Director's Report.

The article presents news about the Australian Institute of Family Studies. The International Social Security Association's conference, "Social Security in the Global Village," held in Helsinki, Finland, in September 2000, covered a wide array of research topics, including issues to do with the social protection of families. The Institute presented a paper at this conference on the topic 'Social capital, social cohesion and social security' which was well received. A conference was held in Melbourne in November 2000 on 'Welfare Reform,' hosted by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services. Welfare reform was also a key theme for discussion at the Australian Council of Social Service National Congress in Canberra in November. There was vigorous discussion at both of these conferences on the advantages and disadvantages of current proposals for welfare reform, as well as the implications for administration. At both conferences a number of keynote presenters emphasized the importance of history. Social protection and poverty are important areas of research that need to be considered in the context of social protection, particularly incentive issues and their impact on families.