The Australian Cohesion Index brings depth and context to the picture of social cohesion in Australia in order to drive informed debate and decision-making.

The Australian Cohesion Index is published every two years, combining attitudinal data gathered through the Mapping Social Cohesion Survey with objective indicators from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and other sources. It brings more depth and context to the picture of social cohesion in Australia to drive informed debate and decisions.

Indicators were tracked over the decade 2008-2018. The selection of indicators included in the objective component of the Australian Cohesion Index was based upon a broad definition of social progress, including the concept of ‘wellbeing.’ Informed by a review of international indexes, the Australian index developed for this project comprises five objective domains: the first two relate to material conditions, income and employment, together with three domains covering health, education and community participation.

The objective index score for 2018 is 97 when benchmarked against 2008 (which is scored at 100). Aggregated with the Scanlon-Monash Index, which in 2018 was at 90 index points, the Australian Cohesion Index score for 2018 is 94, pointing to a small decline over the decade of six index points from the 2007-08 benchmark.

Visit the Australian Cohesion Index microsite.