Research

Research sits at the heart of everything we do at AMPLIFY, guiding how we listen, learn, and act.

We’re committed to rigorous quantitative work and crunching the data, but we know that numbers aren’t everything. Just as often, research means listening, engaging, and making sense of real people’s stories.

We use the best of both worlds: robust data and analysis when it can clarify, and direct conversations, deep community work and methods from deliberative and participatory democracy researchers when nuance matters most. 

Our work bridges sectors and disciplines. By teaming up with leaders from universities, industry, and the wider community, we take on tough questions collaboratively and with curiosity. This ongoing cycle of learning and refinement means we’re always seeking the methods - and the insights - that bring Australia closer together. 

This report presents the findings of the National AMPLIFICATION on Housing, a landmark initiative bringing together Australians from all walks of life to shape the future of housing policy. Over two days, 100 participants, randomly selected by sortition to reflect the diversity of the nation, came together in a nationally representative assembly. Guided by deliberative methods, participants engaged deeply with 13 policy proposals, hearing directly from leading housing experts, policymakers, and people with lived experience. 

Our approach used robust quantitative surveys to understand participants’ views on housing, combined with in-depth roundtable discussions and direct, facilitated conversations. By design, this process sits between simply collecting raw opinions through a large survey and asking only a panel of experts - creating space for everyday Australians to engage meaningfully with the issues and each other. We created a unique process that surfaced not just the challenges, but genuine opportunities for common ground. These findings reveal the hopes, trade-offs, and shared values that matter most to Australians and offer a roadmap for effective, widely supported policy solutions. 

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We spent our first three months exploring the ways Australians discuss, debate and are represented by our politicians, and how this is helping or hindering progress on the big challenges facing our country.  We identified four systemic challenges: declining trust in institutions, increasing polarisation, the intergenerational divide, and the lack of ambition and long-term thinking in politics.  

We then tested our understanding of these four challenges with our community. For example, what do they really mean in practice? If and how are they related? Are they the causes or symptoms of Australian governments being stuck when dealing with major issues?  

How we did it

We wanted to test different models of participation in a range of communities across Australia. So, we ran two mini deliberations in regional and urban areas: a 4-hour session on trust in government in Toowoomba, Queensland and a 1-day deliberation on the intergenerational divide in Box Hill, Victoria. We also held a moderated discussion with Waleed Aly, Claire Lehmann and Bill Kelty in Sydney on polarisation. And we are planning further work on how to raise ambition and long-term thinking in Australian politics.  

What we heard and what we learnt 

In terms of the systemic challenges facing Australia, we heard:  

1. The community wants to reduce the power of vested interests on government, and to play a more active role in decision making.  
2. Most Australians are feeling more divided and want more opportunities to connect with different perspectives and the tools to disagree better.  
3. There is a strong sense that the intergenerational divide is becoming a chasm, but there is more common ground than is depicted in the media. For example, Australians of all ages agree on the urgent need to tackle the housing crisis.  

In terms of our method, we learnt:  

1. Australians want to understand the key evidence and perspectives on the big issues. Trust in experts remains high and the community values being able to ask them questions to dig deeper on complex issues.      
2. People want to share their experiences and for others to understand their perspective. Our deliberation on the intergenerational divide led to a three-fold increase in the sense that people from a different generation understood their views.  
3. These types of community conversations can create moments of deep reflection and connection, but we need to create opportunities to explore points of tension and trade-offs more fully.

You can read more about the two mini-deliberations below:  

Intergenerational divide 

This report captures the insights and reflections from AMPLIFY’s Intergenerational Divide mini-deliberation, held in November 2024 in partnership with MosaicLab. Bringing together 36 participants from across the City of Whitehorse, the eight-hour face-to-face session created space for open, honest conversations about what divides and connects Australians across generations..

Participants engaged in a series of structured dialogues with experts, explored data and personal experiences, and took part in creative activities that challenged them to see life through the eyes of other age groups. Together, they discussed the realities of the “generational contract,” surfaced what makes life good now and into the future, and identified both shared values and fundamental differences around housing, climate, tax, and opportunity.

The recommendations and outputs from the session point to new ways of bridging generational gaps: from highlighting common ground and improving communication, to encouraging more practical, real-world intergenerational experiences. This experiment offers a valuable blueprint for how communities can have meaningful, sometimes difficult, but ultimately constructive conversations about the issues that matter most over the course of one day.

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Rebuilding Trust

This report shares the outcomes of AMPLIFY’s Rebuilding Trust in Government mini deliberation, held in Toowoomba in October 2024. Over four hours, 21 participants from across the community came together for a facilitated conversation on how to strengthen trust in government. Guided by a series of discussions and activities (including a Q&A with independent MP Helen Haines and Senator David Pocock) participants explored what trust in government means, why it’s eroded, and what it will take to restore it. 

Through honest dialogue and structured exercises, the group surfaced the priorities and practical ideas that matter most to people on the ground: greater transparency in decision-making, more civil behaviour in parliament, clearer communication, tighter controls on lobbying, and more meaningful community engagement. Participants also highlighted the importance of involving those impacted by policies directly in their development, and called for ongoing, honest conversations between citizens and leaders. The session underscored a simple message: real trust is built through openness, respect, and continued collaboration between the public and those in power. 

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2024 National Survey: AMPLIFY Insights  

This report shares the findings from AMPLIFY’s inaugural national survey, our first foray into understanding what Australians care about most, and how they see the nation’s biggest challenges. We surveyed 4,000 Australians from all walks of life, ensuring a nationally representative sample by age, gender, and location. The survey explored five major themes: ambition and vision for Australia’s future, trust in institutions, social and generational divides, political polarisation, and housing. 

Our findings reveal a striking consensus on what matters—healthcare, housing, education, economic growth, and justice—alongside deep frustration with short-term thinking and a lack of long-term ambition in policy. Australians want to see bold reforms and are ready for leaders to take action. Trust in major institutions is low, with the public placing greater faith in experts and in each other. There’s also strong support for involving the community directly in shaping solutions, especially on issues like housing. 

These results guided our major events on housing, bridging divides, rebuilding trust, and reversing polarisation. We will continue to run an annual AMPLIFY Insights national survey to inform our work, with the next installment launching in July 2025. AMPLIFY’s commitment is to keep listening, learning, and amplifying the collective voice of Australians, ensuring that solutions reflect what the country really wants and needs. 

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