Andrew Leigh

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC RADIO CANBERRA, BREAKFAST WITH ROSS SOLLY
THURSDAY, 5 MARCH 2026

SUBJECTS: Conflict in the Middle East; return of Australians and repatriation flights; cheaper home batteries in the ACT; visit of Canadian Prime Minister to Australia

ROSS SOLLY: Well, let's talk about what's happening in Iran and in particular, what's happening here in Australia. Andrew Leigh is the Member for Fenner, also Assistant Minister for Competition. Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH: Morning Ross, great to be with you.

ROSS SOLLY: And good to be with you as well. I'm assuming – now, I don't know if you've got figures and you've been briefed on this but I'm assuming there are Canberrans who are caught up in the Middle East at the moment who are desperately trying to get home?

ANDREW LEIGH: Well Canberra is, I guess, 2 per cent of the Australian population, so we know we've got over 100,000 people in the Middle East region, suggesting there’s a couple of thousand Canberrans over there. We're doing all we can, but working primarily with commercial airliners. As you know, the first one arrived this morning. We're hopeful of three more airliners taking off, but it really is dependent on conditions on the ground as to whether it's safe for those planes to leave Dubai.

ROSS SOLLY: And it's absolutely not an option for the government to charter a plane – a Qantas plane or something, as it did in COVID and other times and fly that in there and get people out?

ANDREW LEIGH: The scale of this is massive, and really working with commercial airliners is the best way to go. They have the planes. It's just a matter of being able to take off and where it takes off is the main constraint, rather than the hardware. It makes sense to be relying on those commercial options.

The UAE has been very good in terms of providing accommodation for Australians who are stranded there, and we've extended our thanks to the government for the way in which they've handled that. And we're working, of course, with those crisis teams, having deployed six crisis teams to the region. This is one of the biggest disruptions we've seen to the travelling patterns of Australians, just because that Middle East hub is so central to the way Australians get to Europe these days.

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Closing the Gap

House of Representatives

4 March 2026

The latest Closing the Gap dashboard is troubling. Nineteen national targets - four on track, and several improving, yet still off the pace required to meet the 2031 goals. In areas such as incarceration, youth detention and suicide, the trajectory is headed the wrong way. In others, including family violence, baseline data is still incomplete. The gap narrows in some places and widens in others, and, in too many domains, progress lacks momentum. If outcomes are uneven, our response must be sharper. Closing the Gap rests on partnership, and partnership must be matched with precision. Governments need to know which policies shift outcomes and which leave them unchanged. That requires disciplined evaluation.

The Australian Centre for Evaluation is strengthening that discipline across government. It supports rigorous methods, including randomised trials where appropriate, so policy is tested rather than assumed. Evidence from past trials shows why this matters. In the Northern Territory, the School Enrolment and Attendance Measure linked welfare payments to school outcomes and school attendance. In a study run by Rebecca Goldstein and Michael Hiscox, around 400 children were randomly assigned to treatment, and a similar number to control. Attendance did not improve. The trial provided clarity in a contested policy area and informed a shift towards community led approaches to school attendance. In Dubbo, a study by Isabella Dobrescu and colleagues tested whether culturally relevant exam passages improved literacy outcomes. Replacing unfamiliar contexts with local references produced a substantial gain, roughly halving the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. A carefully designed trial revealed how assessment design itself can shape performance.

In a report last year, Patrick Rehill, Ethan Slaven, Harry Greenwell, Peter Bowers, Scott Copley and Eleanor Williams of the Australian Centre for Evaluation identified 369 published randomised policy trials conducted in Australia since 1976. More than two dozen of these trials were undertaken in First Nations communities. Some of those trials show strong positive effects. Early childhood intervention that began during pregnancy reduced dental decay among Aboriginal children by more than 80 per cent in early follow-up. A Victorian trial found that sending personalised letters to parents increased influenza vaccination rates among Aboriginal children, while pamphlets alone made little difference. A school-based program in remote communities targeting executive function and self-regulation showed gains reported by parents and carers, shaping how such interventions are delivered across home and school settings.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Constituency Statement

Medicare, Broadband, Renewable Energy, Consumer Protection: Subscription Traps

Federation Chamber

Wednesday, 4 March 2026

Labor created Medicare and Labor has always set about making bulk-billing stronger. In the ACT, bulk-billing rates are among the lowest in the nation, and we've worked assiduously since coming to government to boost bulk-billing rates for Canberrans. We're now seeing fully bulk-billing clinics reopening across Canberra, revitalising that promise that, when you go to a Canberra doctor, you can show just your Medicare card and not need to pull out your credit card. We've increased bulk-billing incentives so they cover all patients, and provided additional incentives to fully bulk-billing practices. We're also funding a $24 million plan to roll out three fully bulk-billing clinics right across the ACT. Labor created Medicare, and only Labor will strengthen bulk-billing in Canberra.

The National Broadband Network was an invention of the Rudd and Gillard Governments that was left on hold when the Coalition Government decided that running fibre cables to the box in the street would be good enough. But we know now, with more people working from home and an average of 25 devices connected to the internet in a typical household, that you need fibre to the premises to make it work. That's why, here in the ACT, Labor is rolling out broadband to 97,000 more Canberra homes. That's 2,500 kilometres of additional fibre cable, ensuring people can work from home and do teleconferences, online education and telehealth. We're ensuring that the National Broadband Network is available to more Canberra businesses and more Canberra households.

Here in the ACT, we're also ensuring that cheaper home batteries are available to more Canberrans; 4,500 Canberra households have taken up a battery in order to bottle that solar energy and put downward pressure on their energy prices. Cheaper home batteries have been rolled out right across the ACT, with many households taking advantage of the moment to upgrade their solar installations. With solar and batteries, households are able to bring down their energy bills and have less impact on the environment. I've appreciated the jobs that that's created and the chance to meet apprentices in workshops in Fyshwick and Mitchell, and I know more work is going on across the ACT. Cheaper home batteries are a Labor legacy which will be vital in reducing pressure on the grid and reducing the household bill pressure that Canberrans face.

Subscription traps are one of the issues that Canberrans have spoken to me about repeatedly. We know that subscription traps are a scourge for many households who sign up to subscriptions only to find they can't cancel as easily as they got in. Whether it's an online service or a local gym, people want to be able to cancel their subscriptions with an ease that reflects modern society.

Ends

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Randomised Trials

House of Representatives

3 March 2026

In the 1950s, a significant change took place in medicine. The advent of evidence-based medicine saw that field move from an approach which had previously prized grey-bearded experts towards a more scientific and critical approach, which looked to test new treatments. Streptomycin, the polio vaccine and other treatments were evaluated using randomised trials. This was a significant step forward for medicine, saving thousands of lives. Treatments which were previously thought to be effective turned out, when subjected to a rigorous control, to be ineffective. Treatments which had been thought to be long shots turned out to save lives.

The shift towards evidence based medicine has marked one of the most crucial changes within medicine over the course of recent centuries. Right now, public policy is going through the same transition. Effectively, what we're trying to do with a randomised trial is to identify the counterfactual - what would have happened if the treatment hadn't been put in place. You can think of this a bit like Gwyneth Paltrow from Sliding Doors. In that movie, we get to see both of the alternatives - what happens when she catches the train and what happens when she doesn't. But real life isn't like that. We only get to see one pathway through, and, in evaluating new medicines or evaluating new policies, it's critical to have in our minds what would have happened if the policy hadn't been delivered.

Randomised trials assign people to the treatment and control groups through the toss of a coin. That approach ensures the two groups are identical when you have a large sample on both the observables and the unobservables. I've spent much of my career as an economist using natural experiment approaches, trying to tease out a treatment group and a control group using differences in state variation, using a regression discontinuity or using instrumental variables. But what we're trying to do in each of those instances is to benchmark against a randomised trial; to see what would have happened if we'd been able to put a randomised trial in place.

Senator The Hon Tim Ayres
Minister for Industry and Innovation
Minister for Science
Senator for NSW 

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Lights, Camera, Science: Funding For Scinema 2026

4 March 2026

The Albanese Labor Government is supporting science engagement with $17,205 in funding for the 2026 SCINEMA International Science Film Festival.

Awarded under the National Science Week 2026 - Science Engagement Program grants, the grant will help deliver SCINEMA from 15 to 23 August, giving schools and communities across Australia free access to high-quality science films.

For 25 years, SCINEMA has used storytelling to make science accessible and compelling. Through an international competition, a student film competition and a curated national screening program, the festival connects Australians with scientific ideas in creative and engaging ways.

It’s one of 28 projects that will be supported by a National Science Week grant this August.

In 2025, National Science Week drew record participation numbers, with around 3 million people taking part in more than 2,500 events nationwide.

The Hon Chris Bowen MP
Minister for Climate Change and Energy
Member for McMahon

Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner

Alicia Payne MP
Member for Canberra

David Smith MP
Member for Bean

Thousands Of Cheaper Home Batteries Now Powering ACT Homes And Businesses

1 March 2026

More than 4,500 cheaper home batteries have now been installed across the ACT, providing clean and cheap energy for Canberrans.

Across Australia, over a quarter of a million households, small businesses and community organisations have installed a bill busting battery under the Albanese Government’s Cheaper Home Batteries program, with around half of those installing new or upgraded solar systems at the same time.

Batteries help households store the cheaper, cleaner energy they generate during the day, and use it at night. That means less reliance on peak prices, a more reliable grid and putting downward pressure on prices for everyone.

New postcode-level data shows the clean energy upgrade is being led by the outer suburbs and by rural and regional communities, not the inner-city. Around 77 per cent of uptake has occurred in these regional and outer-suburban areas.

The data shows strongest uptake across family suburbs, outer metro growth areas, and towns and regions where households are already leading the way on rooftop solar.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

From Royals to Roos: Sixty Years of Australia’s Decimal Journey

Royal Australian Mint, Canberra

Friday, 27 February 2026

I begin with a confession.

Sixty years ago, Australia came perilously close to having a currency called “the royal”.

Imagine it. You go to the café and order a flat white. “That’ll be four royals, thanks.” You give your child pocket money – “Here’s a royal, don’t spend it all at once.” A Royal Admirer could be either a loyal monarchist or a coin collector.

This was not a fringe proposal. In 1963, Prime Minister Menzies announced that Australia’s new decimal currency would indeed be called the royal. The public reaction was swift and unforgiving. Letters poured in. Editorials bristled. Australians, it turned out, were perfectly happy to modernise their currency – but they were not prepared to sound like extras in a medieval drama.

Within weeks, the government changed course. The royal was quietly retired before it was even born. In its place came something simpler, sturdier, more practical and more democratic – the dollar.

It was a reminder of an enduring truth in public policy: you can change the numbers, but you cannot ignore the people.

When decimal currency arrived on 14 February 1966, it marked one of the boldest economic transitions in Australia’s modern history. For more than half a century, Australians had used pounds, shillings and pence – a system so intricate that it required the mathematical dexterity of a chess grandmaster and the patience of a saint.

The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

E&OE TRANSCRIPT
DOORSTOP PRESS CONFERENCE
MURAL HALL, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
THURSDAY, 26 FEBRUARY 2026

SUBJECTS: Albanese Government boosting support for Australian charities; Canberra Day Appeal; Hate Speech Law Reform

ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR CHARITIES, ANDREW LEIGH MP: Thank you very much for coming along. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Assistant Minister for Charities and I'm here with Genevieve Jacobs, the CEO of Hands across Canberra. Today, the Albanese Government is making two exciting announcements.

The first is that we are going to be listing 34 new community charities. This is the biggest number of new community charities to be added since the category was created in 2024. These community charities do a power of good across Australia. They're working in areas like Ballarat and Albany, in areas like Bass Coast and Geelong, and of course, right here in Canberra, with Hands Across Canberra. And I'll ask Genevieve to say a few words about the work that Hands Across Canberra does.

These are charities that are out there trying to solve some of Australia's toughest challenges. Australia is a great nation, but we face challenges like mental health, environmental degradation and community cohesion which we know has been under pressure for decades. Robert Putnam's work in the United States in Bowling Alone, and the work that Nick Terrell and I have done in Australia shows the decline in some measures of social capital. And the answer to that in large part, is a rebuilding of community spirit through organisations like community charities.

We're also announcing that the government will increase the minimum distribution amount for giving funds. Giving funds are set up by donors who receive a tax deduction when they create a fund and are required to make a minimum distribution every year. The government's decision today will increase that minimum distribution rate to 6%. This will see, on our estimates, more than $100 million in additional funds flowing to Australia's great charities. Now giving funds in the government's view, shouldn't be set up in perpetuity. But even under these changes, it will still be possible for a giving fund to exist for a very long time without putting in additional resources. On one estimate, a giving fund that was set up in 1980 and distributed 6% of its total assets every year would by 2024 – 44 years later, still have around three quarters of its additional amount.

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Boosting Support For Australian Charities

26 February 2026             

The Albanese Labor Government will improve support for Australian charities by increasing the distribution rate for giving funds and expanding the number of organisations that can seek endorsement under the community charities deductible gift recipient category.

Public giving funds were established in tax law in 1963, and private giving funds were introduced into the tax law in 2000. Both kinds of giving funds play a valuable role in Australian philanthropy. They allow donors to receive an upfront tax deduction for their gifts, while allowing those gifts to be invested to increase the funds available for charities in the longer term. In return for this tax deduction, giving funds must make a minimum annual distribution to charities that are deductible gift recipients.

The government will set the minimum annual distribution rate for both private and public giving funds at 6 per cent of net assets. This ensures more benefits flow to charities now to help them to provide their services, while still allowing giving funds to invest and provide benefits into the future.

Treasury analysis shows that a fund receiving market returns that distributed 6 per cent of its net assets each year could last for decades even without further contributions to its assets. Of those giving funds that have made a distribution in recent years, around two-thirds of public giving funds and around half of private giving funds distributed more than 6 per cent of net assets. 

The government is also making changes that will allow giving funds to support large projects with charities without making excessive draw downs on their capital, by allowing them to smooth distributions over a three‑year period. This provides greater flexibility to giving funds in the type of charitable activity they support and helps ensure distributions can be maintained over time.

The Hon Dr Anne Aly MP
Minister for Small Business
Minister for International Development 
Minister for Multicultural Affairs

The Hon Dr Daniel Mulino MP
Assistant Treasurer Minister for Financial Services

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Albanese Labor Government moves to extend Unfair Contract Terms ban to protect all franchisees