Social media, including Facebook and Twitter, played an important role in crisis communication at the height of the 2011 South East Queensland floods crisis (10-16 January). This report examines the role of the short-messaging system Twitter in disseminating and sharing crisis information and updates from state and local authorities, as well as everyday citizens.

The death of a child from assault or neglect is a tragic event which goes to highlight the critical issues of safeguarding children and developing effective social policy. The requirement to protect children from threats to life posed by abuse and neglect is internationally enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the...

The study sought to examine how assertive outreach has been conceptualized and implemented in practice in Australia, and the extent to which it is achieving its policy intent. It did this by drawing on evidence from policy-makers, service providers and service users, through three case studies in Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin.

The Indigenous Child Placement Principle was embedded in section 83 of the Child Protection Act 1999 to prescribe a process that must be followed by the Department of Communities when making out-of-home care placement decisions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, to help maintain their connection to family, community and culture...

Social media sites Twitter and Facebook played a crucial role in disseminating information during the 2011 Queensland floods. That is the key finding of a new report by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI). CCI researchers Assoc. Prof. Axel Bruns and Dr. Jean Burgess from Queensland University of Technology (QUT)...