Projects

BETA partnered with the Australian Energy Regulator to improve the Energy Made Easy comparison website.

BETA partnered with the Australian Energy Regulator to understand the impact of the Better Bills Guideline on consumer confidence and market engagement.

BETA is conducting research in partnership with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to understand what messaging is most effective at improving knowledge and awareness of various aspects of the Census of Population and Housing (Census).

BETA is working with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to conduct research to better understand the considerations that drive the decision to purchase a vehicle that is electric, hybrid, petrol or diesel.

BETA is working with the Treasury to better understand consumer financial decision-making and design and test different prompts encouraging customers to switch to better financial products.

In partnership with the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency (ASSEA), BETA surveyed over 4,400 owners of homes built before 1990, to determine which financial incentives would encourage them to proactively remove asbestos from their properties.

BETA partnered with the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) to design and test interventions which empower homeowners to take action to upgrade their home’s energy performance.

BETA, in partnership with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, conducted research to understand the impact of the new entitlement for 10 days of paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave.

In partnership with the Australian Public Service Commission, BETA explored ways to increase rates of disability identification in APS agency HR systems.

This research tested a number of potential changes to IMT calculators that could increase competition and ultimately value for customers

BETA used machine learning to study whether cyber security job ads are written in a way that discourage women from applying

To help Australians find and book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, the Department of Health and Aged Care (Health) partnered with Healthdirect Australia to deliver the Easy Vaccine Access (EVA) call service from 28 March 2022 to 4 December 2023. Health approached BETA to evaluate the program.

The ABS partnered with BETA to redesign the Census letter and test two ways of presenting the response window to the public.

BETA partnered with the Department of Social Services to investigate why turnover in the NDIS workforce is high and to design interventions to increase worker retention.

BETA collaborated with Safe Work Australia to adapt these existing return to work materials for use by supervisors in Small and Medium Enterprises.

In February 2021, the National Mental Health Commission (the Commission) approached the BETA to help deliver a national survey of mental health-related stigma and discrimination. The purpose of this report is to provide a full description of the survey methods and findings.

BETA and the ATO’s Behavioural Insights Unit worked together to contribute behavioural insights to the design process for the YourSuper Comparison Tool.

The Department of Home Affairs commissioned BETA to evaluate the effectiveness of communication in participants’ home languages on increasing participation in the AMEP.

BETA partnered with the (then) Department of Employment to develop behaviourally-informed materials to guide supervisors in their conversations with ill/injured employees during their return to work journey.

BETA partnered with the Department of Social Services to evaluate the effectiveness of various behaviourally informed approaches on increasing workplace giving.

Building on BETA’s work with the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) on applying behavioural science to the Personal Property Securities Register, BETA and AFSA are evaluating the impact of selected recommendations.

BETA collaborated with the Department of Home Affairs to evaluate the effectiveness of cyber security labels in the Australian context, to test how they influence people’s purchasing decisions, and understand how they influence awareness about the risks of insecure smart devices.

BETA worked with the Quality Initial Teacher Education Review to explore what incentives young high-achievers and mid-career professionals find most attractive when considering a career in teaching.

BETA partnered with the Organ & Tissue Authority to investigate the motivations and barriers for young adults to register as organ donors, and to inform their annual DonateLife Week community awareness campaign.

BETA partnered with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to apply behavioural insights to the design of energy bills.

BETA partnered with AFSA on two projects to determine how to best communicate about the consequences of bankruptcy.

BETA designed a new behaviourally-informed app called ‘Grok’. Grok aimed to improve university completion rates by growing student resilience through reminding students to connect with social groups and delivering practical wellbeing and study tips. We evaluated the impact of Grok on academic performance, completion, wellbeing and belonging.

BETA and ASIC partnered to design and test information statements to help support consumer decision-making about add-on insurance.

BETA evaluated the mentoring program using a randomised controlled trial, drawing on a combination of university administrative data and surveys at the commencement and conclusion of the program.

BETA and the Fair Work Ombudsman partnered to improve hospitality apprentices’ experiences in the workplace.

To better understand how and why people become the victim of cyber incidents, BETA dedicated a section of our research on cyber security (including focus groups, two surveys, and analysis of feedback on the ReportCyber tool) to the topic of experiencing a cyber incident.

BETA partnered with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to design and test different formats of advice.

BETA partnered with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to find ways of boosting the impact of an email alert system.

BETA partnered with the Department of Social Services to determine the effect of behaviourally-informed activity statements on gambling behaviour in a simulated game.

This report informed the work of the Retirement Income Review by presenting results from an online survey about retirement planning, saving and attitudes.

BETA collaborated with the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) to understand why some businesses create inaccurate registrations on the Personal Property Securities Register, and to suggest ways to improve the register.

BETA collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to find ways of bolstering the impact of an existing cash transfer program in Indonesia.

BETA partnered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to develop a guide to help NBN providers present information to consumers more clearly.

All employees working in Australia are entitled to a minimum wage and minimum standards of employment. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) uses audits to keep businesses on track—and we set out to see if these audits could be even more effective.

BETA worked with the Joint Agency Drought Taskforce to research the barriers preventing people from seeking help.

BETA partnered with the Treasury and Westpac to see if reminders could encourage consumers to pay earlier and save money.

BETA and the Department of the Environment and Energy ran a trial to test the impact of bill design on people’s confidence in their ability to look for a better offer and intention to do so.

BETA partnered with the Australian Tax Office to design and test whether behaviourally informed letters sent to tax agents could reduce erroneous claims for work-related expense deductions.

BETA partnered with Department of Social Services (DSS) to encourage more people to complete the Data Exchange survey.

BETA and the Department of Health ran a trial to test the impact of personalised letters from Australia's Chief Medical Officer to high-prescribing GPs prompting them to consider reducing antibiotic prescribing where appropriate and safe.

BETA partnered with the Australian Tax Office to design and test behaviourally informed methods of communications aimed at improving compliance among businesses in the Deferred GST Scheme.

BETA joined forces with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to test whether energy fact sheets can improve people’s ability to understand and compare energy plans—and ultimately choose the best one for them.

BETA joined forces with the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy and Appliances Online to see if we could encourage consumers to buy more energy‑efficient appliances—helping them to save money.

BETA joined forces with the Australian Government Department of Human Services to help job seekers report on time to receive their income support payments on time.

BETA partnered with the Australian Government Department of Human Services to simplify the process parents undertake when updating their details with the Child Support Scheme.

This report was first published in May 2017. We republished the report in October 2017 after making minor revisions.

This study assessed whether women and minorities are discriminated against in the early stages of the recruitment process for senior positions in the Australian Public Service (APS).