Campaigns and advocacy
Helping to devise a National Framework for protecting Australia's children
Australia’s appalling child abuse record has begged a concerted national response for decades. Yet such a response has been fettered by the failure of all levels of government to work together to find comprehensive, cooperative and practical solutions. Families Australia has long campaigned for a National Child Protection Strategy, which will join together government and non-government efforts in an overarching plan. In late 2007, Families Australia facilitated the establishment of the Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children, comprising 51 of Australia’s largest NGOs operating in the field of children’s wellbeing and protection, as well as key academics, to work with the incoming Rudd Government to develop the Framework. The Rudd Government has committed itself to develop the Framework by the end of 2008 and is working closely with the Coalition and Families Australia.
- Families Australia’s policy on child protection here
- Families Australia's submission on the discussion paper, Australia's Children: Safe and Well. A National Framework for protecting Australia's children, June 2008 here
- Families Australia’s recent media releases on child protection here
- Submission to the Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW, February 2008 here
- Media coverage of Families Australia’s comments here
- The Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia’s Children here
- Australian Government’s May 2008 Budget announcement on child protection here
- 2006 Draft National Child Protection Strategy here
Assisting ‘Forgotten Australians’ who were in institutional care as children
Families Australia has been assisting a group of people, the Forgotten Australians, who were in institutional care, such as orphanages, in the period from the 1930s to the 1970s, to gain recognition and support for the maltreatment that many suffered. The Senate Community Affairs References Committee conducted an Inquiry and in 2004 produced a report, Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children. The Inquiry revealed a history of neglect and cruelty, of abandonment and exploitation that has left roughly half a million Australians, as well as many child migrants, physically and psychologically scarred. Families Australia is providing secretariat and support services to the Alliance for Forgotten Australians. An information booklet, aimed at educating health and welfare service providers about the experiences and needs of the Forgotten Australians, is available from Families Australia.
- Families Australia’s policy on the Forgotten Australians here
- Alliance for Forgotten Australians website here
- Recent media releases by Alliance for Forgotten Australians here
- Senate report, Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children, 2004 here
Raising awareness about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander family issues
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians still experience significant disadvantage and marginalisation. As a result, they have poorer health, lower average education levels, high unemployment and a much shorter life span than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. In partnership with Aboriginal anr Torres Strait Islander-run member organisations, such as the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (a Families Australia founding member), Families Australia advocates for improvements, such as increased health spending, universal provision of high quality, culturally appropriate early learning and school education services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families and child welfare and family support programmes that link existing services and develop new ones to provide a more holistic response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families’ needs.
- Families Australia’s policy on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here
- Families Australia’s recent media releases here
- Media coverage of Families Australia’s comments here
- Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care website here
Advocating for grandparents to receive greater support
Families Australia's consultations with grandparents and relevant organisations revealed that many grandparents, especially those with primary caring responsibilities for grandchildren, would benefit from additional financial, social and emotional support and from better targeted information about how to get help.
- Families Australia’s report Grandparenting: present and future here
- Families Australia’s policy on grandparenting here
- Families Australia's Better Support for Grandparents: Issues and Recommendations here
- Media coverage of Families Australia comments here
Helping carers of children with severe disability
Families Australia’s Chief Executive Officer was a member of an Australian Government appointed taskforce which reviewed the Carer Payment (child) benefit to the carers of children with profound or severe disability. The Australian Government’s May 2008 Federal Budget announced major changes to the payment, based on the Taskforce’s recommendations. From 1 July 2009, an additional 19,000 carers of children under the age of 16 years with profound disability or illness will be able to access Carer Payment (child) and related benefits.
- Taskforce Report here
- Australian Government’s May 2008 Budget announcement here
- Speech by the Hon. Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 15 May 2008 here
Advocating for carers of older people and people with disability
The Taskforce on Care Costs, in conjunction with Families Australia, issued a major report in November 2007, The hidden face of care: combining work and caring responsibilities for the aged and people with a disability, which found that carers currently feel undervalued, and their experiences are often misunderstood by employers and co-workers. 34 percent of carers surveyed said that their job/career had suffered because of the competing demands of their caring responsibilities. The report gives insights to employers about how to create more inclusive workplaces, and to governments, on creating a supportive infrastructure.
- The hidden face of care report here
Highlighting the needs of families affected by substance abuse
The lives of multitudes of Australians and their families have been, and are today, being ruined by illicit and licit substance abuse. Families Australia advocates a rethinking of national approaches to tackling substance abuse, including by providing greater support for affected families.
- Families Australia’s policy on substance abuse here
- Families Australia's submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry here
- Families Australia’s evidence to Parliament here
- Media coverage of Families Australia’s comments here
Promoting better work and family balance
More than 1.7 million Australians (twice as many as 1982) work 50 hours or more per week. Fathers employed full time spent on average 52 hours per week in employment-related activities – this is among the longest working hours in OECD countries. These are some of the facts that underpin the difficulty that many Australian families have in balancing work and family. Families Australia has been advocating a range of measures to improve the balance.
- Families Australia’s policy on work and family here
- Families Australia-Australian National University 2nd ‘National Work, Families and Wellbeing’ Forum May 2006 here
- Families Australia’s submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into work and family, 2005 here
- Families Australia’s recent media releases here
- Media coverage of Families Australia’s comments here
- Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report, It’s About Time, 2007 here
Supporting the campaign to prevent violence against women
Families Australia is proud to support White Ribbon Day: the day set aside on 25 November each year in Australia and internationally to highlight the need to eliminate violence against women and children. Families Australia’s Chief Executive Officer is a White Ribbon Day Ambassador and a member of the White Ribbon Day National Leadership Group.
- White Ribbon Day website here
Supporting universal paid parental leave
Families Australia supports universal access to family friendly work conditions, including access to paid maternity/paternity/parental leave for a minimum of 14 weeks, and ideally 24 weeks, access to unpaid leave for up to a maximum of two years and access to paid leave for a non-child bearing partner.
- Families Australia's submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and parental leave here
- Families Australia’s policy on work and family here
- Media coverage of Families Australia’s comments here
Celebrating families through National Families Week
National Families Week is the nation’s main annual celebration of the vital role of families. National Families Week has been celebrated in May since 2003 to coincide with the UN International Day of Families on 15 May. National Families Week 2008 (11-17 May) set a record in terms of the number of people (over 120,000) who participated in events. Families Australia runs National Families Week on behalf of the Australian Government.