Launched in 2011, PWYP Australia brings together a wide range of organisations, including human rights, aid, faith-based, anti-corruption, union and environmental groups. The coalition works with civil society, government and industry to fully implement the EITI, following the Australian government’s commitment to the initiative in 2016. Several members represented civil society in the country’s pilot’s EITI multi-stakeholder group, helping improve accountability Australia’s extractive industries and strengthen the EITI as the global standard for transparency in the sector.
Following Canada’s adoption of mandatory disclosure laws, Australia is the last major developed country yet to commit to such regulations. The coalition is working with the Australian government for laws obliging companies listed or based in Australia to publish what they pay to governments in countries where they operate.
Through the PWYP Data Extractors programme, the Australian coalition published Abundant Resources, Absent Data in September 2017. The report demonstrates the importance of open data to transparency in the extractives sector, building evidence-based policy and ensuring citizens and governments worldwide are benefitting from their natural resources.