Regulators are increasingly recognising the value of behavioural economics in regulatory design and enforcement. And in 2023, it’s clear that the value of the behavioural perspective extends well beyond nudges.

In 2020 when Australia went into its first round of COVID-19 lockdowns, there was a dramatic uptick in online gambling.

2022 was again a year of change and challenge. BETA’s work program adapted accordingly. We worked on some of the most urgent complex policy problems, including skills shortages, women’s labour force participation and energy prices.

Used extensively in market research and economics, DCEs have a number of qualities which make them great for analysing and understanding the kind of complex choices people make when they buy a smart device or choose a course of study.

This year will go down as one of the most challenging many of us have faced.

There are around 1,800 Australians currently waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Approximately 80 per cent of Australians say they would like to be organ donors, however, only 1 in 3 are registered on the Australian Organ Donor Register (AODR).

Remember when we used to travel? A quick flight to Perth for a wedding, a weekend skiing in New Zealand, a few days relaxing with the family on a beach in Bali.

While the world has been consumed this year with the immediate, large and fast‑moving threat posed by COVID‑19, another large but creeping health risk has been looming for several years: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). 

Why did we develop the Behaviour Discovery Tool? Many people come to the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) because they are stuck on a problem.

Surveys and questionnaires are indispensable tools for research. At their best, they are a quick, efficient way to gather feedback and opinions from a study population, and they can be an enormously valuable tool for re-designing government processes to better serve people.