Highly effective schools have high levels of parent and community engagement. "Community" here includes parents, business and philanthropic organisations, and various services and not-for-profit groups. How "engagement" is defined and what it looks like in practice will vary from school to school. But, as the growing body of research makes quite clear, support from those...

This report documents the processes, outcomes and recommendations of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government (ACELG) Local Government Researchers Forum held at the University of Technology, Sydney on 14 and 15 December 2011.

Employment is an important element of successful integration within one’s community. Across Australia, nearly two-thirds of prisoners were unemployed when they committed the crimes for which they were incarcerated. For Indigenous and non-Indigenous ex-prisoners alike, there are numerous benefits associated with employment. They include benefits related to the individual (for example, increased earning capacity, improved...

The concept of social inclusion entered Australian policy discourse and practice following an extended period of conceptual, practice and empirical policy-oriented work internationally, most notably in France initially, the UK and within the ongoing activities of the European Union.

NAB's Microenterprise Loan program involves unsecured business loans for small enterprises that do not have access to mainstream business finance. The loans are not provided as a band-aid or short-term solution: they are part of a wider program and are offered in partnership with established training, mentoring and support initiatives tailored to the specific needs...