Better Politics Study Australia 2026
The Better Politics Study: Australia 2026 is the largest study ever conducted on the mental health and wellbeing of politicians in Australia. 289 elected representatives across local, state and federal government took part, sharing their experiences of what political life really does to the people in it.
The study was carried out by the Better Politics Foundation and Demos Australia, in partnership with Compassion in Politics Australia and Professor Patrick McGorry. It builds on the Better Politics Mere Mortals study (2023) and subsequent surveys in the UK and Ireland, which led to investigative documentaries on the BBC and RTÉ:
📰 In the media
🎧 ABC TassieCast: Do we care enough about our pollies' mental health?
Better Politics Foundation Australia team chatted with Tasmanian ABC journalists Lucy MacDonald and Airlie Ward, who put this podcast out featuring some of our Study Champion MPs and Councillors in early April 2026. Listen on the ABC website.
Initial Findings
The early data is striking:
70% of respondents say their role in public office has adversely affected their mental wellbeing.
40% of respondents say they feel prevented from speaking out due to their lack of mental wellbeing.
1 in 5 respondents have thought about harming themselves due to the pressure of the job.
Almost three-quarters say that, compared with other workplaces, parliament is the worst they have experienced.
90% are calling for more mental health support to perform their roles effectively.
38
Federal
128
State
123
Local
Respondents
These figures are consistent across party lines, jurisdictions, and levels of experience. They point not to individual vulnerability but to a systemic problem — one that affects the quality of leadership and, ultimately, the health of democracy itself.
What's Happening Next
The data is now being analyzed with Demos AU, the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) and Orygen, with a full report to follow later this year.
Findings are being released in stages; early insights were shared in March 2026, with further releases in the coming months.
23 Champions — a cross-party coalition of elected representatives and experts spanning federal, state and local government — are backing this work, helping shape reform proposals and already driving change within their own jurisdictions. You can see who they are below.
The Opportunity
The mental health of politicians is not just a private matter — it is a public concern. When leaders are exhausted, threatened or unsupported, decision-making suffers, polarization deepens, and public trust erodes.
Healthy leaders make for a healthier democracy.
Australia ranks 2nd in the 2025 Better Politics Index, which compares political health across 10 established democracies. With growing public interest in this issue, Australia is uniquely positioned to lead globally on one of the most overlooked challenges facing democratic systems today.
Get Involved
Be part of this groundbreaking work.
It will take a joint effort to make change possible.
Here's how you can get involved:
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Share the findings: Help them reach the people and institutions that need to see them.
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Support implementation: From developing resources to piloting new approaches.
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Join a working group: Cross-sector groups are forming to turn findings into concrete reforms.
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Fund or sponsor: Financial or in-kind support will help scale the impact.
We'd love to hear from you, contact us:
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Kimberly McArthur - kimberly@betterpolitics.foundation
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Daniel Tetlow - daniel@betterpolitics.foundation
Partner Organizations
Partner Initiatives & Related Work
PWSS, 2025
Democracy Counts, 2025
Grattan Institute, 2026
Monash University
Champions
The project is gaining continuous momentum, with a rapidly expanding coalition of champions — sitting parliamentarians, former politicians, and leading experts in mental health and wellbeing — all personally invested in turning the study's findings into action.
Allegra Spender MP
Member for Wentworth, Australian House of Representatives
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"Integrity and good governance protects communities from poor leadership."
Cr Connie Boglis OAM
Councillor, City of Darebin, Victoria
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"Effective governance is driven by good faith actions and focusing on advancing community interests, without sacrificing our values."
Cr David Meacham
Councillor, Central Highlands Council, Tasmania
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Helen Haines MP
Member for Indi, Australian House of Representatives
Kobi Shetty MP
Member for Balmain, NSW Legislative Assembly
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"Strong leadership is built on mental conditioning and integrity. When your actions align with your values, clarity happens."
Lisa Munday MLA
Member for Dawesville, Western Australian Legislative Assembly
B.Sc (Paramedicine); B.Psych (Hons.)
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"Mental health is as important as physical health. Know yourself so that you can help others."
Maria Vamvakinou
Former Member of Australian House of Representatives
Professor Patrick McGorry OAM
Orygen, University of Melbourne
"Leaders who prioritize their own wellbeing make clearer decisions, respond to challenges with clarity and good judgment, and govern with genuine empathy."
Ruth Forrest MLC
Member and Deputy President, Tasmanian Legislative Council
"I worked as a FIFO sparky before entering Parliament. Same person, different uniform. It's important to remember we're real people behind every public role. "
Stuart Aubrey MLA
Member for Scarborough, Western Australian Legislative Assembly
"Such differing perceptions across my two professions: respected as a Paramedic, and then so often dehumanized as a politician. And yet it's the same me! "
Dep. Mayor Jess Smith
Deputy Mayor and Paramedic, City of Mandurah, Western Australia
Mayor Amber Kearns
Mayor, City of Mandurah, Western Australia
Hon. Jacquie Petrusma MP
Speaker, Tasmanian House of Assembly
Cr Michelle Cowan
Councillor, City of Wodonga, Victoria
Jade Benham MP
Member for Mildura, Victorian Legislative Assembly
"People interested in politics are coming from a smaller and smaller gene pool and we need to reverse that."
Darren Chester MP
Member for Gippsland, Australian House of Representatives
Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Nationals and Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
"A program where those who are no longer in office mentor those who are, would give the grounding so many of us urgently need."
Cr Jasmine Knight-Smith
Councillor, Lismore City Council, New South Wales
"Improving the culture of politics will lead to healthier, more representative parliaments with people from all backgrounds and walks of life."
Ella Haddad MP
Member for Denison, Parliament of Tasmania
Cr Susanne Newton
Former Mayor of Darebin, Melbourne
Andrew Wallace MP
Member for Fisher, Queensland
Australian House of Representatives
"Democracy belongs to everyone, not just the thick-skinned."
Louise Miller-Frost MP
Member for Boothby, South Australia Australian House of Representatives
"The quality of our democracy – our laws, our society, our future – is inseparable from the mental health of those we elect to shape it."
Sharon Bent
Organisational Psychologist &
Executive Coach, Wollongong local government area, New South Wales
Natalie Hutchins MP
Member for Sydenham, Victorian Legislative Assembly
Former Minister for Education and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence
Looking Ahead
Nov 2025 - Mar 2026
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Recruitment and consultations with our Champions and partner organizations.
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1 March: Survey closes.
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March: Initial survey data analysis with our partners PWSS and Orygen.
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Mid-March: First public release of early data findings.
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Consultations with partners on how to apply survey results to concrete changes in Australian political life.
Mar - Jun 2026
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May: Release of PWSS Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplace Survey
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May: New partnership announced with McKinnon Institute
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June: Better Politics Study workshop and mapping exercise with stakeholders looking at effective short, medium and long term reforms in Australian political life.
Jun - Dec 2026
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2 July: Political Wellbeing Lab hosted by partners Localé Learning for Australian councillors navigating the pressures of office.
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September: Second release of data findings.
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11 September: Tasmanian Parliament Launch Event and Program. Led by Champion Ruth Forrest MLC and Chloë Spackman (Next 25).
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30-31 October: Program for Tasmanian Parliamentarians
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November: Study Launch in Canberra, with UK political strategist, author, international mental health advocate and co-host of The Rest Is Politics, Alastair Campbell.