Every year federal and state governments make hundreds of appointments to regulatory and economic agencies, courts and tribunals, and cultural institutions. A significant and growing percentage of appointees have political connections to the government that appointed them.

Across all federal government appointees, 7 per cent have a direct political connection. This figure rises to 21 per cent among those positions that are well paid, prestigious, and/or powerful. For the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), an important body that makes rulings on government decisions, the figure is 22 per cent after a significant rise in recent appointments with political connections.

This is not just a federal government or a Coalition phenomenon. Our analysis shows political appointments are also common at state level.

Federal and state governments ignore and subvert good process. This creeping politicisation of public appointments harms the health of our democracy, for three reasons.

First, we miss out on some of the best people to run key institutions.

Appointing people based on their political pedigree rather than their skills and talents erodes the leadership of important institutions and wastes taxpayers’ money.

Second, jobs for mates introduces the risk of actual or perceived politicisation of the decisions of independent organisations. These risks range from accusations of politically skewed exhibitions at the Australian War Memorial, to concerns of political bias in AAT decisions.