilbara.
Man found not guilty of murdering Darwin mother a 'serious risk' to community
Sheena Fairfield was brutally stabbed to death in the yard of her suburban home in 2022. The man charged with her murder never went to trial due to mental impairment but he could be detained for 20 years.
ASIO reviewed past terror cases in 2024 but didn't re-examine Bondi attackers
The head of Australia's domestic intelligence agency reveals it reviewed past terrorism investigations in 2024 which did not extend to a re-examination of the soon to be Bondi gunmen because of a resourcing decision.
Crews to work overnight after burst pipe in Melbourne leaves thousands without power
A power company was forced to switch off power to about 10,000 customers in the heart of Melbourne after a burst water main threatened to flood a substation on Monday afternoon.
Victoria will not introduce firearm caps or buyback scheme, following review
There will be no limits introduced to the number of guns a person can own in Victoria, following a rapid review into the state's gun laws.