Lessons from Australia’s past national wellbeing approaches

Lessons from Australia’s past national wellbeing approaches identifies several lessons for contemporary policymakers. These include:

• Historic approaches in Australia were largely successful despite the policy environment they inhabited being less wellbeing-literate
• The importance of creating enduring cultural and practical changes for public officials
• Frameworks that include clear guidance are more durable and effective than those focused on measurement alone
• A public mandate for wellbeing acts as a guardrail against politicisation of the public service
• Environmental sustainability is an indispensable component of a successful approach