Amid increasing debate about which school systems work, Professor Philip Parker discusses if stratifying schools by achievement is harmful and how PISA data can help us tell.
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Many women who experience family violence, many reach out to a healthcare professional. In today’s analysis, Dr Joyce Chia (@JoyceKWChia), Policy & Advocacy Lead at Health Justice Australia (@HealthJusticeAu), asks how we can better equip the health system to respond to violence against women and children. Health Justice Australia is a national not-for-profit centre of excellence that supports the expansion and effectiveness of health justice partnerships.
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Children and young people continue to be sidelined in policy making, even as calls grow for their views and experience to be included. Sharon Bessel, director of the Children’s Policy Centre, and of the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at the ANU, takes us through how children should be central to the move to a wellbeing budget and addressing poverty.
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Since Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme was created nearly ten years ago, its roll out has been closely scrutinised by governments, policymakers, researchers, and advocates. Dr Sue Olney, Dr Amber Mills and Liam Fallon discuss their research into how working-age people with disability without NDIS funding are faring. Their findings reveal a huge gap between talk and action on disability inclusion.
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Sick of watching organisations and communities attempt to patch up the gaps in settlement services, Sandra Elhelw Wright, CEO of the Settlement Council of Australia (SCOA), argues for a bold new vision for multicultural Australia.
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Australian governments have been hesitant to adopt comprehensive drug decriminalisation despite the overwhelming evidence that it will protect the most vulnerable. While the vast majority of people use drugs recreationally with little to no to no harm, some people experience health and interpersonal problems as a result of drug use. Allowing for these people to access support without fear of criminal sanction is the most effective way of reducing the harms drugs can have on individuals, their families and communities.
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Forms are innocuous, dry, and often boring pieces of bureaucratic technology that most people consider as an inconvenience. But despite their relatively innocuous nature, forms play a critical role in the collection of information and often represent a filtering mechanism in gaining access to programs or support in the modern welfare state.
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Globally 5% of people live with severe mental illness which includes schizophrenia, other psychotic disorders and bipolar disorder. Antipsychotic medication is the main treatment option and whilst helpful in controlling psychotic symptoms, they can cause debilitating side-effects. This may lead individuals to abruptly stop medication, without the knowledge of clinicians, which for many increases the likelihood of relapsing.
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Innovation is at the heart of plans to reform adult social care across the four UK nations. In this blog, Nuffield Foundation POST Fellow, Katherine Davis explains that conversations with people who have experience of adult social care are vital to effective innovation.
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At the recent Future/Inclusive festival hosted by RMIT’s Social Innovation Hub, a panel chaired by Dr Raelene West (@raelene_west) from the Melbourne Disability Institute explored the gap between talk and action on disability inclusion. This post is an edited version of Dr West’s opening remarks at the event. Dr West has a PhD in Sociology, has been involved in disability advocacy, has lived experience of disability and has been on numerous disability committees.
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To great fanfare, the Albanese government announced a cabinet that had the highest rates of female representation in Australian history. In today’s analysis, Anna Hough (@AnnaC_Hough) of the Australian Parliamentary Library (@ParlLibrary) compares the gender composition of both the cabinet and the shadow cabinet with recent historical elections. While representation is important, the kinds of portfolios led by women are also analysed. This analysis was originally published on the Parliament of Australia website.
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Representation is critical for effective governance and law-making, and the recent election gives Australia its most diverse Parliament yet. But there’s more to true voice and representation than photo opportunities. In today’s analysis, Yasmin Poole ((@YasminPoole) of the World Bank (@WorldBank) expands the metric of ‘diversity’ and challenges the government to ensure marginalised communities are fully engaged. This piece originally appeared in Election Watch (@electionwatch_ @Government_UOM).
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Amid debate about Points-based activation @simonecasey explores the extent it changes what had already been happening the realm of the digital transformation of employment services.
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Explores what the shift to Workforce Australia might mean for scholarship in this area, particularly given all the interest there has been in how it changes the way in which people report compliance with mutual obligation requirements, through a new system called Points-Based Activation.
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It’s Refugee Week; Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness of the issues affecting refugees and to celebrate positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society, coinciding with World Refugee Day on June 20.
Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor of Law and Director of UNSW’s Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, reflects on the opportunity before the new federal government to reset Australia’s refugee policies. This opinion piece was originally published in The Age on 30 May 2022.
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This week, the NSW and Victorian Governments in Australia announced their plan to introduce an extra year of early education. The plan has implications for education, gender and socioeconomic equity. Dr Rhiannon Parker and Dr Meera Varadharajan consider why this plan is so important and what the Government and policy makers need to consider when implementing it.
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