---
title: Grattan Institute
type: research
status: active
country: AU
website: https://grattan.edu.au
logo: /assets/org-logos/grattan-institute.png
logo_bg: light
banner: /assets/org-logos/grattan-institute-banner.svg
contact:
  checked: 2026-07-24
  email: info@grattan.edu.au
  phone: +61 3 9035 9881
  source: https://grattan.edu.au/contact/
summary: A Melbourne-based public policy think tank with a democracy and governance
  program — producing research on electoral integrity, parliamentary reform, campaign
  finance, and trust in government. Not democracy-specialist; covers a broad range
  of policy areas.
concepts:
- democracy
- constitutional-democracy
- accountability-sink
- radical-transparency
location:
  latitude: -37.8006
  longitude: 144.9668
  name: Carlton, Melbourne, Australia
  precision: city
rss_feed: https://grattan.edu.au/feed
related_orgs:
- susan-mckinnon-foundation
events:
- date: '2008-11-01'
  title: Formally incorporated, backed by the Victorian and Commonwealth governments,
    the University of Melbourne, and BHP/NAB
  url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grattan_Institute
  quote: Grattan Institute is an Australian public policy think tank... established
    in 2008.
  note: Grattan Institute was incorporated in November 2008, and its founding chief
    executive, John Daley, commenced in January 2009.
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-12'
  notable: true
- date: '2019-12-10'
  title: Danielle Wood announced as incoming CEO, succeeding founding CEO John Daley
  url: https://grattan.edu.au/appointment-of-danielle-wood-as-new-ceo-of-grattan-institute/
  quote: Grattan Institute’s Board had appointed Ms Danielle Wood as Grattan’s new
    Chief Executive Officer, to take up the role in July 2020 upon the retirement
    of Prof John Daley
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-15'
  notable: true
- date: '2024-01-08'
  title: Dr Aruna Sathanapally appointed CEO, following Danielle Wood's move to chair
    the Productivity Commission
  url: https://grattan.edu.au/grattan-institute-new-ceo/
  quote: Aruna Sathanapally has been appointed CEO of Australia’s leading public policy
    think tank, Grattan Institute
  proof_level: high
  url_checked: '2026-08-15'
  notable: true
activity:
  dod:
    date: 2026-08-15
    note: 'Expanded page: real logo wordmark extracted from site header SVG (previous
      logo: was just the favicon), founding funding detail, CEO succession timeline
      (Daley to Wood to Sathanapally), corrected publication titles/links, added Electoral
      Reform Act critique with direct quote, linked Susan McKinnon Foundation as a
      funder'
    checked: 2026-08-15
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-07-26
    note: 'Latest post: Reform the system so disabled Australians can have better
      jobs and fairer wages'
    url: https://grattan.edu.au/reform-the-system-so-disabled-australians-can-have-better-jobs-and-fairer-wages/
last_checked: '2026-08-15'
---

The Grattan Institute is a Melbourne-based public policy think tank covering a broad range of policy areas including energy, housing, education, health, and governance. It is independent of government, political parties, and industry.

## History

Grattan was incorporated in November 2008 as a joint venture between government and business: $15 million endowments each from the Federal and Victorian governments, plus $4 million from BHP Billiton and $1 million from the National Australia Bank.[^funding-orig] John Daley served as founding CEO from January 2009 until his retirement in July 2020;[^daley] Danielle Wood succeeded him,[^wood] then left in late 2023 to chair the federal Productivity Commission. Dr Aruna Sathanapally — previously Executive Director, Macroeconomy at NSW Treasury — became CEO in February 2024.[^sathanapally]

Grattan's own site now states it "receive[s] no ongoing government funding," relying instead on its endowment plus support from philanthropic and corporate donors[^funding-now] — among them, per Wikipedia's account of the institute's history, the [Susan McKinnon Foundation](susan-mckinnon-foundation.md), also tracked in this landscape.[^supporters]

Grattan has a dedicated democracy and governance program, directed by CEO **Dr Aruna Sathanapally** (also Economic Prosperity and Democracy Program Director) with **Kate Griffiths** as Chief of Staff and Democracy Deputy Program Director.[^leadership] Their work covers electoral integrity, campaign finance, parliamentary reform, trust in government, and public appointments — and doesn't shy away from criticising reforms governments themselves have negotiated: Grattan's own assessment of the Electoral Reform Act 2025 calls its $90 million party spending cap "too high" and its $800,000 per-seat cap "too low, advantaging incumbents over new entrants."[^reform-critique]

## Key democracy publications

- **[For the people: future-proofing Australia's democracy](https://grattan.edu.au/act-now-to-safeguard-our-democracy/)** (April 2026) — identifies five priority areas including making parliament more representative, building civic engagement, and protecting the public sphere
- **[Orange Book 2025: Policy priorities for the federal government](https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2025/)** (March 2025) — a governance/integrity chapter alongside Grattan's usual economic and social policy priorities, addressed to whichever party wins office
- **[New politics: A better process for public appointments](https://grattan.edu.au/put-an-end-to-jobs-for-mates/)** (July 2022) — finds 21% of federal government board positions go to people with a political connection to the governing party; recommends an independent Public Appointments Commissioner
- **[Here's who funded the 2022 election](https://grattan.edu.au/news/heres-who-funded-the-2022-election/)** (February 2023) — data release showing Australia's political parties collectively spent $418 million in the year leading up to the 2022 federal election

## Links

- Website: [grattan.edu.au](https://grattan.edu.au)
- Democracy program: [grattan.edu.au/democracy-and-public-integrity](https://grattan.edu.au/democracy-and-public-integrity/)

## See also

- [Democracy](../concepts/democracy.md)
- [Constitutional Democracy](../concepts/constitutional-democracy.md)
- [Accountability Sink](../concepts/accountability-sink.md)
- [Radical Transparency](../concepts/radical-transparency.md)
- [Susan McKinnon Foundation](susan-mckinnon-foundation.md)
- [Lateral Economics](lateral-economics.md)

[^funding-orig]: ["Funding"](https://grattan.edu.au/about/funding/), Grattan Institute — "Grattan began with a $15 million endowment from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments. In addition, BHP Billiton provided $4 million and the National Australia Bank $1 million."
[^daley]: ["Appointment of Danielle Wood as new CEO of Grattan Institute"](https://grattan.edu.au/appointment-of-danielle-wood-as-new-ceo-of-grattan-institute/), Grattan Institute, 10 December 2019 — "Grattan Institute’s inaugural CEO, Prof John Daley, will be stepping down in July 2020."
[^wood]: ["Appointment of Danielle Wood as new CEO of Grattan Institute"](https://grattan.edu.au/appointment-of-danielle-wood-as-new-ceo-of-grattan-institute/), Grattan Institute, 10 December 2019.
[^sathanapally]: ["Grattan Institute appoints new CEO"](https://grattan.edu.au/grattan-institute-new-ceo/), Grattan Institute, 8 January 2024.
[^funding-now]: ["About Us"](https://grattan.edu.au/about-us/), Grattan Institute — "We receive no ongoing government funding and reject commissioned work to ensure this independence."
[^supporters]: ["Grattan Institute"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grattan_Institute), Wikipedia — "Grattan receives money from its endowment supporters and affiliates, which include Susan McKinnon Foundation, Scanlon Foundation, The Myer Foundation". Not independently confirmed against a Grattan-published supporter list carrying a date.
[^leadership]: ["Democracy and public integrity"](https://grattan.edu.au/democracy-and-public-integrity/), Grattan Institute — lists Aruna Sathanapally as "CEO and Economic Prosperity and Democracy Program Director" and Kate Griffiths as "Chief of Staff and Democracy Deputy Program Director."
[^reform-critique]: ["Improving Australia's democracy"](https://grattan.edu.au/news/improving-australias-democracy/), Grattan Institute, 25 September 2025 — "The total cap of $90 million for electoral expenditure by a political party is too high. And the per-seat cap of $800,000 is too low, advantaging incumbents over new entrants."