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In regional, rural, and remote areas of Australia, geographic and professional isolation take their toll on professionals, particularly in the first 5 years of practice. The attraction and retention of human service professionals and paraprofessionals in regional Australia is a significant problem affecting the sustainability and social cohesion of rural communities. This paper reviews the literature on induction of professionals in isolated situations, particularly in the health and education fields, and proposes methods of support based on the Internet. Web sites can be designed to offer rural professionals a range of supportive elements, such as a discussion board to link isolated professionals with peers and mentors, contact information for professional and community organizations and help groups, videos and pictures of experts demonstrating methods or procedures, links to online publications and databases, links to conference Web sites, documents relevant to the profession, critical resources to support daily activities, and frequently-asked questions. An example of such a site that would be appropriate for neophyte teachers is entitled "Mathematics Education on the Web." The site provides lesson plans, communication capabilities, exemplary teaching videos, and links to useful resources. (Contains 21 references.) (SV)

Bush Talks is an initiative of the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission that aims to identify the major human rights issues confronting rural and remote residents, to inform rural Australians about human rights, and to develop projects to advance human rights in rural Australia. This paper summarizes major issues raised by rural residents via 26 community hearings, 94 telephone comments, and 53 written submissions during 1998. These issues are: providing basic health services, ensuring fair access to education, meeting other essential needs, valuing children and young people, and building communities. Recurring themes are: consolidating services into larger regional centers has resulted in shortages of services and facilities that deprive rural residents of their rights; government funding of services on a per capita basis results in inadequate rural programs; and discrimination and insensitivity to Indigenous people, youth, aged people, immigrants, and those with disabilities leads to unequal treatment of these groups. Rural Australians do not have equal access to education. Distance education, although adequate for primary education, is a poor substitute for secondary education, and the telecommunications infrastructure is inadequate in much of rural Australia. Low expectations and culturally insensitive practices discourage Indigenous people from completing school, and students with disabilities or special needs are not well served. Tertiary education is available only in capital cities. Each section describes an issue, drawing on rural residents' comments, and presents proposals for addressing it, examples of successful initiatives, and forthcoming Commission projects addressing the issue. (TD)

A review of the literature identified social, cultural, and work-related issues that may affect the retention and selection of qualified human services staff in rural areas. A survey of 60 rural professionals and follow-up interviews examined attitudes toward living in rural areas, skills required by rural human services organizations, and gaps in the skills of current staff. Respondents overwhelmingly saw aspects of lifestyle and community as the main attraction for remaining in rural areas. Work-related issues that might be factors in deciding to leave rural areas included isolation, distances travelled for job, lack of career path, availability of work, lack of resources, and lack of access to inservice training. Qualifications sought by human services organizations included professional requirements, personal attributes and life skills, and generalist skills. High motivation and morale were observed in organizations committed to staff networking, peer review, and staff utilization of inservice courses. Regarding educational needs, respondents had generally obtained their initial qualifications in their twenties and now had little time and energy to devote to study. They had difficulties in accessing reference materials and felt that coursework lacked relevance. Most areas surveyed lacked qualified social workers, with community nurses providing social work services. Suggestions are offered for recruitment and retention of professional staff and for development of rural-oriented undergraduate degrees and courses in human services. Contains 24 references. (SV)

This publication presents tabular representations of income support customers in Australia in 2013 with data provided by the Department of Human Services, including student and labour market related payments, family assistance, and pensioners paid overseas.

Presents political and economic outlook in Australia for 2000 to 2001. Concerns over the tax anti-labor policies of the Liberal-National coalition; Implementation of the good and services tax; Focus of economic policies on taxation reforms, labor market practices, superannuation and welfare.