Occasional Paper series

The Occasional Paper series is produced by FaHCSIA's Research and Analysis Branch. These non-refereed papers are designed to disseminate data and analysis on a range of topics.

Produced on an irregular basis, the papers provide an outlet for ad hoc information and data considered useful for government, researchers and the community.

More information on additional copies and subscription to the FaHCSIA research publications are available online.

• Number 47: Young carers in receipt of Carer Payment and Carer Allowance 2001 to 2006: characteristics, experiences and post-care outcomes
  This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the circumstances of young people (aged under 25 years) who receive transfer payments to support them in providing ‘informal’ care to people with disabilities and the frail aged. A specific motivation of the research was to examine the extent to which young carers are reliant on income support, both while caring and post-care, and their education participation.

• Number 46: Parental marital status and children’s wellbeing
  This paper compares the wellbeing of children whose biological parents are married and those whose parents are cohabiting; it also looks at children in sole-mother families.

• Number 44: Paid Parental Leave evaluation: Phase 1
  This paper presents the main findings of the first phase of the evaluation of the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave program, which commenced in January 2011.

• Number 42: New father figures and fathers who live elsewhere
  This report investigates outcomes for children who experience a ‘new father figure’ moving into their home, as well as the effects of having a biological father who does not live with them.

• Number 41: Responses to financial stress at life transition points
  This paper looks at how changes in individuals’ circumstances affect their reported perceptions of their own financial wellbeing or deprivation.

• Number 40: Development of culturally appropriate gambling services for Indigenous communities
  This report of a project by the Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia explores current delivery frameworks for problem gambling services, and identifies appropriate approaches to addressing problem gambling in Indigenous communities.

• Number 39: Community attitudes to people with disability: scoping project
  This report investigates current research on community attitudes towards people with disability.

• Number 38: Financial and non-financial support to formal and informal out-of-home carers 
  This report describes the supports and services available to formal and informal out-of-home carers.

• Number 37: Fathering in Australia among couple families with young children 
  This report examines the many ways fathers in couple families with young children contribute to family life, and the impact fathers have on children's wellbeing.

• Number 36: Approaches to personal money management 
  The project profiles the population into segments based on personal money management attitudes and behaviours. 

• Number 35: Post-diagnosis support for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, their families and carers 
  The paper consists of two reports on post-diagnosis support for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The first report focuses on younger children, and the second on older children.

• Number 34: Evaluation of income management in the Northern Territory 
  This paper is an evaluation of the income management program introduced as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response that was announced in June 2007.

• Number 33: Problem gamblers and the role of the financial sector 
  The report details current measures that exist to assist problem gamblers, proposes new measures that could be implemented, and suggests areas for further research.

• Number 32: Incentives, rewards, motivation and the receipt of income support 
  This report looks at how individuals in receipt of government income support change their behaviour when faced with new incentives or requirements placed upon them by the agency providing their income support.

• Number 31: Housing costs and living standards among the elderly 
  This paper examines how the living standards of older Australians compare with those of the overall population, how much variation in living standards there is across the elderly population and how their living standards have changed over time.

• Number 30: Families’ experiences of services 
  This report, by the Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University, documents the experiences of 80 parents on income support

• Number 29: Effectiveness of individual funding approaches for disability support 
  This paper examines the effectiveness of individual funding of disability support and aimed to inform policy to improve the provision of disability support.

• Number 28: Needs of clients in the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program 
  This report outlines the results of an investigation into the support needs of clients receiving assistance through the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP).

• Number 27: Ageing and Australian Disability Enterprises 
  This paper examines the ageing of people with disability in the supported employment sector.

• Number 26: Engaging hard-to-reach families and children 
  The study explores how Communities for Children, Invest to Grow and Local Answers projects and activities have engaged clients who may be considered hard-to-reach.

• Number 25: Stronger Families in Australia study: the impact of Communities for Children 
  This report presents the results of the evaluation of the short-run impacts of the Communities for Children (CfC) initiative on child, family and community outcomes.

• Number 24: National evaluation (2004–2008) of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004–2009 
  The National evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy was undertaken over four years by the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, supported by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

• Number 23: Indigenous families and children: coordination and provision of services 
  The paper examines service provision, service coordination, Indigenous families and children in Communities for Children (CfC) sites.

• Number 22: Engaging fathers in child and family services: participation, perceptions and good practice 
  The paper describes father participation in selected Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2004–2009 programs and services.

• Number 21: Inquiry into the cost of living pressures on older Australians 
  The paper contains the Department's submissions to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs Inquiry into Cost of Living Pressures on Older Australians.

• Number 20: Stories on 'growing up' from Indigenous people in the ACT metro/Queanbeyan region - 2008 
  This paper contains extracts of 'growing up stories' from people who live in the ACT metro/Queanbeyan region.

• Number 19: Lessons learnt about strengthening Indigenous families and communities - 2008 
  This report discusses what has been learned from the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy 2000–2004 about how to strengthen Indigenous families and communities.

• Number 18: Costs of children: research commissioned by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support 
  The paper is a collection of three reports on the costs of children in Australian families. The research was commissioned by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support.

• Number 17: Growing up in the Torres Strait Region 
  This paper documents the experiences of growing up in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula area using the stories and photos of local people.

• Number 16: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander views on research in their communities 
  This paper is based on the minutes taken during extensive consultations with urban, regional and remote Indigenous communities across Australia during 2003–04 for Footprints in Time -The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children.

• Number 15: The 'growing up' of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: a literature review 
  This literature review was commissioned as part of Footprints in Time—The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, to consolidate what is already known about Indigenous children, and to highlight what information is missing.

• Number 14: Evaluation of Fixing Houses for Better Health Projects 2, 3 and 4 
  The Fixing Houses for Better Health Projects target the improvement of houses and household living conditions in remote and rural Indigenous communities, using a method known as housing for health.

• Number 13: A compendium of legislative changes in social security 1983-2000 
  This paper details legislative changes (and administrative changes with policy relevance) to the Australian social security system between 1983 and 2000.

• Number 12: A compendium of legislative changes in social security 1908-1982 
  Arranged by payment type, this volume provides details of some legislation other than that in the Social Security Act and its predecessors, in particular taxation changes relevant to social security, from 1908 to 1982.

• Number 11: Inquiries into retirement and superannuation 
  This paper is two submissions to the Senate Select Committee on Superannuation. The first submission is on superannuation and living standards in retirement. The second is on planning for retirement.

• Number 10: Families of prisoners: literature review on issues and difficulties 
  This literature review identifies issues and difficulties for families of prisoners in Australia, especially those issues affecting prisoners' children and the children's care givers.

• Number 9: Inquiry into poverty and financial hardship 
  This paper is a submission to the Australian Senate on questions related to poverty and financial hardship.

• Number 8: Inquiry into long-term strategies to address the ageing of the Australian population over the next 40 years 
  Departmental submission on long-term strategies to address the ageing of the Australian population over the next 40 years.

• Number 7: Income support customers: a statistical overview 2001 
  This paper provides a snapshot of the number and demographic characteristics of income support recipients in 2001.

• Number 6: The Australian system of social protection–an overview (second edition) 
  This paper provides an overview of the Australian system of income support within the broader context of social protection policies.

• Number 5: Welfare Reform Pilots: characteristics and participation patterns of three disadvantaged groups 
  The paper provides valuable insight into the patterns of, and barriers to, social and economic activity for mature age jobless people; very long-term unemployed (more than five years); and workless families.

• Number 4: Hardship in Australia: an analysis of financial stress indicators in the 1998–99 Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Survey 
  Reports on research undertaken using the financial stress questions in the Household Expenditure Survey to develop measures of disadvantage.

• Number 3: The identification and analysis of indicators of community strength and outcomes 
  Provides a review and analysis of literature on the conceptualisation and measurement of community strength and its outcomes, identifying the commonalities and differences between various approaches to these issues.

• Number 2: Low fertility: a discussion paper 
  Overviews the available information and theoretical discussion of low fertility, and provides a framework for discussion.

• Number 1: Income support and related statistics: a 10-year compendium, 1989–1999 
  A compendium of recipient numbers, characteristics and expenditure for all FaCS income support payments and a number of other supplementary payments and other services for the period June 1989 to June 1999.