New Research

Juvenile detention population in Australia 2011

09 February 2012This report presents information on the number of young people in detention in 2011 and describes recent trends in the detention population.

State Trustees Limited: management of represented persons

08 February 2012This audit found that State Trustees is not able to clearly demonstrate that it is fulfilling its obligations to represented persons.

Gender indicators, Australia, Jan 2012

07 February 2012This publication presents statistics and commentary on six major areas of social concern for gender equality: Economic security, Education, Health, Work and family balance, Safety and justice, and Democracy, governance and citizenship.

Falling objects fact sheet

07 February 2012This fact sheet provides general guidance for persons conducting a business or undertaking and workers on managing risks to health and safety posed by falling objects.

Emergency department overcrowding, mortality and the 4-hour rule in Western Australia

06 February 2012Overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) occurs when the physical or staffing capacity of the department is exceeded by the number of patients waiting to be seen, undergoing assessment and treatment or waiting for departure.

Investing in our future

03 February 2012In 2008 the Australian Government began a five-year national rollout of the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY) that would see it delivered in 50 communities across Australia by 2012.
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Ageing

Service costs in modern residential aged care facilities

31 January 2012This paper presents the results of a national study of the cost of delivering residential aged care services in modern and efficient facilities.

2010-11 report on the operation of the Aged Care Act 1997

23 January 2012Recent reviews of the Aged Care Act of 1997 have led to increases in government funding in particular, aged care facilites and the services they provide to indigenous communities.

Mental health

Care and support of male survivors of conflict-related sexual violence

02 February 2012Sexual violence against men and boys is a pervasive feature of armed conflicts. This paper provides commentary, recent data, and promising programming and therapeutic approaches in the care and support of male survivors.

Improving Indigenous community governance

02 February 2012Strengthening the organisational capacity of both Indigenous and government organisations is critical to raising the health, wellbeing and prosperity of Indigenous Australian communities.

The role of informal community resources in supporting independent housing for young people recovering from mental illness

30 January 2012This project looks at the housing issues facing young independant people with mental illness.

Commentary

Unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions

02 February 2012A recent study in the Lancet by the Guttmacher Institute and the W.H.O shows that overall abortion rates have stalled, writes Mina Barling for the Drum.

A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s play

31 January 2012The women’s tournament is not equal in work to the men’s, writes Mark Gottlieb for The Punch.

The true origins of anti-paternalism

31 January 2012Opposition to government paternalism wasn't always a conservative or libertarian thing, writes Chris Berg in The Drum.

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Topic Guides

A guide to understanding and working with General Practice in NSW

20 May 2011Providing an outline of general practice, this resource considers its uniformity and diversity; its funding arrangements, service delivery, workforce, training, capacity and supporting structures.

Guideline on the application of the premises standards - 2011

  • Australian Human Rights Commission

04 April 2011This guide has been issued to help designers, architects, builders and clients to better understand the Disability (Access to Premises - buildings) Standards 2010  which will commence on 1 May 2011.

Arts for all: opening doors to people with a disability

15 February 2010This guide provides practical and long-term ways for artists and arts organisations to enhance their access, market their events to the disabled community and build new audiences.

Audio

Peak fish: Rising human consumption of seafood, and its implications

Listen to audio
16 January 2012Fisheries scientists Dr Tim Dempster and Dr Reg Watson discuss the pressures on wild fish stocks and debate the role of aquaculture in feeding an increasingly populous world.

A noble cause

Listen to audio
21 October 2011Producing new medicines to extend lives and reduce suffering is a noble cause. The marketing of those drugs is often ignoble, with the wining and dining of doctors and the use of specialists to spruik the company line.

Health policy

Diabetes indicators in Australia

01 February 2012Diabetes has increased significantly among the Australian population over the past 20 years, however the rate of diabetes-related deaths is falling, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

Healthy lifestyle programs for physical activity and nutrition

01 February 2012Over half (51%) of Indigenous people living in non-remote parts of Australia aged 15 and over do very little or no exercise, compared with 33% of non-Indigenous Australians (AIHW 2011a).

Health; Community services; Housing and homelessness

30 January 2012This report  provides an overview of the health sector, presenting both contextual information and high level performance information.

Video

Trends and recent developments in income inequality in Australia

Listen to audio
07 February 2012The 2011 Fay Gale Lecture will be presented by Associate Professor Denise Doiron on the theme Trends and Recent Developments in Income Inequality in Australia.

Social entrepreneurship - the revolution matures

Listen to audio
09 December 2011The discourse around social entrepreneurship continues at a pace: more international conferences, research interest, journals and university courses are some of the identifiers.

Disability

Work-related injuries in Australia: Who did and didn't receive workers' compensation in 2009-10

09 January 2012Analysing the results of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Work-related Injuries Survey, this report finds that of the 567 500 employees injured while working in 2009-10, only 38 per cent of them received workers' compensation.

Websites

Community Water Planner

04 November 2011Remote and Indigenous communities can look forward to cleaner, safer drinking water, thanks to an enhanced Community Water Planner tool, developed to help assess and manage the risks in remote Australian community water supplies.

Harden Up Queensland

20 October 2011Harden Up is a Green Cross Australia led partnership that aims to empower Queenslanders to become self-reliant during natural disasters.

Age Positive

30 September 2011This website and campaign will gather and publicise positive stories about older people, using them to remind the public of the varied and important ways older people contribute to Australian society.

Most viewed: This week

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The experience of education: The impacts of high stakes testing on school students and their families
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Juvenile detention population in Australia 2011
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Can nations measure well-being?
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Australian Policy Online top reports for Health 2011
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Gender indicators, Australia, Jan 2012

Books

A Decent Provision: Australian Welfare Policy, 1870 to 1949

A Decent Provision: Australian Welfare Policy, 1870 to 1949

  • John Murphy
  • Ashgate
A Decent Provision is a narrative history of how and why Australia built a distinctive welfare regime in the period from the 1870s to 1949.
Leadership Beyond Good Intentions - What It Takes To Really Make A Difference

Leadership Beyond Good Intentions - What It Takes To Really Make A Difference

  • Geoff Aigner
  • Allen & Unwin
Good intentions are not enough. You want to change things in your organisation or in the world, but despite your best efforts you run into obstacles and resistance. The temptation is to see the challenges as lying outside ourselves. We grasp at a model or a tool, or we find other people slow to get the point or worse - obstructive. But the real challenge we face is often ourselves.

Noticeboard

Default Superannuation Funds in Modern Awards: new inquiry
07 February 2012
The Productivity Commission has been asked to report within 8 months on Default Superannuation Funds in Modern Awards. The inquiry covers the design of criteria for the selection and ongoing assessment of superannuation funds for nomination as default funds in modern awards.
Access and equity inquiry
20 December 2011

On 18 November 2011, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Senator the Hon Kate Lundy, announced the establishment of an independent panel of eminent community leaders to conduct an inquiry into Australian Government services to ensure they are responsive to the needs of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Survey: Last chance to have your say on information technology and mental illness
15 December 2011

We live in a 'wired society'. But how much are people affected by mental illness included in this? Does social media increase isolation or help people overcome it?

Topic Guides

A guide to understanding and working with General Practice in NSW

20 May 2011Providing an outline of general practice, this resource considers its uniformity and diversity; its funding arrangements, service delivery, workforce, training, capacity and supporting structures.

Topics

APO