What are the most effective strategies for getting more Australians reading? This new research project provides insights and takeaways for the industry.
Reaching Australian readers: Testing behavioural strategies to increase recreational reading is a new report from Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia in collaboration with Creative Australia and Australia Reads.
The report builds on the findings from the Understanding Australian readers report (2025), which identified the drivers and barriers to recreational reading and identified four priority segments for the industry to target: Engaged, Ambivalent, Aspirational and Lapsed readers.
This new project takes the research a step further by testing strategies on these priority segments to discover which will be most effective at shifting the reading intentions of Australians.
Reaching Australian readers offers valuable insights for publishers, booksellers, librarians and the broader literary industry on what messages and mechanisms are most likely to get Australians reading more.
Read the full report
Download the full Reaching Australian readers report to discover effective strategies for getting more Australians reading.
Research aims
To test which behavioural strategies are most effective at
increasing recreational reading intentions among
priority audience segments: Engaged, Ambivalent,
Aspirational and Lapsed (as developed in the Understanding Australian readers report).
The project prioritised, developed, and
experimentally tested eight strategies on 1,200+ Australians aged 15+ to explore which had the greatest impact on increasing intentions to read.
About BehaviourWorks Australia
BehaviourWorks Australia is the largest applied behaviour change research unit in Australia.
Part of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI), BehaviourWorks Australia brings leading behaviour change researchers and practitioners together to find behavioural solutions to social, environmental and organisational problems.
About the Researchers
Dr Breanna Wright
Dr Breanna Wright is a Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Health and Social Portfolio at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash University. Breanna specialises in unpacking complex problems using behavioural science to understand the drivers and barriers to specific behaviours. She has also done a lot of working understanding how differences between people can influence their behaviours and the types of solutions that are most likely to work.
Alyse Lennox
Alyse Lennox is a Senior Research Officer in the Health and Social Portfolio at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash University. Alyse has worked across a range of topic areas and specialises in evidence reviews and qualitative research to understand behavioural problems, explore behavioural drivers and barriers and inform the development of behaviour change solutions.
Dr Fernanda Mata
Dr Fernanda Mata is a Research Fellow in the Health and Social Portfolio at BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash University. Fernanda uses behavioural science to explore the drivers and barriers that influence behaviour, helping to address complex challenges. With a strong foundation in quantitative research methods, she has a keen interest in leveraging data-driven insights to inform the design and evaluation of behavioural interventions tailored to diverse audiences.
