The McClure Review provides us with the opportunity to 'upgrade' the welfare policy debate and start to genuinely frame welfare as social investment. Prof. Paul Smyth explores that there needs to be a real understanding of what welfare as investment actually means, with the right social policy nous and frameworks to ensure it is not another punitive measure to individualise social policy problems.
Read MoreFamily violence is headline news in Victoria these days. The Victorian Labor Government has established a much-needed Royal Commission into the support system, including a review of the justice system, government, service organisations, police, corrections, and child protection, with the aim of decreasing instances, improving victim support, and ensuring perpetrators are held to account. Susan Maury, Policy and Research Specialist with Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, argues that, as the least-understood form of family violence, economic abuse needs to receive significant attention.
Read MoreStrategic participation in international legal processes can be extremely valuable for NGOs undertaking policy and law reform work. The Universal Periodic Review, a process of the United Nations Human Rights Council, is one method by which Australia’s human rights record is assessed on the international stage. Internationally and in Australia, the UPR is proving to be a useful mechanism for NGOs to engage with governments on issues of human rights and related law and policy. Anna Lyons, Senior Lawyer at Justice Connect Homeless Law explains.
Read MoreIn the modern world, time poverty and income poverty can be closely related, particularly for those without the financial resources to outsource tasks of daily living (cleaning,shopping, childcare). Celia Green reports on the impact of being 'time poor' on health.
Read MoreDo we have the 'right' to a job, with decent working conditions, and to be protected from unemployment? In this post, social policy researcher Dr Veronica Sheen explores the humans rights implications of Australian labour market policy and activation schemes.
Read MoreThe future of national urban policy in Australia has been in doubt since the closure of the federally-funded Major Cities Unit in late 2013. In this post, former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe reflects on the contributions of previous federal governments to coordinated policy, planning and infrastructure investment in Australia's cities.
Read MoreThis case study explains how I used an outcomes framework to help design an Indigenous youth program.
Read MoreIn this case study we talk about how we used digital storytelling in a longitudinal evaluation of a school-based orchestral music program.
Read MoreBelow, CEO of the Council to Homeless Persons (@cphVIC) provides CPH's perspectives on the short and longterm challenges of tackling homelessness in Victoria for the incoming government
Read MoreIn this post to mark Social Inclusion Week (Nov 22-30), Chris Stone writes that new integrated approaches to the complex issue of youth homelessness is offering hope for young people and communities.
Read MoreDuncan Green, strategic adviser for Oxfam GB and author of ‘From Poverty to Power’ offers some tips, observations and concerns about 'Doing Development Differently' that are likely to strike a chord for readers in the social and health sectors too.
Thanks to Duncan for permission to republish the article, originally published on his blog.
Read MoreDr Leon Terrill is a lecturer in the UNSW Law School and a Fellow of the Indigenous Law Centre (ILC). He outlines how Federal Government cuts tofunding mean the ILC is seeking community support to continue its important work – including the only two Indigenous-specific law journals published in Australia .It is rare for a week to go by in Australia without some Indigenous legal issue making the news. Just this week examples include the introduction of Koori Youth Courts in NSW, native title negotiations in Queensland, reforms to land rights in the Northern Territory and Constitutional recognition in Western Australia and at a national level. Complex issues, right? Complex and significant, which is why community legal education is so important.
Read MoreIn today's post, Kate Hauser, Health Promotion Worker at Women’s Health West, the women’s health service for the western metropolitan region of Melbourne, explores the implications of VicHealth's recently released National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey.
Read MoreI was fortunate to chair Day Two of The Conversation\ Informa ‘Future of Welfare’ conference on October 31st. It showcased what is emerging as a brave new world of social policy research and advocacy in Australia. As Labor MP Jenny Macklin observed in the concluding address to the conference: social policy is no longer ‘the Poor Cousin’ to economic policy in the Australian political scene. What struck me as distinctive features of this brave new world?
Read MoreSupporting people into paid work has many positive benefits, but are current 'earn or learn' policies in regards to young people going to help or hinder their economic participation? In this post, Tanya Corrie and Susan Maury from Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand reflect on what the evidence says, and ways policy can be built to enable better outcomes.
Read MorePolicy that targets those groups most in need is the fairest way to distribute limited resources, right? Not necessarily, writes Dr Gemma Carey.
Read MoreCommunity legal centres are dealing funding cuts and restrictions on advocacy that could have serious ramifications for access to justice for vulnerable people across the country.Carolyn Bond AO, national spokesperson for the Community Law Australia (@CommunityLawAus) access to justice campaign, outlines the changes and explains their likely impact on access to justice, freedom of speech and the development of sound justice policies.
Read MoreBy Leo Fieldgrass, National Director of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) and Manager of Participation and Development at the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVic)
Read MoreLast year saw the establishment of the Australian Social Determinants of Health Alliance (SDOHA) (now with over sixty organisational members) and the release of the final report from the Senate Inquiry into the Social Determinants of Health. The ‘social determinants of health’ is simply another name for the type of social problems the community sector works to address every day, such as housing, income insecurity, poor access to education and disadvantage. Public health research has shown that these social issues are the primary cause of health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Socioeconomic position can predict who develops and eventually succumbs to heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease and particular cancers. These findings have given us new allies in the fight to see policies that reduce, not expand, social inequalities.
Below, Melanie Walker, SDOHA Manager and Deputy CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, reports on the recent activities of SDOHA (@sdohalliance), including their National Press Club Address and Research Forum progress Social Determinants of Health goals.
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If renting is to be a legitimate, appropriate and long term housing option for those who choose it, then our laws and culture should reflect this. James Bennett, Policy & Liaison Worker at the Tenants Union of Victoria, unpacks what this means in practice, and shows how rights-based advocacy for individual tenants is able to achieve policy change through impacting on legal determinations.
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