Parliamentary Research Unit

World-leading research to strengthen democratic institutions

Our research strengthens democracy by improving the functioning of its institutions. Our work develops best practice recommendations for parliaments and local councils to improve safety, diversity, representation and public trust. We also examine integrity oversight institutions to strengthen democratic accountability. Our research has shaped the reform of parliaments and other democratic institutions in Australia and overseas.

Parliamentary culture

Parliamentary culture is shaped by traditions, norms and procedures. Parliamentarians' personal backgrounds and experiences also contribute to parliamentary workplace culture. Political parties bring their own internal cultures, while independents come with a different set of expectations and experiences. Our research seeks to better understand how parliamentary cultures are formed and how they can be changed.

Political accountability

Strong democracies depend on an ecosystem of integrity institutions that are tasked with the work of keeping government accountable. To operate properly, these institutions must be independent and subject to their own oversight mechanisms. Our research evaluates why some integrity institutions fail to meet expectations and what is needed for reform.

Our research partners

We work with parliaments and parliamentarians (current and former), local councils, integrity and oversight institutions, and advocacy organisations to strengthen democratic outcomes in Australia and overseas. Some of our key partners include:

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Parliament of Victoria
Victorian Parliamentary Former Members’ Association
Centre for Public Integrity
The Accountability Round Table
Deakin's Centre for Contemporary Histories

Study with us

When you study a PhD or research degree with Deakin, you'll be supported by renowned researchers in your field.

Study with us

Democracy depends on healthy parliamentary workplaces. We all benefit when parliaments are safe, diverse and accessible, and our representatives can perform at their highest standards.

Associate Professor Amy Nethery

Our researchers

The Parliamentary Research Unit is a small team of political scientists. They are supported by an advisory group of scholars, former members of parliament and former clerks.

Associate Professor Amy Nethery is a political sociologist with expertise on public policy. She has a track-record of leading strong teams to deliver impactful scholarship and implement policy change.

Associate Professor Zim Nwokora is a political scientist specialising in the comparative study of political institutions, especially constitutions, political parties and political finance. Zim’s research aims to improve political structure to achieve better governance.

Associate Professor Peter Ferguson convenes the Politics and International Relations discipline. His research focusses on the political barriers to moving toward a socially just and ecologically sustainable global economy.

Andrew Young is a research fellow and former Clerk of the Legislative Council and Clerk of the Parliaments, Victoria.

Featured projects

Our projects draw on scholarly research and best practice case studies to strengthen democratic institutions.

Electing women in the 2024 Victorian local council elections

The 2024 Victorian local government elections were the first to take place after a change in electoral system for most council areas. The 2025 report (PDF, 3.9MB) analysed these elections to understand the impact of the shift number of women elected to councils.

Gender Sensitising Self-Assessment of the Fiji Parliament

In 2025, Associate Professor Nethery and Anne Sargent worked with the Fiji Parliament on a Gender Sensitising Self-Assessment to boost female representation, improve conditions for women MPs and staff, and engage more women in the community.

Anti-corruption Commissions conference

In 2025, the Parliamentary Research Unit, in conjunction with the Accountability Round Table and the Centre for Public Integrity, hosted a national two-day conference exploring the political and policy challenges limiting the effectiveness of Australia's anti-corruption commissions and identifying strategies for enhancing their impact.

Independence of the auditors-general

The Unit was commissioned by the Australasian Council of Auditors-General to produce the flagship Independence of the Auditors-General Report 2025 (PDF 7.6MB) and Executive Summary (PDF, 660KB). Each five years the report assesses the independence of Auditors-General in Australia, NZ, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

The perils of treasurer's advances

Commissioned by the Centre for Public Integrity, The Perils of Treasurer’s Advances (PDF, 1.4MB) reveals how these discretionary funds have expanded beyond their purpose, funding projects with little oversight. Findings were discussed on the Centre’s podcast.

Transitioning to life after parliament

Commissioned by the Parliament of Victoria and the Former Members Association, the Transitioning to Life after Parliament (PDF, 3.4MB) project explored former MPs’ experiences, with recommendations that have reformed parliamentary procedures in Australia and abroad.

Standards for codes of conduct

Commissioned by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Standards for Codes of Conduct for Members of Parliament and the Parliamentary Workplace (PDF, 10.4MB) informs the development of codes of conduct in 180 Commonwealth parliaments worldwide.

Overseeing the overseers

Growing concern about integrity in Australian public life has led to the creation of anticorruption agencies by federal and state parliaments. Overseeing the overseers seeks to examine the the oversight of anticorruption agencies in Australia to understand what role the parliaments should play.

Modernising parliamentary workplaces

'Modernising Parliamentary Workplaces: Safety, Diversity and Representation' was a two-day workshop where academics and practitioners (clerks and MPs) examined the cultures of parliamentary workplaces. Papers were organised around parliamentary cultural change and parliamentary careers.

Our publications

Take an in-depth look at our latest research, available in a variety of formats and publications. For a full list of publications visit the profile pages of our researchers.

Valedictory speeches in the Australian Parliament: Democratic rituals, legislative rotation, and autobiographical self-disclosure, Ferguson, P., McDonald, A., Nethery, A., Nwokora, Z. and Lowe, D.

Has politics become more professional? Career and Legislative Professionalism in the Australian Parliament since 1950, Ferguson, P., A. Nethery, Z. Nwokora, A. Young.

Standards for Codes of Conduct for Members of Parliament and the Parliamentary Workplace, Young, A., Nethery, A., Ferguson, P. and Nwokora, Z.

Standards for Codes of Conduct for Members of Parliament and the Parliamentary Workplace: Research Report, Young, A., Nwokora, Z., Nethery, A., Ferguson, P. and McDonald, A.

Transitional Support for Former Members of Parliament: Benchmarks for “Professional Parliaments", Ferguson, P., Nethery, A., and Nwokora, Z.

Politics as a transitory vocation: a case study of the post-parliamentary challenges experienced by former Victorian MPs, Nethery, A., Ferguson, P., Nwokora, Z. and Clarke, M.

Transitioning to life after parliament (PDF 3.4MB), Nethery, A., Ferguson, P., Nwokora, Z. and Clarke, M.