APRIL 2022
In this issue we introduce a series reconsidering skills and training for young people.
Financial stresses faced by several groups are also highlighted, pointing to the need for policy changes in areas such as income support and housing.
Similarly, moves to more sustainable energy sources must be carefully planned so that disadvantaged households do not face unfair costs.
You can read more about our current work at www.bsl.org.au/research and also browse our policy submissions.
Please share this policy and research update with your colleagues and encourage them to subscribe.
Social Policy and Research Centre team, Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL)
PAPER: STRENGTHENING APPRENTICESHIPS AND EMPLOYMENT-BASED TRAINING
Despite being the most common form of employment-based training, Australian apprenticeships are not living up to their promise. In the first of a new series, Skills and training for young people, David Longley and Kira Clarke explore the weaknesses of the current system and propose a new approach, based on BSL program experience and international evidence.
Read the paper Unlocking the potential of Australian apprenticeships (PDF, 997 KB)
REPORT: DEPENDING ON THE FAMILY
Stage 12 of our longitudinal Life Chances study observes a trend among 30-year-olds of needing to rely on family resources, particularly because of insecure employment and unaffordable housing. It raises questions about how social policy can reinforce or address inequity.
Read the report by Ursula Harrison and Dina Bowman Return to the family safety net? Economic security as Life Chances participants turn 30 (PDF, 522 KB)
Track previous stages of the Life Chances study which commenced in 1990.
PRESENTATION: COVID-19 AND LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS
Emily Porter reported from our Financial lives in uncertain times project at the 4th Financial Inclusion conference: Roads to Resilience, hosted by the NSW Financial Inclusion Network in partnership with the Northern Rivers Community Gateway and Centre for Social Impact UNSW.
View Emily's presentation Australian trends in family poverty, financial stress and the impact of COVID (14 minutes)
POLICY: SHARING THE RISKS OF TRANSITION AWAY FROM GAS
Community organisations including BSL argue that necessary plans to move away from gas as a major energy source must not impose disproportionate costs for consumers, especially those on low incomes.
Read our joint policy submissions to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER):
POLICY: PROTECTING VULNERABLE ENERGY CONSUMERS
Regulation of Australia's retail energy market should not only assist low-income households to choose between offers but also ensure all can access affordable energy, which is an essential service.
Read our Submission to the Australian Energy Regulator re consumer vulnerability (PDF, 122 KB)
WEBINAR: ENABLING WOMEN’S FUTURE ECONOMIC SECURITY
To mark International Women's Day, BSL's Dina Bowman hosted a webinar featuring:
- Professor Margaret Alston, University of Newcastle
- Kristin O’Connell, Antipoverty Centre
- Dr Leonora Risse, RMIT University
Watch the webinar Enabling women’s economic security in 2022 ... and beyond (57 minutes)
POLICY: TOWARDS SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NDIS
BSL reaffirmed our commitment to principles of choice and control, and to person-centred support, in our latest response to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Read our Submission re current Scheme implementation and forecasting for the NDIS (PDF, 148 KB)
ARTICLE: THE PITFALLS OF ‘PARTIAL CAPACITY TO WORK’
Too many Australians with a disability or chronic health conditions are having to live long-term on the inadequate JobSeeker Payment because they are deemed ineligible for the Disability Support Pension.
Read the article by Dina Bowman and Karen Soldatic, ‘Dead ends: how our social security system is failing people with partial capacity to work’, Social Security Rights Review, 22 February 2022
CHAPTER: LANGUAGE AND CLASS IN AUSTRALIA
BSL's Deborah Warr is co-author, with Keith Jacobs and Henry Paternoster, of a chapter in a collection of new studies exploring how class and class relations have shaped Australia.
Find out more about ‘Bogan talk: what it says (and can’t say) about class in Australia’ in Steven Threadgold and Jessica Gerrard (eds), Class in Australia, Monash University Publishing.
Kaitlyn MacDonald joined the Brotherhood of St. Laurence in 2019 and moved into the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning team in the Social Policy and Research Centre in October 2021.
She gained a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics and Policy at Michigan State University and is completing a Graduate Certificate in Evaluation at the University of Melbourne.
Kaitlyn has worked previously with Australian Red Cross, and with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
With a keen interest in the connection between program design and evaluation, she is currently working on the roll-out of BSL’s Impact Framework.
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BSL Social Policy and Research Centre
67 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy Vic. 3065 Australia
Phone: (03) 9483 1183
Email: research@bsl.org.au
Web: www.bsl.org.au/research
© Brotherhood of St. Laurence 2022
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