ACSPRI has been running The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes (AuSSA), annually since 2012. A high quality, nationally representative postal survey, the AuSSA was run biennially by the Australian National University prior to 2012. The AuSSA contains a core of Australian based questions, set by the AuSSA Advisory committee, additionally it is the Australian component of the International Social Survey Project (ISSP). The ISSP is a cross-national collaboration project, conducting annual surveys from approximately 40 countries using topics relevant to the social sciences. Each country uses the same questions, although the topic for the survey changes every year and repeats approximately every 10 years, therefore changes in attitudes both over time and between nations can be measured.
The AuSSA also runs as an omnibus survey allowing contributors to include questions in return for a sponsorship fee. From 2027, ACSPRI proposes to offer a scholarship to HDR students from ACSPRI member institutions, inviting them to include up to 10 questions (items) in the AuSSA. The current sponsorship fee for HDR students is $1250 per question (item), therefore the total yearly value of the scholarship is $12,500.
Applications are due on 31 December each year for inclusion in the AuSSA in the following year (for example, applications are due on 31 December 2026 for inclusion in the AuSSA 2027). Applicants will be notified by 31 January (one month after applications close).