Advocacy
Reading transforms lives.
Regular reading for pleasure has lifelong benefits for mental and physical health, education, employment, and civic life. Despite these benefits, numbers of non-readers and infrequent readers are rising in Australia – with particularly concerning rates amongst young people.
That’s why Australia Reads is urgently advocating for action to support reading participation in Australia.
Join our mission to get more Australians reading, and build a stronger national reading culture.
Regular reading for pleasure….
- Improves our physical and mental health
Regular reading for pleasure is proven to reduce stress by up to 20%, and lowers the risk of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. It slows our heart rate, helps us get a better night’s sleep – and readers even live longer! - Makes us more tolerant and empathetic
Reading helps us understand ourselves and the world around us, with readers being 57% more likely to have a greater awareness of other cultures, and two-thirds of readers reporting strong empathy. - Reduces loneliness and builds connection
Research shows that adults who read regularly are less likely to feel lonely, and shared reading can provide an important bonding experience for parents, children and caregivers. - Improves our long term educational and economic prospects
People who read for pleasure are more likely to have higher literacy levels, which has important flow-on effects for education, employment and wellbeing. - Strengthens our democracy
Proficient reading skills empowers people to actively participate in their communities and political processes. High reading rates are seen globally as a sign of a healthy, democratic society.
Australia has a reading problem.
While most Australians believe that reading is important, the number who read regularly is declining.
- 44% of Australians have low or very low literacy 1
- 1 in 3 Australian children can’t read proficiently 2
- 29% of secondary school students don’t read for pleasure 3
The mix of low literacy levels and falling reading rates leads to poor social, educational, health and economic outcomes – for all ages.
Invest in a reading nation
In the lead-up to the 2025 Federal Election, Australia Reads has joined industry partners to advocate strongly for investment in books and reading. Explore our campaign platform, or download a pack of posters and social tiles for sharing.
Recommendations for change
Books Create Australia is a collaboration between the Australian Libraries and Information Association (ALIA), Australian Publishers Association (APA), Australian Society for Authors (ASA), BookPeople and Australia Reads. Find out more via the Books Create website.
- ABS, (2013) Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, Australia,
↩︎ - Hunter, J., Stobart, A., and Haywood, A. (2023). The Reading Guarantee: How to give every child the best chance of success. Grattan Institute. ↩︎
- L. Rutherford, A. Singleton, B. Reddan, K. Johanson, M. Dezuanni (2024) Discovering a Good Read: Exploring Book Discovery and Reading for Pleasure Among Australian Teens. Geelong: Deakin University. ↩︎