A return to the classics? The implementation of royal commissions in Australia

ABSTRACT

This article examines the extent to which twenty-first century, federal-level Royal Commissions in Australia have been implemented. The findings have been produced from a three-year project which has operationalised a two-stage methodology. Stage one tracked 444 Royal Commission recommendations across six cases to determine the proportion that was implemented or ‘shelved’ by the government. Stage two interviewed key stakeholders with an interest in each Commission to ascertain whether they propelled substantive policy reforms and the reasons which might explain their success or failure in this regard. Both methods led to a conclusion that Australian Royal Commissions have not been extensively implemented in the twenty-first century. This finding is explained by ‘classic’ political science explanations and more contemporary policy-orientated explanations, which both suggest that inquiries would do well to future-proof their recommendations from hostile public sector environments if they wish them to be more frequently implemented.

本文探讨了21世纪的澳大利亚在多大程度上使用了联邦层级的皇家委员会。这个三年两期的研究项目在第一期追踪了444项涉及六个案例的皇家委员建议，看其是被政府采纳还是搁置。第二期访谈了与各委员会有关联的关键方，以了解他们是否实在推动了政策改革及其成败的因果。两期得出的结论是，澳大利亚皇家委员会在21世纪的活动并未广泛开展。古典政治学的解释以及当代政策导向的解释都说明，如果想让皇家委员会有更多作为，进一步的探讨是可以让这些建议不受不利公共环境的羁绊而发挥时效的。

KEYWORDS:

• Royal commissions
• public inquiries
• policy learning
• policy implementation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Australian Research Council via the Discovery Project Scheme [grant number DP180103983].

Notes on contributors

Alastair Stark

Alastair Stark is an Associate Professor in Public Policy at the University of Queensland. His research examines public policy dynamics with a specific focus on crisis management, policy learning and participatory forms of governance.

Helen Punter

Helen Punter is a PhD Candidate in Law at the University of Queensland. Her research examines police interactions with persons living with mental illness and/or experiencing a mental health crisis. She has a particular interest in using research to inform policing policy and practice.

Behnaz Zarrabi

Behnaz Zarrabi works as a senior policy officer in the Queensland Government. She completed her PhD candidature at the University of Queensland Law School in 2019 and previously worked as a post-doctoral researcher on a variety of projects that connected the fields of law, policy and politics.