May 2017
National Families Week 2017 commences next week, coinciding with the UN International Day of the Family on 15 May. It is a time to reflect on the vital importance of families and their role in building stronger communities.
Families Australia has been privileged to convene National Families Week each year for the past 14 years. …
Apr 2017
Long work hours erode health, but whose health is being more adversely affected: men’s or women’s?
Families Australia, in association with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, recently convened a forum in Canberra to explore this question as part of Families Australia’s Building Stronger Australian Families init…
Apr 2017
How I wish I could give you better news about child abuse in Australia but I cannot. Simply put, the latest tranche of national statistics shows that we are not going in the right direction.
Earlier this month the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare issued Child protection Australia 2015-16. The following charts highlight…
Mar 2017
Over the past week I have had the privilege of visiting Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney to convene forums on the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 – the national plan of action to reduce child abuse and neglect.
Around 100 representatives from the non-government, research and government sectors di…
Mar 2017
The Australian Child Rights Progress Report 2016 makes hard reading. Four points in that report stand out:
• one child in every six in Australia today lives below the poverty line
• 74% of 20- to 24-year olds from low socioeconomic backgrounds complete Year 12 or equivalent compared with 94% from high socioeconom…
Feb 2017
Many young parents aged under 18 years face particular vulnerability. They are at heightened risk of long-term welfare dependency compared with many other population groups in Australia today.
According to Australian Government figures, 4,370 young parents received the Parenting Payment in 2014-15. The Australian Government beli…