Key Documents
The government has committed to release a new standalone Measuring What Matters Statement this year.
The Statement will be Australia’s first national framework on wellbeing and will evolve over time.
Traditional economic indicators provide important insights, but not a complete picture or holistic view of the community’s wellbeing. The Statement will seek to assess progress on a broad range of social and environmental indicators alongside traditional economic measures.
Consultation to date
The government set out early ideas on Measuring What Matters as part of the October 2022-23 Budget. It explored the features, strengths and weaknesses of several other frameworks currently available – including the OECD’s Wellbeing Framework and New Zealand’s approach – and kickstarted a first round of consultations.
Treasury received over 160 submissions from community groups, peak bodies, businesses, individuals, academics, research institutes, unions and governments in response to the initial consultation.
In addition, Treasury has engaged with governments and organisations — including the IMF and the OECD, state governments and other national governments to ensure we draw on lessons from other countries’ experiences and frameworks.
Drawing on the submissions and a review of international and domestic approaches, 5 broad themes important to wellbeing have emerged for consideration: prosperous, inclusive, sustainable, cohesive and healthy. While these themes represent what we have heard so far, they may not necessarily be the final policy themes included in the Statement.
Have your say in the second consultation process
A second consultation process has commenced in an effort to engage even more broadly with the Australian public. Community groups, members of parliament and other organisations are invited to hold their own feedback meetings – a conversation about the emerging themes, and other information to help guide the development of the Statement.
We have developed a consultation pack to help guide community feedback sessions.
You can respond via the online feedback form or the form provided in the consultation pack.
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Submissions
117 submissions were received for this consultation, including 15 confidential submissions.