In January 2023, the APS responded to Treasury’s initial consultation on the development of an Australian Measuring What Matters Statement. The APS supported the development of a framework for measuring and evaluating wellbeing in Australia’s policy and budget decision-making but called for greater conceptual and methodological detail in understanding wellbeing and its measurement.
As suggested by Treasury, we subsequently convened a consultation session in May 2023 to discuss the five emerging wellbeing policy themes (prosperous, inclusive, sustainable, cohesive and healthy) which were developed by Treasury following the initial consultation. This consultation was attended by Chairs or representatives of the College of Clinical Psychologists, the College of Community Psychologists, the College of Organisational Psychologists, the College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists and the Division of General Psychological Practice.
Our second submission highlighted a number of key issues identified by the consultation group, including:
- While the five emerging policy themes make sense and have a connection to wellbeing, there is insufficient detail about the underlying conceptual structure for the themes and the basis for how the themes, descriptors and proposed indicators were developed. There is little acknowledgement of the depth of knowledge about wellbeing and its measurement in the psychological sciences.
- The proposed themes are not well-described and that there needs to be better alignment between the proposed indicators and the themes.The themes are also presented in a rigid and static way which unintentionally appears to allow for trade-offs between wellbeing domains.
- We also recommend the inclusion of additional indicators in the Measuring What Matters framework, including the extent of health inequities across Australia, the impact of preventative activities (e.g., mitigating the effects of climate change, or initiatives preventing mental ill-health), the effect of adverse social experiences and the role of leadership by both governments and organisations.
The APS reiterates its previous recommendations calling for a clear and psychologically-informed definition of wellbeing and the creation of an independent panel – with representation by psychologists and psychological scientists – to advise Government on wellbeing, its measurement, and the application of these measures to public policy.
View Submission