The Centre for Policy Development (CPD) welcomes today’s release of the updated Measuring What Matters dashboard by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). As the government commits to key economic reforms on the back of its Economic Reform Roundtable, this release is a timely reminder of the need to track how Australians are faring, alongside topline productivity and GDP.
The dashboard brings together more than 50 metrics that aim to give a clearer picture of how healthy, sustainable, secure, cohesive and prosperous we are.
“It’s encouraging to see the government broaden its focus from quick, short-term fixes to long-term economic reform,” said CPD CEO Andrew Hudson. “Staying the course on this will require us to keep an eye on not just traditional economic metrics, but the direction in which our long-term wellbeing is trending. These measures will light the path.
“For example, is the Treasurer’s post-roundtable goal of a better tax system reducing inequality? Is the goal of building a skilled and adaptable workforce leading to more job opportunities, more secure jobs and better job satisfaction? Without having this information in one place, we’d be driving blind.”
This year’s update showed significant improvements in timeliness of data, with many metrics having 2024, and sometimes 2025, data points.
While up to date metrics like those provided through Measuring What Matters are a key element of success, Hudson stressed the importance of moving from measurement to action.
A recent Auditor-General report on the design and implementation of the framework found that it was largely effective, but that Treasury did not have arrangements in place to assess if the framework was meeting its policy objective.
“Embedding Measuring What Matters into the way the government works and makes decisions will help to ensure decisions are made in the interests of the Australian people. It will drive a more efficient use of public money, a more capable and effective government, and better quality of life for people now and into the future,” said Hudson.
“We hope to see the Measuring What Matters dashboard and framework guide the government’s productivity and economic reform agenda, with an ultimate view to purposeful reforms that build an equitable, inclusive, and sustainable society.”
Income and wealth inequality: The Gini coefficient for income has worsened over the long term, increasing from 0.298 in 2002-03 to 0.3075 in 2022-23 (a lower Gini coefficient represents more equal income distribution).
On the other hand, the Gini coefficient for wealth has improved over the long term, from 0.610 in 2002-03 to 0.584 in 2022-23.
Childhood development: The proportion of children developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census is down to 52.9% in 2024, from 54.8% in 2021, and 55.4% in 2018.
Economic resilience: Australia’s ranking out of 145 countries in the Economic Complexity Index dropped one place to 105th in 2023, and has dropped 41 places since 2003.
Acceptance of diversity dropped in 2024, with 71% of people agreeing that “accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger”, down from 78% in 2023. However this measure has improved since 2018 when it was 63%.
National safety: The proportion of people who feel ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’ based on views of world events has dropped significantly from 62% to 51% from 2024 to 2025. This has also dropped significantly over time from 91% in 2005.
Access to care and support services: The proportion of people with a disability who need more formal assistance than they are currently receiving is at 39.4% in 2022, up from 37.5% in 2018. The proportion of people aged 65 years and over who need more formal assistance than they are currently receiving is at 15.4% in 2022, up from 9.7% in 2018.
