Randomised trials in Australian public policy: a review

Randomised trials are a powerful tool for estimating the ‘causal effects’ of a program or policy; that is, for separating correlation from causation.

While randomised trials could be used far more often in policymaking in Australia, their use is growing. At the same time, advances are being made in how randomised trials can be conducted in an ethical and cost-effective way.

This report starts by taking stock of the published randomised policy trials that have been conducted in Australia. This is followed by a series of case studies, illustrating how randomised trials have informed policy decisions across various policy domains. The report then turns to the fundamental question of the ethics and cultural appropriateness of randomised trials. It concludes with a discussion of future directions for randomised policy trials in Australia.