Australian Social Policy and the Human Services

Abstract

Social policy encompasses the study of social needs, policy development and administrative arrangements aimed at improving citizen wellbeing and redressing disadvantage. Australian Social Policy and the Human Services introduces readers to the mechanisms of policy development, implementation and evaluation. This third edition emphasises the complexity of practice, examining the links and gaps between policy development and implementation and encouraging readers to develop a critical approach to practice. The text now includes an overview of Australia's political system and has been expanded significantly to cover contemporary issues across several policy domains, including changes in labour market structure, homelessness, mental health and disability, child protection and family violence, education policy, Indigenous initiatives, conceptualisations of citizenship, and the rights of diverse groups and populations. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Australian Social Policy and the Human Services is an indispensable resource for students and practitioners alike.

How do Australian policymakers frame the causes of and policy solutions to poverty? A critical examination of Anti‐Poverty Week parliamentary debates from 2012 to 2021

“…The neoliberal approach to poverty attributes disadvantage primarily to individual behaviour and failures (often labelled welfare dependency) rather than to economic or social structures (Carson & Kerr, 2020; Gerrard & Threadgold, 2022). That approach is epitomised by the use of pejorative terms such as “bludgers” to stigmatise poor and unemployed Australians (Saunders, 2019: 18), and the creation of an artificial separation between welfare claimants and taxpayers with the former blamed for placing an alleged economic burden on the latter (Whiteford, 2022: 5).…”