The 2026 cohort brought together 5 federal and 13 state and territory representatives from across Australia and the major political parties.

The McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership is Australia’s only organisation dedicated to strengthening the capability of our ministers, governments and parliaments — developing the capacity to lead with vision, act with integrity, renew the system we all rely on and build the relationships through which real change is made.

The Institute is part of McKinnon’s broader commitment to strengthening political leadership across its full arc — identifying and inspiring the next generation of political leaders, developing capability through the McKinnon Institute, and recognising and celebrating excellence through the McKinnon Prize.

The 2026 program was led by Co-Facilitators Dr Susan Close and Raj Nahna, and ran from June to September across Melbourne, the Adelaide Hills and Canberra.

Across the Residential Intensive and final Workshop, the cohort worked with a range of experienced leaders and practitioners, including Dr Pradeep Philip and Rosemary Huxtable on working with the public service, the Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO on navigating a changing world order, Dr Kate Torney on changing institutions, Yaron Finkelstein and Angela Buckingham on capturing attention for purpose, Jacqui Louder on resilience and working in teams, Greg Combet on identifying and responding to early signals of change, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann on managing capital, Jeff Whalan AO on personal leadership, and the Hon Simon Birmingham on the work worth doing.