News from around the world

Universal basic income news around the world is off to a strong start in 2026!

In massive news, the Marshall Islands – halfway between Australia and Hawaii – has implemented the first ever nationwide, permanent, unconditional Universal Basic Income. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has called their new universal basic income program “Enra”, and it pays every citizen living in the country a flat amount of around $800 per person per year, including children, without any means test or work requirement. The total cost of the program is about 10–11 percent of RMI’s GDP per capita and is funded by a U.S.-capitalised sovereign wealth fund created under the Compact of Free Association between the Marshall Islands and the United States. What does this mean for the global UBI debate? Have a read of advocate Scott Santen’s analysis and hear the voices of citizens in this piece from the ABC.

You might also remember that back in June 2025, Lee Jae-myung was elected President of South Korea, on a platform of initiating UBI pilot programs targeted towards young people and rural residents – as part of a broader “Basic Society” model in which a minimum standard of living is state guaranteed. Now, the administration has officially launched their rural basic income pilot in 10 counties across South Korea, providing eligible residents with 150,000 won (about $110 USD) per month in local currency vouchers. The program is designed to encourage spending within local communities and help reverse economic stagnation and depopulation affecting many rural areas. Read more here.

Still in South Korea, Jong-sung You – the Director of the Korea Inequality Research Lab(KIRL) and Visiting Professor of Public Policy at the Department of Public Administration, at Yonsei University in Seoul – is about to publish in Korean his fiscally responsible policy proposal for a national UBI in Korea: A Feasible Basic Income Plan for South Korea: To Promote Freedom, Equality, and Sustainable Efficiency. You’s proposal will also be published later in the year in English and will be eagerly awaited by Australian academics – he has connections within the Australian Basic Income Lab from his time at the ANU.

Following on from our last newsletter, where we shared that the Irish government’s three-year pilot scheme providing artists and creatives with a weekly stipend would be made permanent, details of the ongoing scheme in Ireland have now been released. The culture minister, Patrick O’Donovan, said of the scheme: “This is a gigantic step forward that other countries are not doing... For the first time in the history of the state we now have, on a permanent basis, a basic income structure that will really revolutionise and, in many ways, set Ireland apart from other countries with regard to how we value culture and creativity.”

The next BIEN Congress – that's the Basic Income Earth Network Congress – will be taking place August 19-22 at the Toronto Metropolitan University and registrations to attend are currently open. The Congress was intended to be held in the United States this year, but the decision was made to move the gathering to Canada due to political concerns.

But speaking of the United States, the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative has launched in three US counties. The organisation has funded, with $50 million, GMI studies in three rural counties where each participating family will receive $1,500 per month for 16 months to spend on food, business, rent, or whatever they need most. Their goal is to demonstrate UBI efficacy in counties in all 50 states, while also providing data into UBIdata – one of the UBI projects that the Income To Support All (ITSA) Foundation is helping to fund – to prove that basic income works.

PS. Looking for more evidence for your next debate over the dinner table that even when income is guaranteed over a lifetime, people don’t stop working or contributing to their community? Take a look at this natural UBI experiment from Brazil.

News from Australia

In Australia, the South Australian Greens have announced a living wage for artists at the center of their pre-election arts policy. Party leader Robert Simms said he wanted to return to the years of the past when “South Australia had established a reputation as the leader for the arts”. Under the Greens’ proposal, a pilot project over two years would pay 100 eligible artists, musicians, dancers, theatre makers, filmmakers and writers. Read more here.

Basic Income Australia Co-Director Jessica Chew also appeared in the media once more, discussing BIA’s policy proposal for a UBI with Adelaide Drive. It’s a detailed chat! Listen to the conversation, starting at 1:02:45, here.

Across March, the Australian Basic Income Lab is supporting a series of public talks being delivered by world-leading basic income researcher Professor Matthew Johnson (Common Sense Policy Group, Northumbria University - UK). Matthew is also author of Basic Income - The Policy That Changes Everything (Bristol University Press, 2025). The first event was held in Sydney and online at the start of the month, but if you are based in Melbourne or Brisbane, the upcoming events are being held March 16 at Monash University and March 23 at the University of Queensland. Find out more here.

Last newsletter, we also talked about Basic Income Australia’s development of a custom-coded membership communication tool, drawing inspiration from the ‘telephone tree’ strategy of the Civil Rights movements — keeping a grassroots ethos at the center of our organising. The infrastructure of our tool has now been built and entered the testing phase! We can’t wait to share more soon.

Upcoming events

We have a special event – Deep discussion: Climate Change and Universal Basic Income – coming up on Wednesday 25 March on Zoom. How does climate change intersect with the fight for UBI? Could UBI support people through climate shocks, job transitions, and rising costs of living, or does it risk becoming a distraction from deeper structural change? Who bears the economic burden of climate breakdown, and what would a just response actually look like? Join the group for a deep discussion on the links between climate justice, economic security, and basic income. Find the event details here.

And of course, we’re always keeping things ticking over with our regular action and operations meetings. More details are on our website. If you want to get involved, there’s no shortage of ways to jump in – please get in touch!

contact@basicincomeaustralia.com