---
title: newDemocracy Foundation
type: research
status: active
country: AU
website: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au
logo: /assets/org-logos/newdemocracy.jpg
contact:
  checked: 2026-07-24
  email: iain.walker@newdemocracy.com.au
  source: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au
summary: An independent, non-partisan Australian research and development organisation
  that designs and runs real-world deliberative democracy trials using randomly selected
  citizens.
concepts:
- citizens-assembly
- deliberative-democracy
- sortition
- isegoria
- cognitive-division-of-labour
location:
  latitude: -33.8688
  longitude: 151.2093
  name: Sydney, Australia
  precision: city
rss_feed: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/feed
events:
- date: '2007-01-01'
  title: newDemocracy Foundation launched — one of the first organisations worldwide
    dedicated exclusively to citizens' assemblies
  url: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/history/
  quote: The newDemocracy Foundation was launched in 2007, with Luca Belgiorno-Nettis,
    Lyn Carson, Kathy Jones and Ian Marsh as the inaugural directors.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
- date: '2009-01-01'
  title: Australian Citizens' Parliament — 150 citizens deliberate on strengthening
    Australia's democracy
  url: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/history/
  quote: Our first big project was the Australian Citizens’ Parliament in 2009, which
    was an Australian Research Centre-funded citizens’ assembly involving 150 Australians
    deliberating on how to strengthen Australia’s system of government.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
- date: '2017-01-01'
  title: Democracy R&D international network founded with newDemocracy as a founding
    member
  url: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/history/
  quote: Luca had a 30-year career in Transfield, a large infrastructure and engineering
    company founded by his father.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: false
- date: '2018-01-01'
  title: Helps design Ostbelgien's permanent Citizens' Council — world's first embedded
    in a parliament
  url: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/history/
  quote: Still in 2018, we were invited to travel to Belgium with a several other
    academics and practitioners to consult on what would become the world’s first
    permanent Citizens’ Council in Eupen, the capital of the autonomous Ostbelgien
    region.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: true
activity:
  rss:
    date: 2026-07-03
    note: 'Latest post: A New Political Party: Why?'
    url: https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/2026/07/03/a-new-political-party-why/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-new-political-party-why
    checked: 2026-08-17
last_checked: '2026-06-15'
---

newDemocracy is one of Australia's most active organisations in the deliberative democracy space. It conducts real-world trials using random selection and deliberation — the jury model — to show that citizens, given good information and time to deliberate, can reach considered decisions on complex public issues.

The foundation is non-partisan and works across government, community, and institutional settings. It publishes research on what works, what doesn't, and why — with the explicit goal of making deliberative methods a normal part of democratic governance rather than an experimental curiosity.

## Approach

newDemocracy's core argument is that the adversarial, partisan nature of representative democracy produces poor decisions on long-term or complex issues, and that randomly selected citizens' assemblies and juries consistently outperform what elected bodies produce when given the same brief. Their work is empirical — they run trials, document outcomes, and publish findings.

## Key people

- **Luca Belgiorno-Nettis** — founder and principal funder of the newDemocracy Foundation. A Sydney-based infrastructure developer and philanthropist who became a significant advocate for deliberative democracy in Australia after growing disillusioned with conventional politics.[^newdem]
- **Iain Walker** — Executive Director since 2011, leading over 20 citizens' jury and assembly trials for state and local governments.[^ndf-exec]
- **[Nicholas Gruen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Gruen)** — prominent economist and longstanding collaborator, who has presented to DOD on deliberative democracy and the concept of isegoria. One of newDemocracy's most visible intellectual contributors. [See 2017 presentation](../../blog/posts/2017-08-21-podcast.md)

## Links

- Website: [newdemocracy.com.au](https://www.newdemocracy.com.au)

## See also

- [Citizens' Assembly](../concepts/citizens-assembly.md)
- [Sortition](../concepts/sortition.md)
- [Isegoria](../concepts/isegoria.md)
- [Cognitive Division of Labour](../concepts/cognitive-division-of-labour.md)
- [Citizens' Democracy: Presentations and Q&A](../../blog/posts/2017-08-21-podcast.md) — Nicholas Gruen and Hubertus Hofkirchner present to DOD, 2017
- [Isegoria: The Way Citizens' Juries Deliver It, How Elections Destroy It](../../blog/posts/2020-03-20.md) — Nicholas Gruen in conversation with DOD, 2020
- [G1000](g1000.md)
- [MASS LBP](mass-lbp.md)
- [DemocracyNext](democracy-next.md)

[^newdem]: "The newDemocracy Foundation was launched in 2007, with Luca Belgiorno-Nettis... as the inaugural directors." and "Luca had a 30-year career in Transfield, a large infrastructure and engineering company founded by his father," newDemocracy Foundation, [History](https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/history/).
[^ndf-exec]: "Iain Walker is Executive Director of the newDemocracy Foundation (nDF) in Australia, a role he has held since 2011." newDemocracy Foundation, [Board and Executive](https://www.newdemocracy.com.au/board-and-executive/).