Search

Copyright of Australian Journal of Political Science is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Australia, like many high-income countries, food insecurity is associated with increased risks of chronic diseases, sub-optimal development outcomes in children, and mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. Food insecure households employ a range of strategies, including the use of food charity, to help alleviate hunger and meet cost of living pressures. The aim of this paper is to investigate the lived experience of food insecurity for welfare-dependent households, and to examine these experiences within a structural violence framework. Structural violence investigations seek to understand the distal causal factors that can help explain poor health patterns and inequities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with customers (n = 78) of food pantries, soup kitchens, and community development programs (June 2018 to January 2019) in the state of Victoria, Australia. Thematic analysis established evidence of controlling, demeaning and depriving practices in the interactions between the participants and the services and staff at national welfare providers and food charities. The same providers and charities nominally set up to address the exact situations in which participants found themselves. The findings of this study suggest that food and social services are an on-the-ground setting through which structural violence is enacted and experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welfare policy in Australia has undergone a marked shift in direction since the election of the Liberal Coalition (Conservative) Government in 1996. This paper examines welfare policy and, in particular, the disability support pension, in the light of the vocational needs of those with psychiatric disabilities who seek to gain employment. Empirical data is presented concerning a case study of 65 clients participating in a vocational program. These participants had all been diagnosed with psychiatric disabilities, and were assisted to obtain open employment. The paper demonstrates that welfare policy, in conjunction with the recently privatized employment services network, not only fails to address the barriers faced by individuals with psychiatric disabilities, but undermines their efforts to gain employment and recover from the illness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is often taken for granted that governments intervene in the housing market to address social need and affordability concerns, but is this conceptualisation sufficient to capture the processes that inform housing policy-making? In this paper, I argue that an appreciation of the roles performed by interest groups and lobbyists is necessary to understand not only how housing policies are determined, but also how they are maintained. The paper begins by setting out the context of Australian housing policy-making and the arrangements currently in place. Drawing upon interviews with influential lobbyists and policy advisors, the main part of the paper considers: the tactics deployed to inform policy-making, recent examples of successful interventions, the tensions between welfare and industry lobbyists and the barriers that undermine reform. The final part considers the wider significance of the lobbying process and its relevance for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The abuse of older people, often perpetrated by family and friends, is a complex multidimensional social problem. In most Australian jurisdictions, responses are currently limited to either primary-level (information, education and referral) or tertiary-level statutory responses. Outside of Australia, Family Group Conferencing has partially addressed this secondary-level service gap by inviting the older person and their wider family system to identify and establish a family-led plan to address potential or actual risk of abuse. This paper presents the core processes of Family Group Conferencing, including the quality of the established evidence base for its use with older people. The limitations and caveats associated with this approach are explored, and a way forward is proposed to explore the utility and suitability of Family Group Conferencing for adults in Australia in response to some types and severities of abuse and mistreatment. The abuse of older people is complex and under-reported, and many older people choose to take no action as a large proportion of perpetrators are family members. Limited Australian responses focus on either primary prevention or tertiary-level statutory responses. Family Group Conferencing may enhance secondary-level service responses to abuse, mobilising the older person's protective networks, and reducing the risk of abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings of the second phase of a formative peer review into the critical reflection curricula in a Bachelor of Social Welfare course in a university in regional Australia. This study investigated the scaffolding of the 'declared' critical reflection curricula. It extends the first phase of the review, which was an analysis of the critical reflection assessment tasks; the 'learned' curricula (English 1978, cited in). During phase one, the authors learned most students did not engage with critical reflection comprehensively. Therefore, in this phase we critically examined how critical reflection was described in the written curricula throughout the course. Findings revealed the curricula informed students about reflective processes, and linked critical reflection to the development of personal and interpersonal communication skills, cultural safety, ethical practice, empowering practice, and the integration of theory and practice. However, instead of introducing critical reflection incrementally across the entire course, comprehensive and complex descriptions about critical reflection were introduced repeatedly from the beginning of the course. Conclusions include how the authors will use analysis of the 'declared' curricula to explicitly guide students through the scaffolding of critical reflection curricula, including incorporating a map of this scaffolding into course-wide learning materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media are transforming public communication and state-society relations, dynamics distinctly visible in the domains of policing and order maintenance. Despite growing research on this relationship, scholarship has adopted an internalist optic, privileging social media use by domestic law enforcement. Using an original data set, this paper broadens the scale of analysis to consider Twitter usage by federal agencies tasked with border security and migration policing in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Despite new technologies' transformational potential, its findings suggest Twitter is overwhelmingly employed for the conventional purposes of broadcasting information, managing impressions, and enlisting public assistance. Message themes linked with greater user responsiveness are also identified. The deeper implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of district nursing in Australia explored in this paper reveals a continuity in the essential values held by district nurses for over a century. These nurses practised holistic, family-centred nursing from the very origins of district nursing service. The events surrounding the establishment of Community Health Centres in the 1970s challenged district nurses to reconsider their role, while at the same time reconfirming their essential ethos. These values that underpinned district nursing practice and challenges to these values are examined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2006, “welfare-to-work” policies were introduced for single parents in Australia. These policies require most single parents with school-aged children to be employed or seeking employment of 15 to 25 hours per week in return for their income support payment. The changes represented a sharp increase in the obligations applying to single parents on income support. This paper is concerned with how the wellbeing of single mothers who are combining income support and paid employment is being influenced by these stepped-up activity requirements. The paper draws on data from semistructured interviews with 21 Brisbane single mothers. The analysis explores participants’ experiences in the new policy environment, utilising the theoretical framework of “relational autonomy”. Relational approaches to autonomy emphasise the importance of relations of dependency and interdependency to the development of autonomy and wellbeing in contrast with more individualistic approaches that privilege independence and self-sufficiency. Findings indicate that in their dealings with the welfare bureaucracy, participants experienced a lack of recognition of their identities as mothers, paid workers, and competent decision makers. These experiences have negative consequences for self-worth, relational autonomy, and ultimately the wellbeing of single parent families. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The provision of foster care in Australia has a long and contested history. These histories, along with current media representations of foster care, shape the ways in which the general public understand foster care. Importantly, and where such representations are primarily negative, it is likely that foster care will not be considered a viable option for many people seeking to engage in community work or to care for children. This paper provides an analysis of a sample of representations of foster care in the Australian news media, with a specific focus on the depiction of (1) foster children as “lost children” who are “damaged goods”, (2) foster care systems and social workers as inherently damaging to children, (3) foster carers as primarily either inadequate parents, or good parents only in comparison with “bad social workers”. The paper concludes by highlighting suggestions for future directions within media reporting of foster care in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes and compares the reforms in China and Australia associated with granting water users better defined, more secure and (often) tradable entitlements to water. The paper considers the lessons that each country may learn from, and teach to, the other. The paper discusses policy issues and solutions in both countries in respect of: risk sharing and compensation for changes to rights; environmental flows; trans-jurisdictional approaches to water rights; trading water rights; and integrating water rights within the broader water supply and catchment management framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the food provisioning practices of low-income single mothers affected by market-driven welfare reforms in Australia. We explore the tensions between women's care responsibilities and the government's welfare-to-work reform, and the effects of these tensions on the nutritional health and wellbeing of women and their children. Conducting a thematic analysis of 20 interviews with single mothers receiving either Parenting Payment Single, Newstart Allowance (NSA), or the Disability Support Pension, we found that when women's income and time were significantly compromised, especially when women were transferred onto the less generous unemployment benefit NSA, that food provisioning became more psychologically taxing and nutritional health decreased. The findings suggest that public health researchers must focus on challenging the structural antecedents of women's food work and hunger to alleviate the responsibilities of single mothers in countries facing similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the community development practice of The Salvation Army in a public housing estate in Sydney, Australia. Drawing on interviews with community members, officers, staff, and volunteers from The Salvation Army, we explore the transformative potential of relational, rather than transactional, community development practices. In accepting the theological principle of imago Dei as the foundation for its practice, The Salvation Army prioritized listening, witnessing and simply loving people and place, and generated a profound sense of belonging and connectedness. This relational approach to community development offers valuable lessons for faith-based communities of social work practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates how the work of feminist theorists Valerie Walkerdine, Helen Lucey and June Melody, Beverly Skeggs, and Nancy Fraser were used together to examine the lived effects of Australian government Mutual Obligations policies. As ‘active’ welfare policies, Mutual Obligations construct particular relations between themselves and policy subjects. Those most affected are poor and working‐class Australian young women and girls. This is because of their location at the margins of education and work, and their over‐representation among the numbers of lone parents. An understanding of the subjectivities of contemporary young women and girls was necessary to support the analysis of Australian government Mutual Obligations policies and their lived experience among those most affected by these welfare reforms. This paper shows how the combined theoretical and conceptual resources of the above‐mentioned feminists support the development of an appropriate conceptualisation of subjectivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to reconcile work-life balance goals are at the heart of the design of tax-benefit programs. Yet this relationship between work-life balance and tax-benefit programs is relatively unexplored. To help address this lacuna this paper compares approaches to reconciling work-life balance goals in the designs of earned and child tax credits in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These designs indicate different approaches to reconciling work-life balance. In their design of earned and child tax credits the United States places emphasis upon targeting tax relief by paid employment (to breadwinners), Australia and Canada by family structures (to caregivers), and New Zealand and the United Kingdom by both paid employment and family structures, although in New Zealand assistance is provided on a more residual basis. Of these designs the dual objective approach, particularly of the United Kingdom, appears to offer greater opportunity for both directly addressing relatively high rates of child poverty and increasing low wage caregivers' labor supply (as part of a broader poverty reduction strategy). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian Journal of Political Science is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Comments on the research trends in public interest issues that affect children with disabilities in Australia. Results of analyzing the self-concept of students who are having difficulty in academic areas; Discussion of concerns regarding the inclusion of children with disabilities in school.

Against a background of rapid and widespread changes to the delivery of human services and social welfare, this paper reports on a study into the experiences of managers of human services organisations. Within an interpretive methodology, the research utilised focus group and interview methods to examine the relevance and need for business, finance, and management skills from the perspective of managers in the human services. Results indicate that managers of human service organisations need advanced business, management, and finance skills to deal with change and uncertainty in contemporary and competitive service environments. IMPLICATIONS Human service organisations in Australia are subject to change and uncertainty with new models of funding and increased accountability. Social workers employed as managers are under pressure to lead sustainable and accountable services, while still holding to social work principles. Social workers who manage organisations face a challenge of how to integrate business, management, and finance skills with the values and mission of social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant changes were introduced to the finance of social and affordable rental housing in Australia from 2007. These aimed to restructure social housing provision and encourage an increase in the supply of affordable housing. This paper evaluates these changes in light of experience with the provision of social housing in Australia over a 50-year period. It suggests that lessons from history explain why, without additional support, current changes are unlikely to be successful in meeting their intended goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments continue to face challenges in implementing effective strategies to increase social and economic participation of people with disabilities. In a recent OECD high-level policy forum on Sickness, Disability and Work, the main policy message was the need for a culture of inclusion; with a dual focus on short-term active policy interventions and long-term structural reform. This paper examines policies in liberal welfare states that encourage people receiving disability benefits to participate in the labor market. Examples from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia of active labor market programs aimed at moving people with disabilities from workfare are analyzed in the context of international disability rights and neoliberal discourse. The paper explores the extent to which new approaches to activation policies are facilitating parity of participation and factors that impact the effectiveness of these policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking organisational responses to the 'organ retention scandals' in the United Kingdom and Australia as a starting point, this paper considers the role of social welfare workers within the medico-legal system. Official responses to the inquiries of the late 1990s have focused on issues of consent and process-transparency, leaving unaddressed concerns expressed by the bereaved about the impact of organ retention on both their experience of grief and on the deceased themselves. A review of grief and embodiment literature suggests that such concerns are consistent with the significance of relationship, attachment and identity within grief resolution-however that last problematic term is defined. The case example of an Australian coronial jurisdiction which has attempted to deal with some of these issues through mandating the discussion of autopsy and organ retention processes by grief counsellors with bereaved families is then provided. A distinction is drawn between these discussions and the seeking of consent. The discussion concludes by considering the ambiguous nature of the social welfare role within this contested field, suggesting that this ambiguity, while perhaps a source of flexibility in practice, may itself relate to a lack of clear information about the needs of the bereaved. This paper contributes to the development of that knowledge and offers some necessarily tentative recommendations regarding social welfare practice in this challenging arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2004 and 2005 the West Australian Labor Government significantly amended the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (WA) (the Act). These amendments followed over a decade of shifting power plays and uncertainty for the many stakeholders in the system. The significance of these state-based reforms cannot be underestimated, providing a localised example of a broader contestation between the interests of private business and the shifting terrain of industrial citizenship. This article documents the last decade of workers compensation reforms within Western Australia and a summary of changes which ultimately took effect in November 2005. In keeping with the post-modern emphasis on context, this paper locates the Western Australian changes within a broader discussion of the shifting landscape of rights and entitlements engendered through neo-liberal discourse. In particular, as this paper explores, the changes to Western Australian workers compensation policy can be read as a reflection on the way employers, government and the insurance industry interpret and engage with the continuing realignment of worker entitlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Australia, systematic and widespread provision of family-support services is just 30 years old. The present paper traces some of the developments, recurrent tensions, and themes in family-support services, principally in Victoria, over those decades, drawing attention to challenges for social workers' continuing participation in the development of family services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 2014 marked the abolition of the Baby Bonus and its replacement with a substantially reduced parenting payment. While often criticised as "middle-class welfare," or publicly denounced due to its purported misuse by disadvantaged mothers, this paper argues that the Baby Bonus provided valuable financial assistance to families experiencing high financial stress. To investigate young women's experience of receiving the Baby Bonus, 19 semistructured interviews were conducted with young mothers in Melbourne who had recently had babies. Many were experiencing financial stress and this payment provided much needed financial support for the basic costs arising from having a baby. Several mothers perceived work as a luxury that was out of reach due to high childcare costs relative to their earning capacity and therefore saw Paid Parental Leave as a further privilege unavailable to them. Our results suggest that while the concerns of policymakers to achieve the best use of scarce resources are critical, it should also be acknowledged that the policy change may have serious implications for many young mothers and may exacerbate disadvantage, and young mothers' sense of alienation, ultimately leading to greater inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper provides background information on social work education in Australia. Links between social group work and community work are developed through different aspects of the social goals model. Three Australian case studies are then utilized to explore the relationship between social group work and community work with special reference to social action groups. The case studies were selected to highlight local, state and federal arenas. Analysis provides information on worker's role, empowerment, and group development and is followed by implications for social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Australian Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: This paper describes research conducted with BighART, Australia's most awarded participatory arts company. It considers three projects, LUCKY, GOLD and NGAPARTJI NGAPARTJI across separate sites in Tasmania, Western NSW and Northern Territory, respectively, in order to understand project impact from the perspective of project participants, Arts workers, community members and funders.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 respondents. The data were coded thematically and analysed using the constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis.Results: Seven broad domains of change were identified: psychosocial health; community; agency and behavioural change; the Art; economic effect; learning and identity.Conclusions: Experiences of participatory arts are interrelated in an ecology of practice that is iterative, relational, developmental, temporal and contextually bound. This means that questions of impact are contingent, and there is no one path that participants travel or single measure that can adequately capture the richness and diversity of experience. Consequently, it is the productive tensions between the domains of change that are important and the way they are animated through Arts practice that provides sign posts towards the impact of BighART projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeless youth are a growing, vulnerable population with specific primary health care (PHC) requirements. There are no systematic reviews of evidence to guide the delivery of PHC interventions to best address the needs of homeless youth in Australia. We present a narrative synthesis of peer reviewed research designed to determine: (1) the PHC services homeless youth access; (2) experiences of services, reported outcomes and barriers to use; and, (3) the PHC service needs of homeless youth. Findings show that homeless youth access a variety of services and delivery approaches. Increased PHC use is associated with youth who recognise they need help. Street-based clinic linked services and therapy and case management alongside improved housing can positively impact upon mental health and substance use outcomes. Barriers to service use include knowledge; provider attitudes, financial constraints and inappropriate environments. Findings support targetted, co-ordinated networks of PHC and housing services with nurses working alongside community workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The final report of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Aged Care has recommended a substantial restructuring of Australia's aged care system to make it fairer, more responsive to the needs of individual consumers, and more sustainable in the context of population ageing. While acknowledging the necessity of a safety net and the needs of diverse groups, the recommended reforms continue to advance the neoliberal restructuring of Australia's health and welfare systems. This paper provides a critical examination of the context and key drivers for change, and considers the reception of the report within the aged care sector. While social workers are actively engaged in the aged care system, they are largely absent from the discussion in the final report. Nonetheless, the transfer of recommendations into actual policy provides an opportunity for social work to argue its unique contribution and potential in the delivery of aged care. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The capacity of schooling to overcome disadvantage in society is a recurring topic of discussion and debate in countries around the world. Current government-led reforms of curriculum, assessment and schooling often aim to address inequality, as part of broader agendas to improve national productivity and social wellbeing. Recent approaches to curriculum reform in a number of countries emphasize the importance of defining rigorous standards for all students. A curriculum review of the senior secondary years, conducted recently in two regions of Australia, combined a focus on standards with strategies related to the personal relevance of the curriculum for students. The position presented in this article is that efforts to make curriculum immediately relevant for senior secondary students can restrict opportunities to learn and achieve within all curriculum areas. Specific examples from a range of learning areas demonstrate how aspects of curriculum and assessment design that could help to support students at risk of not succeeding can be undermined by attempts to make the new curriculum relevant to students’ current lives. The example of curriculum reform presented in this paper highlights the importance of evaluating the outcomes of standards-based reform in education within local contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies on security governance have highlighted that internationally there has been the pluralisation of police roles and functions. One feature of these developments has been the emergence of dedicated quasi-police personnel, termed police auxiliaries. Public police agencies have been instrumental in supporting the growth of police auxiliaries, promoting their adoption as part of broader police reforms to improve the engagement of ethnic minority groups. One example of these trends in Australia has been the emergence of police liaison officers (PLOs). This paper draws upon research into a PLO programme in the Australian State of Queensland in order to explore the intra-organisational features of auxiliarisation. Data from qualitative interviews are analysed to highlight that while police auxiliaries do make an important contribution to improving police community engagement, they face their own dilemmas and challenges that occur from being part of the police extended family. One relates to role conflict arising from a conflicting sense of accountability to the police and the wider community. This is particularly pronounced for police auxiliaries who are of an ethnic/racial background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people transitioning from out-of-home care comprise arguably one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. They experience multiple disadvantages resulting from their abuse or neglect prior to entering care, their often negative experiences in care, and the lack of support provided to them as they transition from care. Compared to most young people, they face particular difficulties in accessing educational, employment, housing, and other developmental and transitional opportunities. This paper critically analyses the pathways taken by care leavers, and the Australian and international policy and practice responses. We conclude by suggesting some policy and program reforms that are likely to lead to improved outcomes for care leavers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the significance of rural Australia to national identity, many commentators claim that rural Australia is in crisis and suffering from decline as a consequence of economic restructuring and policy reform (Gray & Lawrence 2001; Sonn, Drew & Kasat 2002; Baum, O'Connor & Stimson 2005; Tonts & Atherley 2005). As a result, the social wellbeing of people living in rural Australia has become an issue of major national significance. Despite a number of commentators suggesting that the arts could play a crucial role in the contribution to the social wellbeing of rural communities, there is an absence of thorough research in this field (Kingma 2002; Matarasso 1997; Mills & Brown 2004; Williams 1995). The most rigorous research into the benefits and impact of the arts has been conducted with a focus on individual health and wellbeing in a clinical and therapeutic setting. Extensive research in a community setting however is somewhat limited. This paper demonstrates, through a review of the current literature, the place for the arts in rural revitalisation and therefore, the social wellbeing of a community, directly through tourism, income generation and employment opportunities, and indirectly by enhancing participation and creativity in public decision-making, strengthening community capacity, and strengthening identity and sense of place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 20 years from 1982 to 2002, the proportion of Australian public housing tenants in employment has fallen markedly relative to Australians living in other housing tenures. This paper explores the potential causes of this trend and their policy implications. For male public renters, the declining employment participation rate can be accounted for by closer targeting of public housing to the most disadvantaged in the labour market and blunter work incentives. This is not the case for female public renters. Their employment participation rate has remained flat while improved labour market conditions should have lifted employment participation rates among this group, even after controlling for an extensive range of individual characteristics. Work incentives are important to female public renters, but further research is required if we are to understand why their employment rates have not improved over this 20-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing political significance of private health insurance can be located in an altered understanding of the role of individuals and the State in protecting citizens' welfare. In common with other Western societies, contemporary Australia is marked by an expectation that people will fund their own needs and identify and manage their own risks throughout their life course. However, we lack information on how people come to make their decisions. In particular, there is no analysis of why people choose to invest in private health insurance. This paper reports on an exploratory study investigating the motivations for the uptake of private health insurance. Taking a socio-cultural approach, the study indicates that while people's stated reasons for buying health insurance show some surface similarities with the reasoning expected of neo-liberal citizens, a closer reading of the data indicates they do not approach their decisions in a rational or calculative way. They rely less on weighing evidence (e.g. relevant statistics, the provisions of their contract with the insurance provider and their own experiences) than they do on trust in an impersonal system, i.e. they believe people and systems will not harm them in future situations (Gilson 2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how understandings of culture and place are deployed in governing colonial Aboriginal1 subjects in contemporary Australia. Recently, Australia's conservative Federal Government has sought to reorientate Aboriginal affairs away from debates about rights and inheritances, to the 'responsibilities' that communities must accept in order to be provided with infrastructure and services from government. Discourses of mutual obligation and responsibility target Aboriginal populations and are linked to claims that Aboriginal communities themselves have requested more overt and tailored interventions from central governments. The new 'Shared Responsibility Agreements' (SRAs) signal the formalisation of these shifts and oblige Aboriginal communities to conform to a series of specified disciplinary practices (such as improving personal hygiene, maintaining clean households, and preventing school truancy) in order to receive access to health care and other basic social services and supplies. We analyse how a hierarchy of 'culture' is articulated in SRAs, and highlight the particular complexity of governing remote colonial subjects and spaces at a distance. Although SRAs appear to indicate a novel policy direction, our analysis reveals how they mobilise longstanding colonial discourses of Aboriginal people and communities as welfare dependent and ungovernable, and reinstate donor/recipient relationships characteristic of earlier colonial rationalities and citizenship practices. Our case study demonstrates how governing practices are constantly reconstituted through knowledges of the governed, and through techniques that hybridise early illiberal practices with new neoliberal discourses. We argue that the act of governing remains thoroughly mediated by the inheritance of colonial visions of place and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers in health care have been urged to identify the nature of their expertise and to articulate profession specific roles (Peckuconis et al., 2003). This paper reports on the use of a theory of professional expertise (Fook, Ryan, & Hawkins, 2000) in management and clinical practice within two Australian hospital social work settings. This theory, directly applicable to social work, was applied within these hospitals to differentiate levels in social work industrial awards, in staff selection, in supervision and continuing professional development. Specific and broader implications for application of this theory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As with other states in Australia, Western Australia is currently undergoing a process of water reform. The purpose of this reform has been to create environmental sustainability and provide economic improvements through the introduction of markets. To ensure that these reforms also have long term social viability, local Water Resource Management Committees (WRMCs) will be formed to provide ongoing advice to government on water resource and allocation issues. Given that over-allocation is not as much of an issue as in other states in Australia, the WRMCs will have an important contribution on water issues relating to fairness and the public interest. Fortunately, there has been a significant amount of research in WA and elsewhere on how these basic concepts can be operationalized in community-based decision making. This paper describes ways this knowledge can be incorporated in ongoing decision making in the context of water reform and issues associated with procedural and distributive justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental illness is listed as a child protection concern for a number of families reported to child protection agencies in Australia. Parents with mental health problems are more vulnerable, as are their children, to having parenting and child welfare concerns. Studies undertaken in the Melbourne Children's Court (Victoria) have found that the children of parents with mental health problems comprise at least one-quarter of all new child protection applications brought to the Court (Sheehan, 1997; 2001). This paper reports on a study undertaken in 2002, in the Melbourne Children's Court, to examine (a) the extent to which the children of parents with mental health problems are involved in child protection matters, (b) the contribution by mental health professionals to resolving these child welfare concerns, and (c) the difficulties which confront the Court in deciding these matters. The study considered in this article found that, although parents with mental health problems are a significant group coming to Court, there is negligible involvement by mental health professionals in the child protection system. It was apparent that there was very little co-operation between adult mental health and child protection services in this field. The Court was, therefore, given little appreciation of a parent's mental health functioning and its contribution to, and impact upon, the child, and thus may not have all necessary information about the needs of, and likely outcomes for, these children and their parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local and international evidence suggests that professional social work education often fails to effectively prepare graduates to implement social policy objectives within their everyday practice. This paper critically analyses the development of social policy subjects within one particular Australian social work course. Particular attention is drawn to subject objectives, content, reading material, teaching methods and assessment. Some suggestions are made for new educational initiatives that could potentially lead to more effective social policy practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work in Australia requires educators to teach skills, knowledge, and Aboriginal ways of knowing, doing, and being to ensure graduates are culturally responsive and potential allies when working with Aboriginal peoples and communities. This education should include an accurate teaching of Australian Aboriginal history and sharing of Aboriginal knowledge. Currently, non-Aboriginal educators are more likely to teach Aboriginal content, which can foreclose opportunities for Aboriginal educators. On the surface this appears to be a continuation of colonialism where white privileged groups speak for, speak about, and occupy, in this instance, the educational spaces related to Australian Aboriginal peoples and other minority racial groups. This occupation of the educational space in social work is an interesting predicament when considering whether social work educators are allies to the processes of decolonisation. This article explores the experiences of non-Aboriginal educators and asks the question—how do we decolonise social work to create culturally responsive practitioners? IMPLICATIONS Universities need to be aware of and address the continuation of colonising practices in teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content. There is the potential to create a transformative future in social work education with the sharing of two world views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new form of conditional welfare through income management is being trialled in Australia, dubbed the "Cashless Debit Card". It aims to reduce gambling, alcohol and illegal drug use to address social pathologies related to crime and welfare. Routinely collected data from government were used to assess if the targeted reductions arose. Store sales data were also used to evaluate impact on food purchases. No substantive impact on measures of gambling (p =.175), and intoxicant abuse (p =.662) were found. An increased spend on healthy foods (95%CI: 12.0% to 150.0%) was observed, but decreased as a proportion of all foods (95%CI: −6.3% to −13.1%). Impacts on crime and Emergency Department presentations were not substantively found. We conclude that targeting individual choices may not be as effective as policies targeting the historical social structures that serve as antecedents to such social pathologies. IMPLICATIONS The Australian Cashless Debit Card is having nominal impact on the targeted behaviours of gambling and intoxicant abuse While there was an increase in shopping spend, the biggest increase was in spending on less healthy discretionary foods Policies that focus on addressing historical social structure may prove more impactful on welfare outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement of large numbers of people from psychiatric hospitals in the 1960s changed the face of mental health services in Australia. This paper explores some of the issues facing people living with mental illness in the community today and the impact of social policy, legislative change and funding of services on their lives, with particular reference to New South Wales. The growth of support and advocacy groups in the 1970s and 1980s, and their role alongside psychologists and other health workers in bringing about change in the provision and type of mental health services, are examined. Opportunities for advocacy and real input into the quality of service provisions have increased, and many people living with disabilities are active in contributing to policy development and advocacy services. However, the level of funding of mental health services and the resources available to care for people living with mental illness in the community remain low and, in many cases, inadequate to provide proper quality care for people living with mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the shift to workfare in Australia and its impacts on and implications for social work. Workfare Oz-style is the Australian model of social protection and exceptionalism. Social work has retained a central role in public welfare, promoted the Australian version of citizenship rights and had developed in statutory child welfare, health and disability and corrections.

Young adults with disabilities are a specific target of the welfare-to-work policy introduced by many OECD countries over the past decade. The implementation of these policies is a significant concern for service delivery organisations and advocates in Australia and internationally due to complex intersecting structural barriers that persist for many young adults with disabilities. A particular focus of this article is work capacity assessments. Drawing on socio-political theories and interpretive policy analysis, the 22 in-depth interviews with personnel from service delivery organisations and advocacy organisations reveal how the deemed capacity to work process is not only interpreted as flawed, but the current policy approach disables young adults, perpetuates stigma, and creates division between service users and service providers. The accounts reinforce the need to contest such assessments and instead turn towards a rights-based capability approach permitting young adults with disability self-determination over their education-to-employment pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been targets of social and emotional wellbeing programs for many years. However, the few health‐care programs and services that are evaluated rarely provide insight into the participants' perspectives of program success or failure. This systematic review assessed 33 social and emotional wellbeing programs across Australia to better understand what Aboriginal community members think about the programs and how they could be improved. Results highlighted the interesting and valuable insights provided by Aboriginal participants, including what kinds of program activities and approaches are most suitable, what program characteristics are successful or desired, and their experiences of wellbeing change before and after program participation. They likewise voiced opinions about poorly received programs, culturally inappropriate services and negative experiences. This review highlighted how health and wellbeing programs must better engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients to ensure that services are culturally safe, holistic, integrate appropriate staffing, include culturally relevant activities and value patient/participant experiences. These findings have significant implications for the health and wellbeing sector; specifically, research, policy, program design and implementation, evaluation methods, and self‐determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A foundational statement of the campaigns of the Women's Liberation Movement of the 1970s-1990s is 'The Personal is Political'. This article explores ways in which that statement was demonstrated at the beginnings of the Women's Liberation Movement in protests against requirements that women be, or aspire to be, beautiful. It provides accounts of three major protests against beauty contests in 1970: one in the United States, one in Australia and one in Britain. It provides a fourth account, this one of the first Women's Liberation conference in Australia, where beauty was still an issue. The article concludes first with an example of personal demands being placed firmly on the stage of world politics in 1975, but finally with present day examples of the stubborn and degrading persistence of the political dominance that still requires women to conform to masculinist definitions of personal beauty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National disability strategy implementation is challenging. Competing needs and interests of government and different stakeholders mean that implementation is rarely straightforward. This study undertakes a critical framing analysis of publically available responses to the draft implementation plan for Australia’s National Disability Strategy (2010–2014) provided by five peak disability organisations. We seek to understand the frames that peak bodies advocate in order to further the interests of people experiencing disability while mapping these against the broader Australian disability policy context and good policy practice more generally. Our research reveals that the peak bodies promote frames which focus on consistency, responsibility, resourcing, inclusivity, co-production, innovation, leadership, accountability and language. In relation to these frames, the final government implementation plan demonstrates a shift in which process-related frames of resourcing and innovation are incorporated into the plan while the other predominantly actor-oriented frames are excluded and thus represented as natural and incontestable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]