Changes in payments, family dynamics and wellbeing following major child support reform: a longitudinal investigation of behavourial and attitudinal responses. This study will benefit the nation in three main ways: (a) it will measure the immediate impact of child support reforms on parent-child contact and the payment of child support; (b) it will provide an estimate of the consequences of these reforms for family dynamics (especially conflict, acrimony and the quality of parent-child relations ....Changes in payments, family dynamics and wellbeing following major child support reform: a longitudinal investigation of behavourial and attitudinal responses. This study will benefit the nation in three main ways: (a) it will measure the immediate impact of child support reforms on parent-child contact and the payment of child support; (b) it will provide an estimate of the consequences of these reforms for family dynamics (especially conflict, acrimony and the quality of parent-child relationships) and parents' and children's health and wellbeing; and (c) it will provide new evidence on the interrelationships between post-separation economic, social and psychological wellbeing irrespective of the reforms. Through this partnership between the University and relevant government departments, we are maximising the opportunity for shaping future policies and service delivery.Read moreRead less
Intra-household resource allocations of older couples. This project aims to analyse processes and outcomes within older households using national, large-scale representative data and mixed methods research design. In an ageing population where households are becoming responsible for provisioning retirement needs, understanding what happens in older couple households is important. The project expects to influence policy by generating evidence relevant to the design of regulations governing the al ....Intra-household resource allocations of older couples. This project aims to analyse processes and outcomes within older households using national, large-scale representative data and mixed methods research design. In an ageing population where households are becoming responsible for provisioning retirement needs, understanding what happens in older couple households is important. The project expects to influence policy by generating evidence relevant to the design of regulations governing the allocation of superannuation assets, tax incentives for alternative forms of retirement savings, asset and income tests on the Age Pension, and initiatives targeting older Australians’ financial literacy.Read moreRead less
Regional Dimensions: New Models for Analysis of the Spatial Effects of Policy, Socio-Demographic and Economic Changes. This project aims to substantially improve the decision-support tools available to State and Territory governments by providing them with, first, far more detailed small area data than has previously been available, via the creation of a synthetic small area household database and, second, with the capacity to assess the current and future impact of possible policy reforms and l ....Regional Dimensions: New Models for Analysis of the Spatial Effects of Policy, Socio-Demographic and Economic Changes. This project aims to substantially improve the decision-support tools available to State and Territory governments by providing them with, first, far more detailed small area data than has previously been available, via the creation of a synthetic small area household database and, second, with the capacity to assess the current and future impact of possible policy reforms and likely social, demographic and economic changes at the small area level, through the construction of microsimulation models on top of the synthetic household data.Read moreRead less
Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contempora ....Social Mix and Social Exclusion in Disadvantaged Communities: Clarifying the Links between Policy, Practice and the Evidence Base. The project tackles an important question and one of considerable national policy significance - that of whether social mix, planned for public housing estates to reduce the spatial concentration of disadvantaged households, will result in benefits for low-income residents in those places. The conceptual framework for exploring this central question is the contemporary debate about social exclusion and its corollary social inclusion. The results will have important implications for government policy makers, not to mention improving the quality of life for residents in these neighbourhoods. It will also integrate Australian research into the international debate.Read moreRead less
The relationships between retail availability, peer smoking and tobacco purchase and consumption: a diary study of smoking behaviour. Despite multiple public health initiatives, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, costing the Australian community more than 19,000 lives each year. Public awareness of the dangers of smoking is high, yet around 19% of Australians continue to smoke. Social effects (e.g. the presence of nearby smokers) and the high retail availability of cigarette ....The relationships between retail availability, peer smoking and tobacco purchase and consumption: a diary study of smoking behaviour. Despite multiple public health initiatives, smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death, costing the Australian community more than 19,000 lives each year. Public awareness of the dangers of smoking is high, yet around 19% of Australians continue to smoke. Social effects (e.g. the presence of nearby smokers) and the high retail availability of cigarettes are likely to be associated with smoking rates and failed quit attempts, yet there is little research in this area. By providing a better understanding of the effect of these factors on smoking patterns, the study will suggest the most effective avenues for reducing the rate of smoking in Australia, and thus decreasing its substantial cost to individuals and the community.Read moreRead less
Opportunity and Disadvantage: Differences in Wellbeing Among Australia's Adults and Children at a Small Area Level. There is growing interest in regional perspectives in social, economic and health policy, amid increasing evidence that the opportunities and well-being of Australians are greatly affected by where they live. But the evidence base and data required to assess distributional equity issues are deficient. This project will improve the welfare of Australians by generating new insights i ....Opportunity and Disadvantage: Differences in Wellbeing Among Australia's Adults and Children at a Small Area Level. There is growing interest in regional perspectives in social, economic and health policy, amid increasing evidence that the opportunities and well-being of Australians are greatly affected by where they live. But the evidence base and data required to assess distributional equity issues are deficient. This project will improve the welfare of Australians by generating new insights into spatial inequalities; creating new databases about the characteristics of Australians living in each small area; making these new data very widely available through the web; and placing Australia at the international leading edge in the production of spatial socio-economic household data.Read moreRead less
SOCIAL CAPITAL AND PUBLIC POLICY: HOW SOCIAL CAPITAL CAN INFORM PUBLIC POLICY INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND REDUCE INEQUITIES. This project examines the ways in which social capital affects policy outcomes in Australia. The research aims to examine the processes underpinning the development and implementation of public sector initiatives designed to promote social capital and to identify the role that social capital may play in implementing policy designed to reduce economic and health in ....SOCIAL CAPITAL AND PUBLIC POLICY: HOW SOCIAL CAPITAL CAN INFORM PUBLIC POLICY INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND REDUCE INEQUITIES. This project examines the ways in which social capital affects policy outcomes in Australia. The research aims to examine the processes underpinning the development and implementation of public sector initiatives designed to promote social capital and to identify the role that social capital may play in implementing policy designed to reduce economic and health inequities between different groups in the population. The research will lead to a number of outcomes, including an increased understanding of the value of social capital to policy makers and evidence based recommendations for policies and interventions designed to improve health and reduce inequities.Read moreRead less
Edges of home ownership. This project aims to address substantial knowledge gaps about household behaviours, wealth management and wellbeing outcomes at the edges of home ownership. Housing pathways were traditionally viewed as linear progressions that began when leaving the parental home and ended in outright ownership. However, growing numbers of Australians now face an uncertain future at the edges of home ownership, where there is considerable movement both in and out of owning and renting o ....Edges of home ownership. This project aims to address substantial knowledge gaps about household behaviours, wealth management and wellbeing outcomes at the edges of home ownership. Housing pathways were traditionally viewed as linear progressions that began when leaving the parental home and ended in outright ownership. However, growing numbers of Australians now face an uncertain future at the edges of home ownership, where there is considerable movement both in and out of owning and renting over the life course. This project will deliver new evidence on households’ wealth strategies, wellbeing and risk burdens at the edges of home ownership. The project will promote policies that enhance financial wellbeing, housing stability and retirement income security amidst growing housing precariousness in Australia.Read moreRead less
Home ownership and housing wealth: ageing and intergenerational pathways. This project plans to fill major research gaps by delivering new evidence on the drivers of intergenerational housing wealth inequality. It aims to generate new knowledge on the ways in which baby boomers manage housing wealth, and shed light on their experiences of using wealth transfers to improve their children’s housing outcomes. The project offers innovative cross-national analyses that should produce internationally ....Home ownership and housing wealth: ageing and intergenerational pathways. This project plans to fill major research gaps by delivering new evidence on the drivers of intergenerational housing wealth inequality. It aims to generate new knowledge on the ways in which baby boomers manage housing wealth, and shed light on their experiences of using wealth transfers to improve their children’s housing outcomes. The project offers innovative cross-national analyses that should produce internationally relevant findings and foster collaborations on a significant scale. It is expected to provide major national benefits by promoting a shift away from short-term policy planning that unintentionally set generations against each other towards a more holistic policy perspective that meet the needs of co-existing generations.Read moreRead less
Does retail petrol price respond asymmetrically to changes in its cost? A modelling framework. This project will offer a model for assessing the abnormal-price setting for various goods and services, leading to greater transparency of the market. The modelling framework proposed in this project will assist in resolving a significant policy issue, which is now the subject of considerable public debate and not thoroughly examined to date.