Our history

The Australian National Internships Program (ANIP) was created in 1993 to enable university students to experience policymaking in action through a research-based internship in the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia.

ANIP’s founding vision as a university course combining a work placement and intensive research project was developed by Professor John Power (ANIP Director, 1993–94), drawing from parliamentary internship schemes in the United Kingdom, North America and Europe.

Policy research projects are nominated by Members of Parliament, Senators and the Parliamentary Departments, with students selected based on competitive entry from universities across Australia and overseas.

This focus on policy research saw ANIP internships extended to Commonwealth Government departments and agencies, the ACT Legislative Assembly, embassies and Non-Government Organisations under Dr Jenny Hutchison (ANIP Director, 1995–2000) and Associate Professor Robert Campbell (ANIP Director, 2001–11).

30th Anniversary

2023 marks ANIP's 30th anniversary. To hear from interns and hosts from 1993 to 2023, see the ANIP 30th anniversary publication (PDF 6.5 Mb).