Guidelines for contributors

Australian Social Policy publishes current research and analysis on a broad range of issues topical to Australia's social policy and its administration. The Journal includes Major Articles, Social Policy Notes and Book Reviews and is published annually.

Content is compiled by the Research and Analysis Branch of the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA).

All submissions of Major Articles and Social Policy Notes to Australian Social Policy are subject to a blind peer review. This referee process is recognised by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training.

Submissions are accepted from government employees, academic researchers and other relevant practitioners. Submissions that contribute to current social policy research issues and debates are particularly encouraged.

Submissions can be forwarded by email to publications.research@facsia.gov.au, or post to:

Research Publications Unit
Research Strategies Section
Research and Analysis Branch (TOP CW2)
Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Box 7576
Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610

For more information:

Phone: (02) 6244-5458
Fax: (02) 6244-6589
Email: publications.research@facsia.gov.au

Writing content

1. Major articles should be between 4,000 and 8,000 words, Social Policy Notes between 2,500 and 4,000 words and Book Reviews 1,200 to 1,500. Authors are required to discuss any variations to these lengths with the Publications Unit.

2. It is expected that submissions have not been published previously, nor are they being considered for publication elsewhere, and that content is original. If author(s) wish to have publication considered for dual publication they must seek permission to reprint from the Publications Unit. Full acknowledgement of prior publication in Australian Social Policy must be given where necessary.

3. Authors must make every effort to ensure that:

all information presented in the paper is accurate and appropriately referenced
conclusions drawn are appropriately supported by the analysis and/or the evidence presented in the paper
correct spelling and grammar is employed consistently throughout the paper.

4. Content should be written in plain, non-technical English, and must not use:

departmental or discipline-specific jargon unless necessary, in which case they should be clearly defined within the article
acronyms unless preceded by the full title in the first instance
language which discriminates on the basis of gender, ethnicity, age and/or disability (more details are available in FaCSIA's Commitment to Workplace Diversity).

5. Name, title, affiliation(s) and contact details of the author(s) must be included with the submission.

6. Professional practices regarding the reproduction of copyright material must be followed.

7. Authors should:

use the Harvard System for referencing
use endnotes rather than footnotes
clearly source figures, tables and other data where necessary.

More information on Commonwealth Style guidelines is available from Snooks & Co. 2002, Style Manual (6th Edition, John Wiley & Sons) available through the National Office for the Information Economy on the web at www.publications.gov.au.

Submitting content

8. Submissions must include:

One printed copy (double spaced) of the submission posted to the Publications Unit.
One electronic copy of the submission emailed to publications.research@facsia.gov.au. Text should be sent as an attached Microsoft Word Document (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf ) file. All figures, (ie charts and diagrams) presented in the submission should be sent as Microsoft Excel (.xls) files and must include the data from which the figures were generated. Authors who wish to use alternative word processing, spreadsheet or graphics packages must contact the Publications Unit.

9. Content, particularly figures and tables, should be presented in greyscale (black and white). Colour is not employed in the Australian Social Policy Journal.

Any diagrammatic representation of data should include the data from which the representation was generated (ie Microsoft Excel spreadsheets). This data should be submitted as a separate file.

The content and layout of the printed copy and electronic copy must be identical and represent the final version of the submission.

10. FaCSIA EMPLOYEES ONLY: The author(s) must obtain clearance of content, quality and readability of their submission for publication from their Branch Manager. This must be indicated on the completed 'Clearance for Publication (internal) Form' and attached to the printed copy submitted.

11. Anyone whose personal details (name, departmental contact details etc) are to appear in a publication must provide written approval these details to be printed and/or promoted by electronic media including the internet.

12. Submissions may be reviewed by the Director of the Research Strategies Section and the Branch Manager of the Research and Analysis Branch. At this point, the author may be contacted to provide further information or revise content. Authors are requested to respond to these comments within a specified time.

13. A decision whether or not to publish a submission will be based on the following criteria:

relevance to the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs portfolio
contribution to current social policy research issues and debates
academic quality and readability of the paper
blind peer review process
for FaCSIA employees receipt of signed clearance by Branch Head. (See item 10 above).

14. All submissions of Major Articles to the Australian Social Policy Journal are subject to a blind peer review. One or more referees are engaged to review and comment upon submissions. The identity of the author(s) and referee(s) will not be revealed to the other party.

Authors will be required to respond to these comments and revise submissions where necessary within one month of receiving the referee report.

15. Submissions will be proofread and style-edited by the Publications Unit and/or a professional editor. Authors will be required to review style changes and respond within two weeks. No content changes will be accepted at this stage.

16. Once content has been cleared and submitted for typesetting, author revisions are not permitted.

17. The Publications Unit will nominate a release date for the publication. Once the publication is released it will be available to the public in both printed and/or electronic format, and can be downloaded from the FaCSIA Internet site at http://www.facsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/research/asp-nav.htm.

18. Author(s) will receive two printed copies of the published work.

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