Guides: Politics and International Relations: Organisations

Organisations

Government agencies

Government departments and agencies are an excellent source of information resources such as annual reports, budget papers, speeches, policy documents, legislation and statistical data.

See the following Government portals to start your search:

Australian Government Directory
Your guide to the structures, organisations and key people in the Australian Government
SA.GOV.AU - About SA
Includes links to South Australian government contacts and directories including SAcommunity, South Australia's community information directory.
indigenous.gov.au
'...celebrates the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and is a gateway to information on Australian Government Indigenous initiatives and programs' -- 'About this site'

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

NGOs are independent organisations focused on particular issues, often working with government partners to provide advice and assistance, or campaigning governments to take action. They can be a great source of facts, figures and reports. These are just a few...

Think tanks

What is a Think Tank?

Think tanks, or policy institutes, are research centres that focus on particular issues such as social policy and national security. They are an excellent source for policy documents and reports. Keep in mind they can be biased towards a particular political ideology, political party or funded by corporations or individuals.

Australian examples

You can find a list of Think Tanks and related organisations on the Directory of Think Tanks.

There are around 40 Australian Think Tanks, here are some examples:

Media on think tanks

Media Watch: Disclosing the funding on think tanks
Media Watch episode 17, aired 17 May 2013 on ABC

The think tanks shaping Australia
5 part series on Australia's most influential think tanks by Christiane Barro, The New Daily, June 2019

The IPA has captured the Liberal Party
by Mark Buckley, Independent Australia, 22 March 2020

Organisations and websites

Australian

AustralianPolitics.com
An eclectic archive of documents, speeches, AV and more. Originally created in 1995 by teacher Malcolm Farnsworth for students studying the VCE Political Studies.
Democracy's Watchdogs
A non-profit organisation which aims to honour the work of Australian investigative journalists by providing an oral and visual history through video interviews.
Transparency International Australia
Aim to build a better system by shining a light on the illegal practices and unfair laws that weaken our democracy. Work collaboratively with businesses, government agencies and community groups to close the loopholes on corruption.
Democracy4sale
Analyses all political donations made to the NSW divisions and Federal divisions of the major parties, local government in NSW, and presents this data to the public in a simple website that sorts donations to political parties by industry category. An initiative of the Greens NSW.
OpenAustralia Foundation
A charity whose vision is to transform democracy in Australia to give all Australians the tools they need to affect the change they want. We create technologies that encourage and enable people to participate directly in the political process on a local, community and national level.
OpenAustralia.org
Part of the OpenAustralia Foundation OpenAustralia.org is a non-partisan website run by a group of volunteers which aims to make it easy for people to keep tabs on their representatives in Parliament.
RMIT ABC Fact Check
Determines the accuracy of claims by politicians, public figures, advocacy groups and institutions engaged in the public debate.

International

European Union
Find information by different institutes and bodies across Europe as well as facts, figures and policies.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
A forum where governments from around the world work together to improve the economic and social well being of people.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Established in 1989, APEC is the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum that uspports sustainable economic growth and prosperity within the region.
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)
Occuring every 2 years, Commonwealth Leaders meet to discuss both Commowealth and global issues looking at different policies and initiative to implement.
The EastWest Center
Based in Hawaii, the East West Center was established by the US to study relations between the US and the Asia-Pacific region.
U.S. Government
A portal to all things to do with the United States Government
Council on Foreign Relations
An independent organization that provides studies and debates into international affairs. Based in New York
Politico
An American political journalism company covering politics and policy in the US and internationally.