This initial ACOSS briefing on the 2011-12 Federal Budget outlines key measures announced in the Budget in areas of interest to ACOSS members, to assist members in their work. This briefing does not offer extensive comment on the merit or otherwise of these measures. This paper outlines the measures firstly by providing a general background...

The strength of policy making is integral to the strength of government as a whole, and that of the country at large. When policies fail, the costs (whether monetary or otherwise) can be significant.

This working paper described what ‘adapting’ to climate change means by clarifying commonly used terminology and how these different concepts are used in policy development in Australia, and other parts of the world.).

The National Water Commission's 2007 and 2009 biennial assessments of progress in the implementation of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the National Water Initiative raised concerns about the performance of the urban water sector and declared that the National Water Initiative did not give sufficiently clear guidance on the required direction for urban water reform. To...

Predictable and unpredictable challenges continually confront the policy settings and policy frameworks of governments. They provide a constantly changing dynamic within which policy-making operates. Governments at all levels are asking their public services to identify innovative and workable reforms to anticipate and address these challenges. Public service leaders around the world are struggling not only...