Voluntary income management in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands

The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands is an Aboriginal Local Government Area located in north-west South Australia. In 2012, the local Women\u27s Council requested the introduction of income management into the APY Lands. The report found there are indications that income management may have made a modest contribution to addressing some of the challenges, but cannot alone make significant inroads into the social problems within the community. • Executive summary This is the final report of an examination of the implementation and early impacts of the introduction of Voluntary Income Management (VIM) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The project is a qualitative study of VIM in the APY Lands.  This study focuses on how the measure is operating in the short-term, after its introduction in October 2012. The study is based primarily on qualitative and quantitative face to face interviews with community members in Pukatja (Ernabella) and Amata – two of the biggest communities in the APY Lands. The project also draws on reports provided by the Department of Social Services on the number and profile of individuals on VIM in the APY Lands. The main findings are: •    The majority of community members and other stakeholders who participated in this study were positive about income management being introduced into the APY Lands. •    The fact that the communities had requested income management, and had been consulted about its introduction, appears to have had a major influence on the communities’ view of income management. •    Similarly the fact that the vast majority of people on income management in the APY Lands were on the Voluntary measure has facilitated the acceptance of income management in the APY Lands. •    Generally income management has been implemented smoothly but there were reportedly some early practical issues around the acceptance of the BasicsCard in some outlets. This was quickly remedied. •    There are mixed responses in relation to the impact of income management on the wellbeing of the community as a whole, but overall there is a belief that it has had a positive impact so far, although its impact is limited. •    The main reasons provided for the communities requesting income management were financial harassment (‘humbug’), misuse of alcohol and cannabis (gunja), gambling, and parents neglecting their children

Would adopting more co-governance arrangements with communities build public trust? A scoping study

The purpose of this scoping study was to identify methods to methods to operationalise and implement co-governance, including outcomes of co-governance. This report presents the findings of the scoping study and is informed by a search of the literature (both academic and practice). The focus was on identifying widely applicable principles that can be applied to different contexts. Illustrative examples of co-governance in specific jurisdictions and policy areas are included

Commissioning Homelessness Services: A Review of Possible Approaches

Contracts for providing Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) in New South Wales, which were due to expire on 30 June 2024, are being extended until 30 June 2026. The extension provides an opportunity for the homelessness sector, including peak bodies, service providers, people with lived experience, and other stakeholders, to shape the ways services are commissioned, as a way to improve the effectiveness of services for people experiencing homelessness, and to help end homelessness. The report seeks to inform and empower the sector to contribute to the design of the new commissioning arrangements. It draws on Australian and international literature to look beyond dominant models of contracting, such as direct contracting with government to identify, and explore the range of alternatives through which governments and the sector can work together to secure and sustain a supply of quality services, and ensure they are co-ordinated to meet need

Opportunities for information sharing: case studies

Personal information provided to government and non-government service providers is highly sensitive. Appropriate collection, management and storage of personal information are critical elements to citizen trust in the public sector. However, misconceptions about the frameworks governing sharing personal information can impact on the coordination of services, case management and policy development.   The NSW Department of Premier & Cabinet engaged the Social Policy Research Centre to develop three case studies that identified the challenges to sharing information appropriately, and the opportunities for better personal information sharing between government agencies and non-government organisations. Improved sharing of personal information in these areas can support more effective policy development, leading to improved service delivery performance and coordination.   The Social Policy Research Centre identified the legislative and policy framework for each case study, conducted qualitative research on the interpretation of this framework, and developed three case study reports

Arthritis and disability

Executive summary: Arthritis Australia commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at UNSW Australia to carry out research on the lived experience of people with arthritis related conditions. This report outlines the methods, findings and implications of the research. Arthritis is the second leading cause of disability and the most common cause of chronic pain in Australia; it is the most prevalent long-term health condition, affecting 3 million people or about 15 per cent of the population. Studies are available on the health costs and loss of productivity associated with arthritis, but not as much is understood about the extent to which arthritis is associated with disability–who is affected, how people are affected, what helps people cope with their condition day to day, and how support services can be improved. Improving understanding of the disability impact of arthritis is particularly important given the transition in Australia to the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the impact this may have on service availability and delivery

Evaluation of Services Our Way

An evaluation of Services Our Way, a NSW Government service model designed to build the capacity of Aboriginal people to have greater access to mainstream and disability services and encourage self-directed support. Overview Services Our Way is a NSW Government service model designed to build the capacity of Aboriginal people to have greater access to mainstream and disability services and encourage self-directed support. The Social Policy Research Centre was commissioned to evaluate the Services Our Way pilot in Nowra, New South Wales, and did so through interviews with families and service providers. Services Our Way had positive impacts on Aboriginal people with disability and their families. The program helped Aboriginal people access a range of services, meeting immediate priorities of the families. The program was successful in engaging with the Aboriginal community using a culturally appropriate approach – an approach which could be shared with other staff and services to improve the appropriateness of service delivery more broadly. Through the program, families were able to access support and services to participate in social, economic and cultural activities, that helped strengthen and support community and social relationships. The evaluation could not determine the degree to which families transitioned to mainstream services – the research found that families had urgent needs to be met prior to transitioning to other services. The Services Our Way program in Nowra was a pilot, which developed from the initial concept in response to local needs. The evaluation identifies a range of issues in providing person centred approaches to Aboriginal people with disability and their families and communities which should influence the future directions under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).&nbsp

Understanding how the public sector organises and controls the outsourcing of human services

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Business.Public sector organisations (PSOs) outsource a range of activities, including human services such as health and social care. Transaction cost economic (TCE) theory suggests human services are difficult to contract over due to high asset specificity, uncertainty and frequency of transactions; the way human services are organised and controlled is also likely to be affected by probity requirements. The inter-organisational management control literature suggests relational control strategies – strategies that are nimble and adaptive – are best suited to activities of low contractibility; yet, where probity requirements are high, bureaucratic control strategies may be more appropriate. Given this tension, the thesis explains how the public sector can organise and control the outsourcing of low contractible human services. Using a qualitative case study of the outsourcing of primary health care services by the Australian Government, I use an abductive approach to explain how PSOs moderate the tension between low contractibility and probity when outsourcing human services

Do Australian social policies take an intersectional approach when addressing the diverse needs of people with disability? A desk top review

This desk top review analyses the extent to which national social policy frameworks in Australia understand and address the intersectional experiences and diverse needs of people with disability, including their age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, intersex status, ethnic origin, or race