Episodes over the past decade demonstrate how economic levers are being used to impose costs and reshape incentives without crossing traditional thresholds of conflict. This report argues for strengthening the connective tissue between policy, intelligence, economic and security functions so that information flows more freely, preparedness is built collectively and joint capabilities can withstand pressure.

The Australia-European Union Security and Defence Partnership was signed on 24 March 2026. The partnership represents a significant step in EU–Australia relations, elevating cooperation beyond its traditional focus on trade and investment. This explainer describes what the partnership entails and highlights what it needs to become successful and impactful.

Northern Australia sits at the centre of Australia’s defence strategy. Defence activity in the north is increasingly tied to regional economic stability, infrastructure development and the growth of defence-supporting industries. Yet Australia’s northern defence posture has moved through cycles of attention and neglect. This report introduces a new conceptual framework to close that gap.

This explainer assesses how the Trump Administration’s approach to United States intelligence is affecting, and will affect in the future, Australia’s national intelligence community and by extension its national interests. It concludes that Australia should enhance the fields in which it has, or can develop, genuine sovereign intelligence capabilities and thinking.

The report warns Australia’s social cohesion is under sustained pressure. It argues that social cohesion should be treated as a core pillar of national security, aligning leadership, policing, education, regulation and community investment around three objectives: protecting freedom while maintaining order, enabling disagreement without disorder and rebuilding a shared sense of belonging.