乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网 Australia welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to Treasury on its Measuring What Matters consultation (the consultation).

A national wellbeing framework

乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网 welcomes the Federal Government鈥檚 plan to establish a comprehensive national framework to measure wellbeing (national framework), and reporting on this through a Measuring What Matters statement, in order to improve understanding of Australian economy and society, and support more informed policy making. Incorporating social and environmental outcomes is a critical part of this.

乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网 has examined this concept in detail and prepared a framework covering 11 areas as detailed in this submission ranging from education, health (including mental health and addiction), living standards, environment, governance and housing. 乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网鈥檚 proposed indicators can also be looked at through different lenses 鈥� such as gender, age, income quintile, or Indigeneity 鈥� to provide further insights into inequality in Australia.

Wellbeing indicators in the Australian community

Treasury has referenced the OECD Framework for Measuring Well-being and Progress as a good starting point for thinking about Australian wellbeing standards, while also noting its limitations in data and coverage. 乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网鈥檚 proposed framework could complement the OECD Framework and be adopted as part of a central set of indicators in Australia

A national framework should evolve over time, and 乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网 recommends a staged approach to ensure Australia鈥檚 Measuring What Matters statement is comprehensive and effective in achieving its objectives.

There are a number of countries that have already implemented similar frameworks, often called wellbeing budgets, and 乐鱼(Leyu)体育官网 considers Australia鈥檚 framework should seek to align with existing international models, such as New Zealand鈥檚 model or other countries part of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership (WEGo). Alignment to international models also enables Australia to benchmark ourselves with other countries to measure progress.

If you would like to discuss the contents of this submission further, please do not hesitate to reach out.

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