A Coalition Government and the fate of the NDIS

Despite being our largest and most complex social policy reform, the NDIS didn’t receive much attention in the recent election campaign until its close. We could read something into this about how political parties think the NDIS plays with the electorate, but irrespective of political perceptions and prioritising the fact remains that the NDIS affects the lives of not just its 460 000 participants, but their families, carers, and more than 35 00 workers.

Explainer: How much does the NDIS cost and where does this money come from?

In this post, Helen Dickinson (@drhdickinson) explains the costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, where the funding comes from and some of the debates behind the funding of the scheme.

Social Policy WhispererPower to Persuade3 August 2018disability, funding models

What are NDIS scheme actuaries measuring and what are they missing?

In this post, Gemma Carey, Helen Dickinson, Michael Fletcher and Daniel Reeders examine the role of National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) actuaries, describing their purpose in the scheme, the limitations in the ways they are used and the implications.

Policy and governancePower to Persuade31 July 2018Disability, evaluation, funding models

The new politics of financialised social policy: re-thinking HECS

Finance is changing our lives. Through mortgages and super we now have more debt, and more savings, then ever before. In this article Ben Spies-Butcher explores how financial ways of thinking are changing the way policy makers think and make policy, particularly in relation to HECS.

Finance and economicsPower to Persuade28 March 2018economic policy, funding models

Quarter Time at the Productivity Commission inquiry into social services: who’s winning?

The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Human Services has released its interim report, and Policy Whisperer Paul Smyth identifies the social services sector as leading the match – but is there scope to carry this important conversation to completion? Together with Eleanor Malbon and Gemma Carey, Paul led a coordinated response to the Inquiry in the form of the report Social Service Futures and the Productivity Commission.

Confused about the Medicare rebate freeze? Here’s what you need to know

Last week, the Australian Labor Party announced that it will lift the Medicare rebate freeze if elected to office in the July federal election. We know health issues feature strongly in election debates, but what does this proposal actually mean for most of us? In our latest post, Helen Dickinson explores these questions and more #healthelection.

Rocks and hard places: Traversing the terrain of the community legal centre funding crisis

The economic argument for community legal centres is strong, and the Productivity Commission has recommended an immediate injection of cash to shore up their operations. Despite this, their funding is still being cut. Dr Chris Atmore (@ChrisPolicy; Senior Policy Adviser at the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria) outlines why CLC funding should be an election issue in the run-up to July 2.

Social Policy Whisperer: Planned employment programs for remote Aboriginal Australia are bad policy design

The Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee chaired by Senator Cory Bernardi is holding an Inquiry into the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Community Development Program) Bill 2015. Our Social Policy Whisperer Jon Altman made a submission number 8 to the Inquiry in January and was invited to give further evidence in a public hearing on 19 February 2016 at the Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne. The opening comments to his evidence are reproduced in this blog.

Social Policy Whisperer: Could a new 'basic income' protect Australia's most vulnerable?

Australia’s welfare system does a lot with a little. But the plight of growing numbers of precarious workers has led to calls for a new basic income.

The cost of such a scheme seems prohibitively expensive. So, might the lessons of Australia’s super-efficient welfare system offer a potential way forward?

Social Policy Whisperer: Taking Harper out of the Social Services and Community Sector

While most in the social services and community sector assumed that the 2014\15 Harper review concerned the ‘economy’ and not them (see the very limited range of ‘social’ submissions) it has indeed turned out to be a Radical Liberal push to undermine social services and the community sector by an inappropriate extension of market principles into our community and social life. Even as the Federal Treasurer initiates a ‘reform’ process together with the States we have Mr Harper himself already positioned as an ‘independent’ advisor (representing the for-profit firm Deloites) to the Victorian Government’s current Roadmap for Reform. Push is turning to shove and it behoves anyone with a concern for the future of Australian society to take stock of the situation and develop their action plan.

Is Australia ready to give people with disability real choice and control over services?

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been built to enable people with disability a greater choice in the services they wish to use. However, what if these choices are different to supports that have been funded traditionally? If this is not enabled, are people with disability really being given a choice?

Helen Dickinson from the University of Melbourne explores this in an article originally published in The Conversation.

Social Policy Whisperer: Are health funding cuts a Second Front in the war on the voluntary sector?

In his latest Social Policy Whisperer column below, Prof. Paul Smyth from the University of Melbourne warns of growing risk to our society and democracy from an agenda to defund peaks and fund agencies only to deliver services – "no more no less".

Transforming Housing

Despite some very strange advice from the Treasurer in recent weeks, it's clear to most that Australia is suffering from an acute housing affordability problem. It isn't an easy problem to solve and so the Transforming Housing Project @trnsfmnghousing, at the University of Melbourne is looking at it from all angles.

Issues, Finance and economicsPower to Persuade19 June 2015housing and homelessness, funding models

Contestability in Public Services: An Alternative to Outsourcing

This post is courtesy of Sophie Yates (@MsSophieRae), who posts about ANZSOG research on their blog

Hope for the best Plan for the worst? INGOs an the uncertainty of overseas development assistance

Austerity measures implemented across the OECD have led to substantial cuts to overseas aid and development budgets. In this post, Dr David Lansley discusses the opportunity this presents for international NGOs (INGOs) to rethink how they do development, by providing evidence of what works, contributing to national policies, and seeking innovative ways of combining public and private sector investment.

Policy and governance, Finance and economicsJohn Van Kooy27 April 2015community sector, funding models

Why approach contracted-out public services as a 'strategic action field'?

With the release of the Harper Review, some timely insights from the UK below from James Rees, Rebecca Taylor and Chris Damm. Originally posted on Polity and Politics Journal blog.

What it means to defund the Indigenous Law Centre

Dr 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.

Advocacy, Finance and economics, IssuesPower to Persuade14 November 2014social justice, funding models, indigenous issues

Community legal centers challenged to weather the storm of funding cuts and advocacy restrictions

Community 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.

Finance and economics, IssuesPower to Persuade30 September 2014funding models, law

Doing the Heavy Lifting: Federal budget targets those who can least afford it

Previous blog posts have reflected on the severity of the Federal Budget cuts. One of the groups that will be disproportionately impacted is single mothers and their children, with cuts to payments as well as other supports.

In this post*, Tenar Dwyer from the Council for Single Mothers and their Children responds to the budget from her organisations perspective.

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