An examination of Refugee "Women at Risk" in Australia's refugee policy. The passage of refugees from situations of danger to the comparative safety of resettlement is becoming increasingly more complex.Australian refugee policy has a quota of resettlement places for women and children at risk. This policy is not fulfilling its aim of targeting those most in need of protection. This three year longitudinal study will employ action research to examine the reasons for this phenomenon. It will iden ....An examination of Refugee "Women at Risk" in Australia's refugee policy. The passage of refugees from situations of danger to the comparative safety of resettlement is becoming increasingly more complex.Australian refugee policy has a quota of resettlement places for women and children at risk. This policy is not fulfilling its aim of targeting those most in need of protection. This three year longitudinal study will employ action research to examine the reasons for this phenomenon. It will identify potential solutions which will assist some of the world's most vulnerable women reach a situation of safety. At an academic level it will address issues of policy failure.Read moreRead less
Fostering lifelong connections for children in permanent care. The out-of-home care sector in Australia is undergoing transformation to ensure children who cannot be restored to birth families exit care to permanent families. New South Wales is leading the way on these reforms. The emerging Australian policy model, permanency with lifelong connection to birth families, is distinctly different from the policy models in similar Western nations. While the Australian policy goal is clear, practices ....Fostering lifelong connections for children in permanent care. The out-of-home care sector in Australia is undergoing transformation to ensure children who cannot be restored to birth families exit care to permanent families. New South Wales is leading the way on these reforms. The emerging Australian policy model, permanency with lifelong connection to birth families, is distinctly different from the policy models in similar Western nations. While the Australian policy goal is clear, practices for achieving this goal are under-developed. This action research project will engage the New South Wales out-of-home care sector to design and trial relationship-building practices that promote positive relationships between children and their birth families.Read moreRead less
Corporate political activity of tobacco, alcohol and gambling companies in Australia. This project investigates how tobacco, alcohol and gambling industries influence the policy process, by stalling or defeating the implementation of effective public health policies in favour of ones which do not affect profit. The study will develop guidelines for industry-government interaction to ensure maximum public benefit.
Refugee Women at Risk: protection and integration in Australia. The potential for long-term settlement problems for vulnerable refugee groups has serious implications for the wider Australian community in terms of social cohesion and the weakening of the social fabric. Concern has been expressed by service providers and refugee and migrant communities, about the social and economic consequences of the failure to adequately respond to the needs of these refugees, most of who come from traumatic b ....Refugee Women at Risk: protection and integration in Australia. The potential for long-term settlement problems for vulnerable refugee groups has serious implications for the wider Australian community in terms of social cohesion and the weakening of the social fabric. Concern has been expressed by service providers and refugee and migrant communities, about the social and economic consequences of the failure to adequately respond to the needs of these refugees, most of who come from traumatic backgrounds. The research will identify models of best practice service provision and will analyse the role these play in supporting and accelerating successful integration and in promoting social harmony in our diverse cultural society.Read moreRead less
The impact of gambling advertising, promotions, and sponsorship on children. This project aims to provide new and informative qualitative data aimed at preventing and reducing children’s exposure to gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship (GAPS) in sport. It uses a Commercial Determinants of Health Framework which investigates the impact of industry mechanisms on health outcomes. It explores this issue from three perspectives - children; sporting organisations; and policy makers. The pro ....The impact of gambling advertising, promotions, and sponsorship on children. This project aims to provide new and informative qualitative data aimed at preventing and reducing children’s exposure to gambling advertising, promotion and sponsorship (GAPS) in sport. It uses a Commercial Determinants of Health Framework which investigates the impact of industry mechanisms on health outcomes. It explores this issue from three perspectives - children; sporting organisations; and policy makers. The project will have significant policy benefits by providing important evidence about the impact of gambling industry marketing strategies within sport, the decision making processes associated with gambling policy, and identifying leverage points for improving strategies to prevent GAPS from having a negative impact on children. Read moreRead less
Making complex interfaces work for the national disability insurance scheme. This project aims to examine how organisations, frontline workers and participants negotiate funded supports across the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and mainstream services and systems interfaces by taking a street-level perspective. The project intends to generate knowledge about self-governing arrangements and adaptive practices that encourage coordinated planning using case study methodology and novel ....Making complex interfaces work for the national disability insurance scheme. This project aims to examine how organisations, frontline workers and participants negotiate funded supports across the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and mainstream services and systems interfaces by taking a street-level perspective. The project intends to generate knowledge about self-governing arrangements and adaptive practices that encourage coordinated planning using case study methodology and novel digital research tools. Expected outcomes include the identification of optimal organisational approaches and models of sector governance that mobilise and embed interface efficiencies. This project should significantly benefit the sustainability of the NDIS and ensure the system works effectively for participants.Read moreRead less
An Integrated Framework for Developing Credible Indicators of Deprivation and Other Distributional Markers. The existing instruments for measuring poverty have become disconnected from the life events that cause poverty and the deprivation experienced by those with low income. A new approach is needed that is focused on how low-income, deprivation and joblessness produce unacceptable outcomes, particularly for children. Community concern over the growing ?rich-poor divide? suggests that poverty ....An Integrated Framework for Developing Credible Indicators of Deprivation and Other Distributional Markers. The existing instruments for measuring poverty have become disconnected from the life events that cause poverty and the deprivation experienced by those with low income. A new approach is needed that is focused on how low-income, deprivation and joblessness produce unacceptable outcomes, particularly for children. Community concern over the growing ?rich-poor divide? suggests that poverty research must also be better integrated with issues of affluence and inequality. This innovative program will develop an integrated conceptual and empirical framework for identifying poverty, deprivation and other dimensions of inequality, and use it to derive new social monitoring instruments and policy evaluation tools.Read moreRead less
Community Management of Human Services in the Quasi-market: A critical examination of management practices in government funded community service providers. Small community organisations providing human services in Australia are in crisis following introduction by governments of funding practices based on quasi-market constructs of 'purchasing' and 'contracting'. These organisations traditionally based their structure and practices on participation of, and accountability to, the local community. ....Community Management of Human Services in the Quasi-market: A critical examination of management practices in government funded community service providers. Small community organisations providing human services in Australia are in crisis following introduction by governments of funding practices based on quasi-market constructs of 'purchasing' and 'contracting'. These organisations traditionally based their structure and practices on participation of, and accountability to, the local community. Explicit positioning of government as "customer" fundamentally alters this relationship. The research partners are increasingly aware of the practical issues for community management committees attempting to mediate these changes. In this research the emergent structures and practices of community organisations will be critically examined, and their impact on service provision analysed, through qualitative methods and textual analysis.Read moreRead less
Young Carers: Social policy impacts of the caring responsibilities of children and young adults. This project is a unique collaboration between university researchers, eight government agencies in NSW and South Australia and two Carers Associations, using innovative methods to inform policy development. The project will focus on the costs to young carers (their education, training, employment, social activities, health and wellbeing); benefits of the care relationship to families and to governm ....Young Carers: Social policy impacts of the caring responsibilities of children and young adults. This project is a unique collaboration between university researchers, eight government agencies in NSW and South Australia and two Carers Associations, using innovative methods to inform policy development. The project will focus on the costs to young carers (their education, training, employment, social activities, health and wellbeing); benefits of the care relationship to families and to government through savings on formal services; and the social policy frameworks. It will provide a comprehensive audit of policies and services for young carers and care recipients, and identify gaps for future policy development.Read moreRead less
Grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren: A national, State,Territory analysis of grandparent-headed families - policy and practice implications. This unique collaboration between researchers, four government Departments in the Commonwealth, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory concerned with child and family welfare, and Mission Australia, uses innovative methods to analyse non-Indigenous and Indigenous grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren. The project w ....Grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren: A national, State,Territory analysis of grandparent-headed families - policy and practice implications. This unique collaboration between researchers, four government Departments in the Commonwealth, NSW, South Australia and the Northern Territory concerned with child and family welfare, and Mission Australia, uses innovative methods to analyse non-Indigenous and Indigenous grandparents as primary carers of their grandchildren. The project will analyse the circumstances and needs of grandparents and grandchildren in different formal and informal arrangements. It will provide a comprehensive audit of national, state and territory policies and identify gaps for the development of policies and services to promote the health and wellbeing of grandparents and children.Read moreRead less