Postal address: The Australia Institute Ltd, LPO Box 5096, University of Canberra, BRUCE ACT 2617 ABN: 90 061 969 284 Tel: 02 6206 8700 Email: accounts@tai.org.au

The Australia Institute’s funding has been steadily becoming more diverse in recent years and we are proud to acknowledge individuals and philanthropic trusts who donate to us. For example, for the past two years the Morawetz Social Justice Fund has provided a matching grant of up to $20,000. We are glad to say that both of these grants have been matched in full by a large number of small donors. Similarly, the Institute has a growing number of monthly donors who provide donations of between $5 and $200 per month. However, when the Institute is commissioned by an organisation to undertake a specific piece of research we always disclose this information in the acknowledgements of the report. Examples include: we were commissioned by Citibank to undertake research into the financial literacy of consumers, we were commissioned by ICOMP to undertake research into the role of internet search engines and online retail (and our acknowledgement stated that “ICOMP is sponsored by Microsoft as well as member contributions”) and beyondblue provided financial support for last year’s paper on the impact of work hours and workplace culture on employees’ physical and mental health. Similarly, we have been commissioned by some unions and NGOs to perform specific pieces of analysis. Again, such support is acknowledged in the front of our reports. That said, such commissioned research accounts for a small proportion of both our revenue and our research output.

2. Do you have a policy of not disclosing your funders? If so, would you please explain why? The Institute receives donations from a large number of people and we do not disclose any of their private information. As discussed above, the Kantor family is by far the largest donor to the Institute and this has been widely known for a decade. Again, this is only known because the family decided to let it be known. Similarly, the Morawetz Social Justice Fund is happy for the Institute to acknowledge its support and we are proud to do so.

3. If a topic arises during a media appearance in which one of your major funders has a vested interest, would your staff feel it proper to disclose that fact? If not, why not?

Yes, but given our funding sources this is hypothetical. Again, if the Institute was commissioned to perform a particular piece of research then the funding would be explicitly acknowledged at the front of the report. 4. If asked by the moderator or interviewer to disclose whether any of your funders have an interest in the matter, would your staff do so, without necessarily disclosing the name(s) of the funder(s) concerned? I am sure that the vast majority of our donors have a strong personal interest in The Australia Institute's research agenda and, in turn, that is why they donate to us. If an organisation has commissioned the Institute to undertake a particular piece of research this would be acknowledged in the front of our report and as such, staff would be able to confirm this if asked by a moderator or interviewer.