AC Nielsen poll archive

AC Nielsen’s federal polls for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, 1996 to 2012.

AC Nielsen published each year’s federal polls as a PDF: voting intention, leader approval, and preferred prime minister. Its website is long gone, so the copies below come from the Internet Archive: a 2006 capture of au.acnielsen.com for 1996 to 2006, and later captures for 2007 to 2012 and the September 2008 federal vote table. AC Nielsen ran no federal polls in 2002.

Before 1996: AGB McNair

Before 1996, Fairfax’s national poll was run by AGB McNair, face to face. AC Nielsen took over the contract in 1996 and moved the poll to the telephone, so there is no AC Nielsen federal poll before then, and this archive starts in 1996. Kevin Bonham’s Keating aggregation (1990–1993) includes AGB McNair alongside Newspoll and Morgan from January 1992.

The 71 newspaper reports below (1990–1995) turned up in a search of the site’s Trove archive, every newspaper article that mentions a poll, for the AGB McNair name. All 71 are from The Canberra Times, the only paper carrying the poll that Trove has digitised into the 1990s. The Age’s and The Sydney Morning Herald’s reports are only in those papers’ own archives. The reports, with quoted excerpts, are in agb-mcnair-mentions.csv, and the vote figures read from them in agb-mcnair-figures.csv. Irving Saulwick’s “Age poll”, the sibling Victorian series, is listed under “Saulwick” in the Trove archive.

• 1990-02-21 — And now for the first testAGB McNair
• 1992-05-16 — Opinions on flag are unchanged POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1992-05-20 — Govt and Opposition 'run neck and neck'AGB poll
• 1992-06-13 — Labor 'would have won in NSW' POLL WATCHAGB poll
• 1992-07-27 — PM's popularity slumpsAGB poll
• 1992-09-07 — Budget help to ALP: pollAGB poll
• 1992-11-07 — POLL WATCH Keating tops HewsonAGB poll
• 1992-12-12 — Labor seven points ahead POLL WATCHAGB poll
• 1992-12-19 — POLL WATCH Labor holds poll lead in both housesAGB McNair
• 1993-01-09 — Coalition gains ground POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-01-19 — Labor, Libs are equal favouritesAGB McNair
• 1993-01-23 — Polls show Labor is doing it toughAGB McNair
• 1993-01-30 — Surveys show holiday volatilitySaulwick AGB McNair
• 1993-02-01 — ALP stretches lead and people choose KeatingAGB McNair
• 1993-02-06 — Polls fail to recognise clear leader POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-02-18 — THE POLLSAGB McNair
• 1993-02-19 — THE POLLSAGB McNair
• 1993-02-20 — THE POLLSAGB McNair
• 1993-03-02 — Full employment and no spending commitments in Liberal launch Hewson takes up GST fightAGB McNair
• 1993-03-10 — ELECTION COUNTDOWN POLLS | Labor talks about life in OppositionAGB McNair
• 1993-03-16 — Women put their faith in KeatingAGB McNair
• 1993-03-20 — POLL WATCH Voters decided before the campaign beganAGB McNair
• 1993-03-23 — Lib machine adds sting on ballot eveAGB McNair
• 1993-03-27 — POLL WATCH Keating's approval rate peaks at 42pcAGB McNair
• 1993-03-31 — Keating support up since pollAGB McNair
• 1993-04-17 — Labor keeps top spot in the polls POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-04-21 — NSW Labor leads by 11pcAGB McNair
• 1993-04-24 — Gap wider between federal partiesAGB McNair
• 1993-04-28 — Government support is on the increaseAGB McNair
• 1993-05-01 — POLL WATCH Coalition trailing Govt by even moreAGB McNair
• 1993-05-05 — FEDERAL POLITICS Nats play down republic splitAGB McNair
• 1993-05-08 — POLL WATCH 56pc predict republic by year 2001AGB McNair
• 1993-05-15 — Federal politicians' popularity declines POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-05-22 — Keating, Labor slip, but still well in front POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-05-26 — Coalition refuses to overturn tax cutsAGB McNair
• 1993-06-05 — Hewson recovers a little popularity POLL WATCHAGB McNair
• 1993-06-12 — POLL WATCH Support for ALP down, polls showAGB McNair
• 1993-06-23 — Support drops for Coalition, Hewson: pollAGB McNair
• 1993-06-30 — Employers polled on enterprise bargainsAGB McNair
• 1993-07-07 — Government still ahead in pollAGB McNair
• 1993-07-07 — Optus lags in opinion pollAGB McNair
• 1993-07-14 — Long-term tenure for Hewson rated lowAGB McNair
• 1993-07-21 — Fischer will batten down, says HewsonAGB McNair
• 1993-08-04 — PM's popularity rating slipsAGB McNair
• 1993-08-23 — Govt waters down 'no cuts' pledgeAGB McNair
• 1993-09-15 — PM continues to lose supportAGB McNair
• 1993-09-29 — Coalition lead cut: pollAGB McNair
• 1993-10-09 — OUT OF THE WETLANDSAGB McNair
• 1993-11-01 — Bishop pressing HewsonAGB McNair
• 1993-11-03 — Fahey scores in Games victoryAGB McNair
• 1993-12-22 — Almost half oppose new flag by 2000AGB McNair
• 1994-02-09 — 43pc back republicAGB McNair
• 1994-03-28 — Bishop rules out Hewson challengeAGB McNair
• 1994-03-30 — POLL-WATCH See-saw polls now put ALP in the leadAGB McNair
• 1994-04-06 — IN BRIEF Coalition support in Senate dropsAGB McNair
• 1994-05-02 — Letters to the Editor ACF backs public transportAGB McNair
• 1994-05-11 — Opposition reduces gapAGB McNair
• 1994-05-26 — Hewson's softer roleAGB McNair
• 1994-08-01 — Party outdated: HewsonAGB McNair
• 1994-10-19 — IN BRIEF Photographer safe and wellAGB McNair
• 1994-10-24 — Lib leader given six months to performAGB McNair
• 1994-11-02 — NSW ALP holds on to lead: pollAGB McNair
• 1995-02-20 — Green is the colour of the future IRVING SAULWICK analyses the results of several polls and finds that a large number of Australians give protecting the environment top priority.AGB McNair
• 1995-06-02 — Let youth feast on policy not on showbizAGB McNair
• 1995-07-05 — Further strife hits WA LibsAGB McNair
• 1995-07-18 — Waller 'perfect' for heroin probeAGB McNair
• 1995-07-20 — Goss might still hold governmentAGB McNair
• 1995-09-09 — Saturday FORUM Learning to live with JeffAGB McNair
• 1995-09-22 — PM tries to shore up marableAGB McNair
• 1995-10-28 — Saturday FORUM DENIS MULLER lists death, sabotage and character assassination in Victoria's venomous game of politics Life with Jeffrey will never be dull | STATE OF THE STATES A New Series This week: VICTORIAAGB McNair
• 1995-12-16 — Davies gets dumped by Qld LaborAGB McNair

The archive

• AC Nielsen Poll 2012PDF, Feb wave
• AC Nielsen Poll December 2011PDF, full year
• AC Nielsen Poll 2011PDF, to July
• AC Nielsen Poll 2010PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2009PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2008PDF
• AC Nielsen federal vote table, September 2008PDF, cross-tabs
• AC Nielsen Poll 2007PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2006PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2005PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2004PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2003PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2001PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 2000PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 1999PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 1998PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 1997PDF
• AC Nielsen Poll 1996PDF

The same polls as data: acnielsen-polls.csv (1996 to 2012).