Recent Achievements
Families Australia develops its policy positions by listening to the views of its members (through surveys and workshops) and of families and individuals (through focus groups held across Australia). We also obtain input from key academics and research organisations, such as the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
As a result, Families Australia has:
- Raised national awareness of family issues, especially child abuse and neglect, work and family, and family wellbeing via direct representations to Parliamentary Committees, Ministers and Members of Parliament, as well as by hosting national conferences such as the 2007 'National Family Wellbeing Symposium', the 2006 'Work, Family and Wellbeing' Forum, the 2004 'Globalisation, Work and Family' Conference, and the 2004 National Child Abuse and Neglect Summit
- Taken leadership in developing Australia's first national child protection strategy by chairing the National Child Protection Forum (2006) which brought together leading political, government and community representatives
- Advanced the views of families and family organisations to a wide range of Australian government agencies such as the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Medicare, and the Child Support Agency
- Mobilised around 500,000 people across Australia to celebrate the vital importance of families during National Families Week in May each year since 2003
- Increased the flow of information to family and community sector organisations about latest developments in national family policy, practice and research through the Families Australia Family Magazine, National Family News, and the Families Australia website
- Increased the flow of information to government and the family and community sector about the issues facing families.