DemosAU joins the APC

We are pleased to announce that DemosAU has been accepted as a member of the Australian Polling Council, alongside our leading industry peers. This milestone formalises what has long been our day-to-day practice: to conduct research with clear disclosure, rigorous methods, and a commitment to the public’s trust in polling and market research.

About the Australian Polling Council

The Australian Polling Council is an industry body created by leading public opinion research organisations to advance the quality and understanding of polling in Australia. The APC has established a Code of Conduct and a Quality Mark that help journalists, clients, and the public identify polling that meets recognised disclosure and methodological standards.

The APC’s Code of Conduct sets out what members must disclose when they release polling to the public. This includes fieldwork dates, sampling approach, question wording, response options, weighting, and information to help audiences understand uncertainty. The Quality Mark signals that a study has been conducted impartially and professionally, and that the required disclosures are available for scrutiny. Membership is open to organisations that conduct publicly released polling on political issues or public policy. 

The Council was launched in 2020, following industry reflection on the importance of transparency after the 2019 federal election. It was modelled on international bodies with the same goal of strengthening standards and confidence in public polling.

What this means for our work

As a member of the Australian Polling Council, all our work will be labelled with the APC Quality Mark which provides you with a guarantee that the research has been conducted according to the standards outlined in the Code of Conduct. 

In practice, we have adhered to the APC’s code of conduct since we published our first poll in 2023. However, we believe it is important to formalise this commitment, especially as we continue to grow, and to play our part in supporting those in our industry who, like us, are committed to transparency and maintaining trust in polling and public research. 

As an Australian Polling Council member, we’ve committed to:

• Publish clear methodology statements with every publicly released poll, including sampling frames, fieldwork dates, question wording, weighting variables, and appropriate caveats
  
• Communicate uncertainty in plain English. Polls are estimates, not predictions, and we explain margins of error or design effects where relevant.
  
• Keep a clear separation between research and advocacy so findings reflect what respondents tell us.
  
• Use the APC Quality Mark when a release satisfies the Code’s requirements, making compliant disclosure easy to recognise.
  

These principles are not new for DemosAU. They are the foundation of our brand and a practical expression of our belief that transparency is essential to informed public debate and better decision making.

We’ve also joined The Research Society

We are also pleased to share that DemosAU has recently joined The Research Society, the peak body for research and insights professionals in Australia. Membership commits us to the Society’s Code of Professional Behaviour, which provides an ethical framework for how research is planned, conducted, and reported. It also connects our team to continuing professional development, standards guidance, and programs such as QPR accreditation that recognise ongoing learning.

Our promise

Trust is crucial to our industry and to our business. We will continue to publish accessible methodology notes with every public release, make questionnaires and disclosures easy to find, and explain results in context. Where appropriate, we will provide technical appendices so that practitioners and journalists can interrogate the detail.

Australian Polling Council membership and our affiliation with The Research Society are further steps in the same direction. They reinforce our promise to conduct rigorous research, report it transparently, and contribute to a healthier public conversation about evidence and opinion in Australia.

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