The Aging Population, Superannuation and Corporate Dividend Policy. The project intends to examine how population wealth and age affect one important aspect of corporate decision-making, namely dividend policy. Researchers invest considerable effort in understanding how demographics impact upon the need for, and structure of, government systems including social security and taxation, but relatively little is known about its effect on capital markets or corporate decision-making. Although individ ....The Aging Population, Superannuation and Corporate Dividend Policy. The project intends to examine how population wealth and age affect one important aspect of corporate decision-making, namely dividend policy. Researchers invest considerable effort in understanding how demographics impact upon the need for, and structure of, government systems including social security and taxation, but relatively little is known about its effect on capital markets or corporate decision-making. Although individual investors are, by nature, atomistic, the project argues changes in investor preferences will ultimately prompt companies to alter their dividend policies. Pressure on firms to update these policies will come from superannuation and pension fund managers who, as fiduciaries, will invest money consistent with clients' revised preferences. The project aims to more fully characterise how Australia's ageing population will affect the public and private sectors.Read moreRead less
The impact of income support design on the outcomes of children and youth. This project aims to assess how children from low-income families are affected by welfare policy design in Australia – specifically, by policy intended to influence welfare payment receipt and workforce participation of their parent(s). Causal impacts of policy design on children will be identified and evaluated using unique administrative and survey data, and treating recent welfare reforms in Australia as natural experi ....The impact of income support design on the outcomes of children and youth. This project aims to assess how children from low-income families are affected by welfare policy design in Australia – specifically, by policy intended to influence welfare payment receipt and workforce participation of their parent(s). Causal impacts of policy design on children will be identified and evaluated using unique administrative and survey data, and treating recent welfare reforms in Australia as natural experiments.. This will be the first comprehensive Australian analysis of intergenerational impacts of welfare policy design.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Disadvantage: Causes, Pathways, and Consequences. This Project aims to prevent poor Australian children from becoming poor adults by developing scientific evidence and creative policy approaches to overcome entrenched disadvantage. The Project will generate new knowledge on how social assistance dependence is linked across generations using new Australian data. Expected outcomes are the identification of i) the causal link between parents’ and children’s social assistance depen ....Intergenerational Disadvantage: Causes, Pathways, and Consequences. This Project aims to prevent poor Australian children from becoming poor adults by developing scientific evidence and creative policy approaches to overcome entrenched disadvantage. The Project will generate new knowledge on how social assistance dependence is linked across generations using new Australian data. Expected outcomes are the identification of i) the causal link between parents’ and children’s social assistance dependence; ii) the pathways through which youths overcome disadvantage; and iii) the role of family structure in transmitting disadvantage. Transforming the evidence base, the findings will have significant benefits in redesigning the Australian social safety net, promoting social and economic mobility.Read moreRead less
Rethinking diversity and inclusion practices in leadership roles. This project aims to study the lack of racial and gender diversity in management and leadership roles. The noticeable imbalances question the functioning of the meritocracy principle and may lead to organisational and social vulnerabilities. This project will apply large-scale field experiments with major organisations to investigate how workplace diversity and inclusion can be improved using as foundation economic theories of sig ....Rethinking diversity and inclusion practices in leadership roles. This project aims to study the lack of racial and gender diversity in management and leadership roles. The noticeable imbalances question the functioning of the meritocracy principle and may lead to organisational and social vulnerabilities. This project will apply large-scale field experiments with major organisations to investigate how workplace diversity and inclusion can be improved using as foundation economic theories of signaling, discrimination, fairness, and identity. The expected outcome is the identification of best diversity and inclusion practice in attraction, hiring, development and retention. This will provide significant benefit through an increase in workplace diversity.
Read moreRead less
Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the grea ....Understanding the Factors which Underlie Successful Refugee Integration in the Australian Workplace. There is general agreement that more needs to be done to integrate refugees into the Australian workplace. This project aims to: identify psychological predictors that enable refugee workers to succeed in maintaining their employment and perform at a higher level; examine the importance of workplace and social support to refugee workplace integration, and the groups for which it may have the greatest benefit; and, investigate the effectiveness of a training program as an intervention to enhance refugee job performance and retention. Results will have significant benefits for refugees, their employers and their communities, and will provide a road-map to improve integration of refugees into Australian society.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
'Digital Natives': Growing up with new and old media in Australia. Developing a sophisticated digital literacy is important for both the future of children, the cultural, social and economic well-being of the nation. Digital literacy requires not only communications infrastructure but targeted investment in human skills. Investing in the development of a digitally literate Australian population has become an explicit means for promoting the future economic and social well-being of the nation. Th ....'Digital Natives': Growing up with new and old media in Australia. Developing a sophisticated digital literacy is important for both the future of children, the cultural, social and economic well-being of the nation. Digital literacy requires not only communications infrastructure but targeted investment in human skills. Investing in the development of a digitally literate Australian population has become an explicit means for promoting the future economic and social well-being of the nation. The information provided by this project has the potential to contribute significantly to giving children 'a healthy start to life' in their early years. Read moreRead less
Screening and responding to domestic violence experienced by refugee women. We will adapt and test an evidence-based intervention to identify and address domestic violence with newly arrived refugee women, partnering with Settlement Services International, one of Australia’s largest providers of settlement programs. Domestic violence is the lead contributor to premature death among Australian women, and costs $22 b each year, with refugee women at heightened risk. This study will compare outcome ....Screening and responding to domestic violence experienced by refugee women. We will adapt and test an evidence-based intervention to identify and address domestic violence with newly arrived refugee women, partnering with Settlement Services International, one of Australia’s largest providers of settlement programs. Domestic violence is the lead contributor to premature death among Australian women, and costs $22 b each year, with refugee women at heightened risk. This study will compare outcomes for women who receive the intervention to controls and culturally sensitive, scaleable tested tools. This intervention should reduce the human and financial cost of domestic violence among refugee and other vulnerable migrant women, providing tools to settlement services to address this complex, hidden problem. Read moreRead less
Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care. A positive sense of cultural identity is critical to wellbeing, yet children in out-of-home care often lose their cultural identities and connections. There is little evidence to guide out-of-home care agencies to support a culturally meaningful foster care placement for non-Indigenous culturally and linguistically diverse children. This project tests promising practices identified by the partner organisations and research literatu ....Upholding the right to cultural connection for children in care. A positive sense of cultural identity is critical to wellbeing, yet children in out-of-home care often lose their cultural identities and connections. There is little evidence to guide out-of-home care agencies to support a culturally meaningful foster care placement for non-Indigenous culturally and linguistically diverse children. This project tests promising practices identified by the partner organisations and research literature to produce an exemplary model of cultural care, with input from children, carers and birth families. Trial implementation in the partner organisations will inform guidelines and recommendations so that the model can inform policy and practice in out-of-home care across Australia.
Read moreRead less
Who Am I? The archive as central to quality practice for current and past care leavers (Forgotten Australians). The project responds to the recommendations of the Forgotten Australians and its predecessor Reports about the need to improve record-keeping and archiving practice in the health and welfare sector. In partnership with past and present care-leavers and a consortium of 13 community service organisations, the peak body, and government, it will develop a digital archive utilising innovati ....Who Am I? The archive as central to quality practice for current and past care leavers (Forgotten Australians). The project responds to the recommendations of the Forgotten Australians and its predecessor Reports about the need to improve record-keeping and archiving practice in the health and welfare sector. In partnership with past and present care-leavers and a consortium of 13 community service organisations, the peak body, and government, it will develop a digital archive utilising innovative technologies which will both enable access to contextual material from the past and provide a model for constructing records in the future, in order to help overcome the ongoing impact which out-of-home care has had on the health of careleavers. Read moreRead less