Six waves of the Social Inclusion Index: what have we found?

The Index, which has surveyed over 11,000 Australians since 2017, has identified several clear trends over the last 5 years:

• When it came to different groups, people on a low income experienced the lowest personal wellbeing of all;
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported the highest rates of both major and everyday discrimination compared to all other groups studied;
• Identification with Australia was lowest among LGBTIQ+ people of all groups studied, which continued to decline from 2017;
• Religious minorities were the target of the highest levels of prejudice among the groups studied.

BehaviourWorks Australia published Australia’s first index that measures all aspects social inclusion in the community back in 2017 to support the launch of Inclusive Australia – a powerful alliance of organisations wanting to see a more coordinated approach to inclusivity – and gain a more holistic understanding of inclusion and discrimination whilst being able to track progress over time.

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What do we look for and how do we use the data?

To help you understand what we did, in this video, Dr Kun Zhao explains some key concepts and the methodological approach to gathering data and developing the Index.

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Interested in being involved?

We are keen to do more research in the area and are welcome to any opportunities to collaborate with others who are interested in improving social inclusion in Australia.

Email us at behaviourworksaustralia@monash.edu or fill out our enquiry form, here.

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For direct access to the report:

Inclusive Australia Social Inclusion Index: 2021-22 Report

For direct access to the media release:

Inclusive Australia Social Inclusion Index: 2021-22 Media Release

To read our article in The Conversation:

Are Australians socially inclusive?

What impacts have there been on minority groups?

Watch Dr Kun Zhao explain our findings