This national evaluation covers three of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy (SFCS) initiatives: Communities for Children (CfC), Invest to Grow and Local Answers. It examines service provision, service coordination, Indigenous families and children in CfC sites, factors that facilitate or hinder service provision and outcomes, and sustainability.

This facts sheet is about the diverse range of families in which Australians live and the diverse ways in which they provide support to one another. Families are very diverse and take many shapes and forms. They also typically extend across a number of households. Despite this diversity, there is a set of functions that...

Most states and territories have introduced legislation providing for child-related employment pre-screening, or are working towards such legislation but there are important differences across jurisdictions regarding the type of screening programs that are in place, what records are checked, and who is required to undergo screening. Each day, children across Australia come into contact with...

This report focuses on children's readiness for school, considering the role of families, schools and communities as facilitators and inhibitors. The transition from home to school is a major change in children’s lives, being the first compulsory and universal point of contact between the child and broader social institutions. This can be a challenging period...

The most recent drought has been one of the most severe on record with large parts of southern and eastern Australia experiencing dry conditions since 1996. Moreover, 'For the agriculturally important Murray- Darling Basin, however, October 2007 marks the sixth anniversary of lower than average rainfall totals, with the November 2001 to October 2007 period...