Values and Principles

Values

Leadership

We empower Australians to be the best they can be.

Unity

We are creating a shared vision and positive future for all Australians.

Inclusion

We welcome and encourage participation from people from all walks of life.

Integrity

We are ethical and evidence-based in our work.

Respect

We listen to and value all views.

Principles

Leadership

We empower government, political, business and community leaders, and the public, through demonstrated actions and guidance to show that everyone has the capacity, capability and role to play in improving and participating in Australia’s democracy.

Collective action

We develop strong and productive partnerships and relationships across all sectors and the community as we believe the best results arise from collective action. This includes ensuring the voices and participation of marginalised communities and groups.

Holistic

We understand Australia’s democratic issues are not caused by one or a few factors, but by numerous and complex interrelated, interconnected and interdependent factors, and that real and sustainable change will only occur if all these are addressed. We take a transdisciplinary approach to our work.

Constructive

We do not just advocate, call for action, produce shelf-ware reports or merely develop policy solutions and hope they are adopted. We work with other organisations, politicians, governments, business and the public to collectively and constructively create the change we seek, with a strong emphasis on the “how”.

Ambitious

Whilst we are practical, we also believe that the biggest barrier to achieving change is limiting what we think is achievable. Where appropriate, we challenge the status quo of the existing system rather than conforming our initiatives to fit in within it.

Indigenous justice

We acknowledge the ongoing structural and systemic barriers that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face and the effects this has on their voice and ability to participate in the social and political process. We also acknowledge Indigenous peoples, cultures and knowledges from a positive and strengths-based perspective, and that Australia is in the unique and privileged position of being the only country in the world to learn from the oldest living cultures in the world. We work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to ensure that our democracy is more inclusive, just and fair for First Nations peoples, based on the belief that a democratic Australia can only exist once Indigenous justice is achieved.