Disasters are focusing events that can drive immediate policy change. It argues that good recovery institutions provide the adaptive capacity that enables communities to recover from natural disasters. This paper briefly describes recovery processes after three natural disasters in Australia and New Zealand between 2009 and 2011: bushfires in Victoria in 2009, flooding in Queensland...

There has been growing interest in the implications of paternal fly-in/fly-out employment (FIFO) for families and children. The current research had a dual aim, first to investigate children’s well-being in relation to family functioning and paternal FIFO employment characteristics and, second, to access children’s own experience, perceptions and attitudes about the FIFO lifestyle and employment-related...

This report warns that as a result of climate change, disasters are likely to become larger, more complex, occur simultaneously and in regions that have either not experienced the natural hazard previously or at the same intensity or frequency. The report recommends that emergency services will need to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the impact...

This paper discusses challenging and disconnected dialogue in Australia around human rights and how this dialogue intersects with public policy paradigms. As we begin a national consultation about whether or not we should finally catch up with other western democracies and accept the notion of legally enforceable fundamental human rights, it is important to understand...

Using the findings from the primary data collection with families and stakeholders, this report develops the understanding of resilience in these families. It also analyses service practices and models and looks at how services can assist families to build and maintain resilience. Using the findings from the primary data collection with families and stakeholders, this...