Reform and Impact

Reform across Australia's system of government

Successful reform is possible through prevention strategies delivered by services and programs. These strategies need to address the diverse cultural needs, political environments and community expectations of our society.

Systematic change at such a large-scale is a complex process; numerous strategies are needed to effect multi-level reform across Australia's system of government, with roles for the Commonwealth, and the states and territories. This is a challenging aspect of our work but we are committed to highlighting how a public health approach can better support families and keep children safe.

To support these goals, we contribute to the following national policy efforts in various roles:

• Gathering nationally representative data on the prevalence, associated risk factors, and health outcomes of all forms of child maltreatment as part of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study: https://www.acms.au
• Advocating for a new prevention-oriented movement in collaboration with NAPCAN calling for a national summit to prevent child maltreatment
• Australian Child Rights Taskforce member, reporting to the UN on Australia's compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Coordinated by UNICEF
• Steering Group Member - National Coalition on Child Safety and Wellbeing (auspiced by Families Australia)
• National Forum Member - oversees the implementation of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children action plans
• Research Advisory Committee Member - advisory committee to the National Forum for Safe and Supported: the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children

Making an impact

Our research is used to inform policy recommendations by key stakeholders. One significant report, Supporting children and families to flourish by the James Martin Institute for Public Policy, recommends a relational support system grounded in a public health approach to reform the NSW child and family welfare sector. Our Deputy Director Associate Professor Tim Moore was a member of the Expert Advisory Group, a Research Associate contributed, and many of our articles and reports were cited.

Another major achievement is our involvement in editing a special issue of the International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice. The special issue presents eight articles on public health approaches to prevent child maltreatment. Read more about this special issue.