Our projects

Information about current projects


ORIMA conducts many surveys among the Australian community on behalf of governments and other decision makers. Because of this, we are uniquely placed to collect reliable and timely data from all segments of the community. Occasionally, ORIMA is required to publish specific information about current projects. Where this is required, details will be published here.


Previous and current projects

Here are some examples of our previous and current projects, including some that have publicly available reports:

  • Collaborative research on alternative sources of drinking water, with Aurecon

    Most Australian communities’ water supplies are under some level of threat, due to changes in inflows and increases in demand. Aurecon noticed that many of their water sector clients had similar challenges to have constructive conversations with communities about alternative sources of drinking water, especially ones that are instinctively less appealing, like purified recycled water. ORIMA and Aurecon designed a survey platform that can be customised to any location and source, designed to provide objective data on community openness to alternative water sources that is at arms-length to any specific community. Aurecon have presented the research at conferences in Australia and overseas, and published a full research report.

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  • Client Experience Surveys for Victoria Legal Aid

    ORIMA worked with Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) in 2023 to conduct a series of online and telephone client experience surveys. VLA provides legal information, advice and representation to
    members of the Victorian community who are most disadvantaged and in need of support. The primary objective of the surveys was to engage with clients to inform tangible service improvement actions that directly respond to client experience, and to measure the outcomes clients experience as a result of VLA services, including legal advice, casework and duty lawyer services.

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  • Core competencies for mental health workforce: CALD and LGBTIQA+ communities

    The objective of this research was to identify the core competencies required of professionals in the mental health workforce to meet the needs of people in two priority populations: people from lesbian, gay, bisexual+, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities; and people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

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  • Victorian Pet Census

    In July 2023, ORIMA Research conducted the inaugural Victorian Pet Census on behalf of Animal Welfare Victoria. An impressive total of 37,460 respondents provided valuable insights about their views on and experiences with pets. The results of the study significantly contribute to an improved understanding of pet ownership in Victoria. The Census explored various topics, including the types and number of pets owned, motivations for acquiring or abstaining from pets, dynamics of pet care, adherence to responsible ownership laws, and perspectives on key animal management and welfare issues.

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  • PaRIS Health Survey

    ORIMA is supporting the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care with the Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS). The PaRIS survey aims to use patients’ experiences to improve health care systems in Australia and around the world. The survey was open to all accredited GP practices that use electronic health records and their patients across Australia. The survey took place in Australia between June and December 2023. National and international reporting on the survey outcomes is due to be released in 2024.

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  • Community use and perceptions of the current classification system

    In 2022 ORIMA conducted research on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications to inform the work of the Classification Board as well as additional areas of policy development. The key objectives of the research were to identify the Australian public’s: understanding of classification categories and related consumer advice; behaviours and usage of classification information to inform media consumption decisions as well as its perceived importance; agreement with recent classification decisions; perceptions and expectations of the classification system; and views on the effectiveness of parental controls in streaming video on demand (SVoD) and online game platforms.

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  • Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Australia Awards Scholarships research

    Australia Awards Scholarships are long-term awards administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). They provide opportunities for people from developing countries, particularly those countries located in the Indo-Pacific region, to undertake full time undergraduate or postgraduate study at participating Australian universities and other tertiary institutions. Since 2008, ORIMA has worked with DFAT (and the former administrator of the program, AusAID) to survey students shortly after they arrive in Australia and at annual intervals thereafter, to ensure that the program is meeting students’ academic and personal needs, and is contributing to the goals of the program. Reporting is provided both at a program-wide level and also a local level, so that participating institutions and relevant DFAT posts can more effectively refine their services and processes.

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  • Department of Veterans’ Affairs: Client Satisfaction Survey

    The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) has been conducting a Client Satisfaction Survey periodically since 1995. ORIMA has been commissioned to manage fieldwork and provide reporting for these surveys from 2014. The surveys involve telephone interviews of a representative sample of DVA’s client base—including veterans, widows and widowers, and dependents—and captures the performance of the department’s service delivery efforts from the perspective of the client, asking for feedback on their experiences interacting with DVA over the past 12 months. The research has provided DVA with insight into the effectiveness of a wide range of programs it administers, the manner in which services are delivered, as well as the differing needs of various cohorts among its clients.

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  • Essential Services Commission: Stakeholder Survey

    The Essential Services Commission (the commission) is Victoria’s economic regulator of a range of services in the water, energy, local government and transport sectors. The commission’s role differs for each regulated industry but may involve setting, monitoring or reporting on prices, service standards, market conduct and consumer protection. The commission engaged ORIMA Research to conduct an annual survey of its stakeholders in 2017 (with the most recent survey in 2022). The purpose of this survey was to assist with the evaluation of the commission’s performance to help maintain and drive improvements in the way it operates. The research used an online census approach, with all stakeholders (typically over 2,000) invited to take part.

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  • Murray-Darling Basin community sentiment research

    ORIMA Research has a team that specialises in conducting research in relation to environmental issues including water and water management. We have ample research experience in conducting community research across the Murray-Darling Basin, including most recently on behalf of the Inspector-General of Water Compliance (a role that was established in 2021 to provide independent oversight and management of water compliance across the Basin). We assisted the Inspector-General in conducting qualitative and quantitative research to understand community sentiment towards water management, compliance and enforcement, including levels of trust and confidence. This formative research has been used to provide baseline data, which will be tracked annually to measure community sentiment over time.

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  • Payment difficulty framework implementation review

    In 2021, ORIMA supported the Essential Services Commission (ESC) with its payment difficulty framework implementation review. We conducted a call recordings study and developed customer journey case studies to help the ESC understand the extent to which energy retailers were implementing the Payment Difficulty Framework, to identify any areas of the framework that were being implemented less than others or are having less of an impact, and to identify the success of the framework in achieving the framework aims of customers being supported to pay for their energy use without getting into arrears or getting disconnected.

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  • Cervical screening research with First Nations women and healthcare professionals in NSW

    ORIMA’s First Nations Research Division conduct culturally responsive research with First Nations community with the assistance of our team of First Nations community interviewers (who are located across Australia and help us to conduct on-the-ground surveys with community members in their local area, as well as to recruit participants for qualitative research sessions). The team is also guided by the knowledge and expertise of N’Arweet Carolyn Briggs, our First Nations Principal Advisor.

    In 2019 ORIMA’s First Nations Research Division worked with Cancer Institute NSW to conduct formative exploratory research about cervical screening with Aboriginal women and healthcare professionals who work with First Nations women. The research explored levels of awareness, perceptions and behaviours in relation to cervical screening, and identified strategies which could be used to increase screening behaviours. Following the completion of the research, ORIMA partnered with the Cancer Institute NSW project team to author a journal article which is now published in the Lancet Western Pacific and is available to view (click ‘Read more’).

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  • Community Perceptions Monitor for the Australian Sports Commission

    Since 2019 ORIMA has worked with the Australian Sports Commission to measure and track feelings about sport and physical activity.  The Community Perceptions Monitor (CPM) is a monthly survey of 500 people, and explores long-term trends, seasonal variations and the impact of high profile results and events.  A flexible module runs before and after major events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, and the Matilda’s recent World Cup campaign.  Read more to see our factsheet which summarises CPM results from the World Cup, and the excitement the Matildas generated.

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  • Consumer surveys on online copyright infringement

    Each year since 2015 the Copyright Branch (currently part of the Attorney Generals’ Department) has conducted a survey of the Australian community aged 12+ on their lawful and unlawful consumption of online content, the consumer surveys on online copyright infringement. In 2020 ORIMA was commissioned to significantly update the survey content and reporting, and we also moved the data collection from a primarily online survey with a small CATI component to being fully online – significantly reducing data collection costs with no loss of meaningful data. The survey has been repeated each year since, and is published as the Australian Government’s best available data on the topic.

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  • Sports participation among lower income ACT households

    In 2021 ORIMA worked with the ACT Government to conduct qualitative research into how to encourage lower income Canberrans to be more physically active. The research involved video interviews with more than 30 Canberrans and their families, exploring the factors that influence participation in sport and physical activity. The reporting looked for novel ways the ACT Government and the sport sector more widely could make it more likely for lower income Canberrans to choose physically active options. This research was presented to the ACT sporting sector.

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  • Communication developmental research on prescription opioids

    While pharmaceutical opioids play an important role in providing pain relief for many Australians, there is significant harm and risk associated with these medications even when taken as prescribed. An increase in the amount of opioid prescriptions dispensed to the community in recent years has created concerns about their level of use in Australia. In response to this, the Australian Government implemented a range of new regulations from 2020-2021 to balance the need to maintain safe and effective use of opioids with the need to ensure patients can access these medications when required. ORIMA Research was commissioned by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (within the Department of Health) to conduct qualitative and quantitative developmental research to inform education and communications strategies about the new regulations and to encourage safe and effective opioid prescription and usage.

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  • The Impact of COVID-19 on Teaching in Australia

    ORIMA was commissioned by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership to conduct a literature synthesis on the impact of COVID-19 on teaching in Australia.

    The review examines impacts on teachers and teaching practice, and students and learning, focusing on the lessons learned from these periods of remote learning, and the practices that are likely to continue.

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  • Designing person-centred robust Specialist Disability Accommodation

    Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) 2021: Qualitative research with stakeholders and residents to co-develop principles and design features for client responsive Robust SDA.

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  • Teacher And Young Students In Classroom by Scopio from NounProject.com

    School Based Surveys

    Since 2017, ORIMA has worked with the Victorian Department of Education and Training to deliver a growing suite of surveys for the education community. In 2022, this included the Student Attitudes to School survey (a census of all Victorian Government students in years 4-12), the Parent/ Carer/ Guardian Opinion survey, the School Staff Survey and the Principal Survey (run each term, covering topical areas related to program implementation or monitoring).

    Results are reported back to schools via the Department, as well as some school level preliminary reporting via the ORIMA Research online schools’ portal.

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  • 2019-20 Census of workforces that intersect with family violence

    Conducted by ORIMA Research for Family Safety Victoria

    In July 2019, Family Safety Victoria commissioned ORIMA Research to design and deliver the 2019-20 Census of workforces that intersect with family violence. The findings of this Census are being used to help the Victorian Government to better understand the breadth and nature of workforces that come into contact with family violence; identify opportunities to build on knowledge, support and capability; as well as build on what is known in order to maintain its commitment to keep improving family violence prevention and response in Victoria. The survey report is available on the Victorian Government website.

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  • 2022 Consumer Copyright Infringement Survey

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for Attorney-General’s Department

    Since 2015, the Australian Government’s Copyright Branch (recently moved to the Attorney-General’s Department) has commissioned annual surveys of Internet users’ activities across several core content types. From 2015-18 activities were measured in relation to music, video games, movies and TV programs, and live sport was also included in 2019.  In 2020 ORIMA was commissioned to update the survey content and report structure to better reflect the range of content areas and the ways Australians consume online content.  The 2022 survey continues to use the updated methodology to explore online content consumption trends, infringement rates, and attitudes and motivators for behaviours over time.  The accessible report is published each year, with the link here to the full report and the summary from the 2022 survey.

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  • Research priorities identified by autistic and autism communities

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for the Australian Autism Research Council (2020)

    In 2019, the Australian Autism Research Council released its 2019 Research Priorities Report which outlined 10 broad areas for autism research priority in Australia. In 2020, ORIMA Research conducted focus groups to define research questions and topics within five of the research Priority Areas. These five areas are Education; Health and Wellbeing; Employment; Justice; and Communication.

    A total of 55 members of the autistic and autism communities participated in the research which included a 10-day online discussion board per topic, a mid-point and final prioritisation poll.

    You can read the report and findings from this research on the Australian Autism Research Council website.

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  • Survey of research culture in Australian NHMRC-funded institutions

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for the National Health and Medical Research Council (2020)

    In May 2019, the NHMRC commissioned ORIMA Research to conduct a survey on its behalf in relation to the research culture in Australian NHMRC-funded institutions. The survey results are being used to inform other activities being undertaken by NHMRC as part of its Research Quality Strategy to ensure the highest quality of NHMRC-funded research by providing guidance and supporting good practices throughout the research cycle.

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  • Online Safety for Children and Young People

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (2019).

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  • Point to Point Transport Survey

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW) (2022)

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  • Girls Make Your Move campaign

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for the Department of Health (2019).

    In 2016, the Department of Health launched the ‘Girls Make Your Move’ campaign in Australia. The campaign stems from on-going concerns and evidence that young women are doing less physical activity than recommended by physical activity guidelines, and that Australians are increasingly inactive, with associated health risks on the rise.

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  • Survey on the replacement, reduction and refinement (3Rs) of the use of animals for scientific purposes in Australia

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for the National Health and Medical Research Council (2018)

    In 2017, ORIMA Research was commissioned by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to conduct a survey on the replacement, reduction and refinement (3Rs) of the use of animals for scientific purposes in Australia. The survey was designed to obtain information about the development and adoption of the 3Rs in Australia, from individuals involved with the use of animals for scientific purposes in Australia. Three target groups were identified for the research: investigators, members of animal ethics committees, and institutional representatives. The survey results were part of the evidence used by NHMRC for the development of an Information Paper about the implementation of the 3Rs in Australia. The survey report, as well as the Information Paper published by NHMRC, are available on NHMRC’s website.

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  • Disability Services Complaints Data (2007-15) – Annual Complaints Reporting

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for the Victorian Disability Services Commissioner (2017)

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  • Survey of rural and regional buses and on-demand transport services

    Prepared by ORIMA Research for IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW) (2017)

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