Resources

This report released by Wanslea in Western Australia seeks to build the evidence base on the impacts of caring on the mental, physical, social and financial health of grandparent carers, investigate service gaps, and explore the commonalities and differences in the experiences of grandparent carers. The study found that caring comes with significant costs to grandparent carers’ wellbeing with common challenges including poverty, health and navigating systems.

A new report from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse examines carer recruitment, training and support policies and processes in Australia that aim to enhance the safety of children in out-of-home care (OOHC) and prevent sexual abuse. The research found that considerable attention is paid to the issue of child sexual abuse in OOHC. However, a number of significant barriers to preventing child sexual abuse are identified, including difficulties in attracting and retaining quality foster carers, a limited pool of residential care workers and high staff turnover. Another key issue highlighted by the research was the challenge of providing training and support to carers who live in rural and remote areas.

The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has released this report outlining the results of a study into the service delivery pathways for young people transitioning from out-of-home care and the available opportunities to improve transition planning and housing outcomes. The study analysed linked administrative for all Victorian care leavers in 2013 and 2014 and found that smooth transitions are the exception, with most transitions resulting in housing instability, homelessness and other adverse outcomes. The report includes a range of policy development options.

Child Family Community Australia has released this paper investigating alcohol-related harm in families and reviewing available evidence on alcohol consumption from March to July 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were in place. The scoping review found an increase in alcohol consumption among those reporting higher levels of stress and among women aged 36-50. The paper concludes with a review of harm minimisation interventions and strategies to strengthen the health and wellbeing of families.

This second report in a series on education inequity from the Centre for Social Impact at UNSW Sydney identifies levers of change to address five of the 11 drivers of educational inequity identified in the first report: lack of accessible and responsive early childhood education and care; disconnection between education setting, home and community; bullying, discrimination and social isolation; one-size-fits-all curriculum; and absence of a whole-of-school approach underpinned by resources and infrastructure. The authors synthesised 16 levers from a systematic review of 45 evidence-based programs and culturally inclusive studies based in Australia. The report makes 22 recommendations.

Melbourne City Mission has released this report examining the policy and service gaps for young people experiencing family violence in Victoria. A key finding of the study is that young people’s ways of managing their safety are often misunderstood and seen as problematic instead of being recognised as protective. The report makes 20 recommendations.

The Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System has released a third interim report for its inquiry into the family law and child support systems. It provides an overview of the child support system and outlines issues identified by inquiry participants. The report makes 19 recommendations.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has released the latest report on the early childhood development of Australian children. The Australian Early Development Census 2021 found that the percentage of children who were on track on five domains decreased from 55.4 per cent in 2018 to 54.8 per cent in 2021 and the percentage of children developmentally vulnerable on one or more domain(s) increased from 21.7 per cent in 2018 to 22.0 per cent in 2021. The report discusses equity trends and the early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reconciliation Australia has released its biennial Australian Reconciliation Barometer. The report offers a snapshot of attitudes and perceptions towards reconciliation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the broader Australian community. Almost all Australians (97% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and 89% Australians in the general community) believe their relationship is important. Though there have been significant strides towards reconciliation challenges persist. In the six months prior to the survey, 46% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experienced at least one form of racial prejudice. The report makes recommendations to government, community and individuals to make reconciliation a reality, including investment in public anti-racism campaigns and constitutional recognition.

The Productivity Commission has released this report investigating Australia’s growing prison population. The report contains an economic cost-benefit assessment of increased use of imprisonment and explores available alternatives. The study found that increased imprisonment can be partially attributed to policy choices and more must be done to trial and evaluate prison alternatives. The study also examined the different ways in which imprisonment can affect children and families and identifies key research gaps.

The AIHW has released its latest biennial report on Australia’s welfare. The report includes chapters on the impact of COVID-19 on health and wellbeing, an overview of Australia’s welfare, current welfare services and supports, how Australia is faring compared to other countries, and the importance of welfare data. A key finding is that Australian and state and territory governments spent $195.7 billion on welfare related services in 2019–20. The AIHW website contains further data insights, welfare snapshots and interactive welfare indicators.

This snapshot report from the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) investigates children’s and young people’s experiences during Victoria’s fifth and sixth lockdowns in the second half of 2021. Themes include struggles with poor mental health, concerns about the future and educational impacts.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies has released its final evaluation report on the impact of the Australian Government’s Child Care Package. The evaluation found that the Child Care Subsidy reduced the net cost of child care for 62.2 per cent of families using child care, with low-income families amongst those who benefit most. It also found that beyond the subsidy, the package has had limited impact despite its intention to see improvements in areas such as access and employment outcomes.

UNICEF Australia has released this report sharing the findings of the third phase of research into children and young people’s lived experience through the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The report found that young people aged 13-17 years view climate change and unemployment and limited job prospects as the greatest threats to the future wellbeing and livelihood of children and young people in Australia. The report includes a platform for action that calls on government to respond to the concerns of young people.

The Prime Minister has delivered the ninth annual report addressing the Closing the Gap targets. The report recognises that changes are on the way; however, Australia is failing on six out of seven key measures. A new target for Indigenous 4 year olds enrolled in early childhood education is 95 per cent by 2025. The data shows that in 2015, 87% of all Indigenous children were enrolled in early childhood education the year before full-time school. Though improvements have been made in reading and numeracy for Indigenous students, this target is not on track. Last year, 640 more children needed to read at the Year 3 benchmark to halve the gap. We must look at the evidence to find effective solutions and focus on empowering and building the capacity of local communities.

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) has released this report examining the factors that influence non-compliance with parenting orders. The report contains findings from the first of a four-part research program and draws on the survey responses of 343 professionals who work with separated parents and interviews with judicial officers. A key finding was that non-compliance arises from a complex range of factors including family violence and safety concerns, child-related issues, circumstances where parents’ behaviour is seen as particularly difficult, orders that are seen as unworkable, and the existence of a contravention regime that is widely regarded as ineffective.

Western Sydney University has released this report outlining young people’s insights and recommendations about online safety to inform the eSafety Commissioner’s messaging, resources and ongoing engagement with children and young people. The report was developed using youth-centred, participatory co-research and codesign methods. Key concerns raised by young people in the research included privacy issues, security issues and managing online interactions with others.

This report from the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute reviews the evidence on the core needs of children and families, the conditions required for parents to meet these needs, and how well these needs are being met. The research then integrates these findings into a framework that can be used to inform service delivery.

This report from the Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy at Victoria University reviews the available data on expenditure and affordability of childcare in Australia and analyses this to determine how much families are spending. The report finds that childcare is unaffordable for around 386,000 Australian families.

This report by Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) explores the occurrence, overlap or interrelationships between domestic and family violence, alcohol and other drug issues and mental health issues in Australian families involved in the child protection system. A critical interpretive synthesis of the academic and grey literature found significant weaknesses in the evidence base. The study concluded that further research is needed to understand these interactions in the Australian context.

Economic Justice Australia has released this report investigating the relationship between domestic violence and Centrelink compliance and debt mechanisms, and the impacts of these mechanisms on domestic violence victims/survivors. A key finding was that Centrelink compliance processes are sometimes used by perpetrators as a tool of violence. The report makes 27 recommendations.

The Mitchell Institute at Victoria University has released this report investigating access to centre-based day care in Australia. The study used spatial measurement techniques to map the supply of childcare and compared this to demand across most parts of Australia. It found that 35.2 per cent of the population live in neighbourhoods with the scarcest childcare availability, and these neighbourhoods tend to have greater relative disadvantage or a higher population of culturally and linguistically diverse people.

The Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has released this report investigating the role that integrated child and family centres play in meeting the needs of children and families and reviewing what has been learned about the key elements of effective services for families experiencing vulnerability. The research identifies the core features of integrated child and family centres and examines how each element can be implemented effectively.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training has released its report on adult literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills in Australia. It includes an examination of the benefits of investing in adult language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy skills to assist parents to support their children’s education. The report makes 15 recommendations.

This report from Jesuit Social Services is the fifth in a series of reports measuring indicators of disadvantage in communities across Australia. It examines where disadvantage is concentrated, how various forms of disadvantage overlap and how this multilayered disadvantage becomes persistent. The study found that disadvantage is concentrated in a small number of communities across Australia. In Victoria, 5 per cent of locations accounted for 29 percent of the most disadvantaged positions across all indicators.

ANROWS has released this report containing a detailed examination of the relationship between economic insecurity and intimate partner violence (IPV) and investigates whether risk factors relating to economic insecurity have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The research found that, consistent with other Australian and international research, there was clear evidence that the acute economic stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with the onset and escalation of IPV.

The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office has released this report examining the Department of Education and Training’s (DET) management of the Navigator Program and assessing whether the delivery of the program is effectively re-engaging students in education and achieving outcomes for students. The audit found that DET is unable to demonstrate the effectiveness or equitable delivery of Navigator. The report makes four recommendations.

The Productivity Commission has released this paper, the second in their What Works reviews, investigating what is known about systems that enable a public health approach to protecting children. A key finding of the review is that developing a learning process which encourages continuous improvement and assists the child protection workforce to handle uncertainty is an important feature of the commissioning process for government when seeking to deliver an effective public health approach.

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) has released this report examining the timing, placement and temporal ordering of adverse early developmental experiences in young people aged 10-17 years adjudicated for sexual offences. The case files of 400 young people adjudicated between 2004 and 2018 were reviewed and the 20 files with the highest prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were selected for analysis. The study found that ACEs tended to co-occur, commence early in life and persist for many years for these young people, providing insights into opportunities for early interventions.

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has released this report examining families’ experiences of work at the end of 2020. A key finding was that mothers were more likely to make work arrangements that allow for the care of children with 57% of employed partnered mothers and 9% of employed partnered fathers using part-time work to help care for children.

RMIT University has released this report evaluating the IFAS pilot program delivered by Victoria Legal Aid. IFAS provides non-legal advocacy and support to parents and primary carers who are involved in the investigation stage of the child protection system with the primary aim of diverting families from the child protection system. The evaluation found a high level of satisfaction among clients and estimates that 20 per cent of clients are diverted from court. A cost-benefit analysis found that around $3.52 is saved by the Victorian Government for every $1 spent on IFAS.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has released its final report into homelessness in Australia. The inquiry examined the causes of and contributing factors to homelessness, opportunities for early intervention to prevent homelessness, support services for Australians experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, and governance and funding arrangements. The report makes 35 recommendations.

The Centre for Family Research and Evaluation at Drummond Street, Good Shepherd and GenWest have released this interactive report detailing three organisational case studies that explore family violence service data before and during COVID-19 in 2020-21 to increase understand of how family violence presentations changed in the context of the pandemic. The report presents findings relating to demographics, comparisons to pre-COVID and organisational response. A key finding was that Good Shepherd experienced a 51 per cent increase in the number of clients receiving family violence case management.

The Smith Family has released this evaluation of The Catch-Up Learning pilot program, a 20-week online tutoring program delivered one-on-one by qualified teachers for financially disadvantaged students struggling with literacy and numeracy. The evaluation assessed the program’s impact on student engagement and the extent to which literacy and numeracy improved. It found that 86 per cent of students showed above expected progress in either literacy or numeracy, and the program strengthened students’ love of learning. Four small modifications were identified that could strengthen the program and student outcomes moving forward.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released this report presenting data on the prevalence of income support receipt among young people transitioning from care. The study found that time in out-of-home care is associated with higher levels of income support receipt, with care leavers in young adulthood three times as likely as their peers who have not been in care to receive income support.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released this report presenting data on the prevalence of income support receipt among young people transitioning from care. The study found that time in out-of-home care is associated with higher levels of income support receipt, with care leavers in young adulthood three times as likely as their peers who have not been in care to receive income support.

The Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme has released its inquiry report on independent assessments. The Committee found that good policy processes were not followed in the proposal to introduce independent assessments, which should have been subject to extensive consultation, trials and pilots to address issues prior to implementation. The report makes six recommendations.

This inquiry report from the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee investigates support services and responses to the issue of historical forced adoptions in Victoria and considers how individuals’ needs can be supported further. The inquiry found that mental health and emotional support services in Victoria are not effectively responding to the needs of people affected by historical forced adoption. The report makes 56 recommendations.

The Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee has released its two-volume report on Victoria’s criminal justice system and the impacts of exposure to the system. The report provides an overview of the system and a statistical and demographic snapshot. It covers crime prevention and early intervention; overrepresentation; policing; victims of crime and their experiences and support needs; charges, bail and remand; courts and sentencing; the prison system and conditions; prison supports and rehabilitation; parole and the post-sentence scheme; judicial appointments; and judicial training and education. It makes 100 recommendations.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has released the report of its inquiry into the Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements–class of persons) Instrument 2021. The Committee found that mandatory participation in ParentsNext, which can result in the suspension or cancelation of a parent’s social security payment, limits the rights of the child, and recommends that the program be made voluntary.

Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) has released this report examining whether there was an escalation of intimate partner violence (IPV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research found that respondents were experiencing either first-time violence or patterns of ongoing violence which escalated in frequency and severity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also found that a significant proportion of respondents who sought help were unable to access assistance due to safety concerns, which left many at risk and without access to support services.

ANROWS and the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network have released this national data analysis report investigating the prevalence of, and characteristics and dynamics that precede, an IPV homicide. A key finding was that of the 311 IPV homicides examined, there were at least 172 children under the age of 18 who survived the homicide involving one, or both, of their parents.

ARACY has released this report outlining the results of a literature review on the impacts of COVID-19 on children with disability and their families in Australia, and findings from two policy roundtables. The review found that the pandemic exacerbated many of the problems already faced by families with disability, with children younger than school-age being the most negatively affected.

The Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System has released its final report inquiring into the family law and child support systems. The report makes four recommendations to supplement those included in the previous three reports.

This report from the Public Service Research Group at the University of New South Wales and Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) used survey data to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination experiences of children and young people with disability. The study found that 62 per cent of respondents were parents or carers who experienced difficulties and barriers in vaccinating their child or children with disability. The report concludes that support to make sure that children with disability can access an appropriate vaccination experience is crucial to prevent high levels of severe disease.

The House of Representatives Select Committee on Mental Health and Suicide Prevention has released the final report of its inquiry into mental health and suicide prevention. The report assessed the current landscape, reviewed the recommendations already before the Australian Government, and examined the gaps. Key areas of focus included COVID-19 and recent natural disasters, accessibility, virtual mental health care, workforce, funding, building the evidence base, and social determinants of health and wellbeing. The report makes 44 recommendations.

The Harmony Alliance and Monash University have released this report investigating migrant and refugee women’s safety with a focus on family violence, help-seeking and trust in institutions, and employment. Survey data from 1,392 migrant and refugee women across Australia shows that 33 per cent of respondents had experienced family violence, and among respondents who were employed in 2019, 10 per cent lost their jobs due to COVID-19. The report includes implications for policy and practice.

This report from the eSafety Commissioner investigates children’s online lives and explores what parents do and don’t know about their experiences. The report outlines a range of negative online content and behaviours encountered by children, including a high proportion of young people aged 14-17 being exposed to sexual content. Almost half of children surveyed were treated ‘in a hurtful or nasty way’ online in the past year while a quarter of children surveyed had engaged in this negative behaviour themselves. Encouragingly, it found that almost all children did something in response to negative online behaviour such as telling their parents.

The Research Centre for Children and Families at the University of Sydney has released this report investigating the support needs of foster and kinship carers in 2020 arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among carers surveyed, 89 per cent had more support needs as a result of COVID-19. State-wide data from a telephone support service found that the most common support needs were related to family time or contact, education and specialist support. The report concludes with recommendations to improve responses during future crises.

The Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) has released its report examining the lived experience of Aboriginal young people who have had contact with Victoria’s youth justice system and the factors that contribute to their overrepresentation. CCYP found that the continuing legacy of colonisation, the stolen generation and structural and institutional racism play a significant role in the over-representation of Aboriginal young people in the youth justice system. The report makes 75 recommendations.