The policy development process of the Party is a culmination of individual and collective action, that takes an idea and makes it part of the Party’s policy program. Individual members may have ideas or particular policy interests that they hope to see become Labor policy. The Party itself is a collection of these members, affiliated unions and elected representatives who each play a role in the development and delivery of policy outcomes.

In order to see an idea become policy, members or affiliates need to gain support within the Party. Broadly speaking, garnering support sees members make the case for their idea and demonstrate that it is something that is worth enshrining in the Party platform. The platform is our supreme policy document, informing what Labor implements when we are in government.

The process doesn’t end when an idea is enacted in the platform however and sometimes members or affiliates will work with the parliamentary party to facilitate the implementation of policy from the platform.