This report draws on recent statistics to provide a picture of selected aspects of Australian families in 2011. It first explores some of the demographic and social changes that set the scene for contemporary family life and then considers patterns of participation in work and family life. The focus then turns to participation in community...

This report presents the results of the evaluation of the short-run impacts of the Communities for Children (CfC) initiative on child, family and community outcomes. The study was based on a three-wave longitudinal study of 2,202 families living in 10 sites that had a CfC program and five sites comparable to the CfC sites (contrast...

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...

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...