Young people transitioning from out-of-home care (known as care leavers) are, globally, a vulnerable group, and many experience housing instability and homelessness. In 2021, the State of Victoria extended out-of-home-care supports from 18 to 21 years, including introduction of a housing allowance for all care leavers. Yet, many of this cohort – particularly those leaving residential group home care – still struggle to access safe and affordable housing. In response, the Bridge It charity established the co-designed Cocoon model in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda via philanthropic funding to provide a home and community to young women aged 16–21 years leaving residential care, as well as other young women and gender-diverse people who have experienced homelessness. This paper draws on three external and internal evaluation studies that used mixed methods to examine the impact of the Cocoon program, including interviews with current and former residents, interviews with current Cocoon workers and client outcome data. The findings indicate the effectiveness of the Cocoon model in enabling positive outcomes for the young women in key areas such as housing, education and employment, mental health, life skills, social and community relationships and family reunification. Keywords: care leavers, housing, residential care, social and community connections.
People who grew up alongside a sibling with disability are a significant yet under-researched population in Australia. These siblings often minimise or suppress their own needs to maintain family stability, a dynamic that may carry enduring consequences for attachment and mental health. This study explored the lived experiences of eight Australian typically developing (TD) adults who grew up alongside a sibling with neurodevelopmental disability (ND), using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) within a critical realist (CR) framework. That is, we explored how people make sense of their lived experiences, while also recognising that these experiences are shaped by deeper social and structural forces. This paper uncovered themes relating to Family Dynamics and Relational Impact and adoption of the needless child role by TD siblings. We discuss mechanisms related to external support that appear to moderate this effect. This paper explains this dynamic through the lens of attachment theory. We argue that the current findings support a family-systems approach to disability services, in which siblings are recognised as stakeholders and in need of targeted support. Keywords: attachment, critical realism, interpretative phenomenological analysis, neurodevelopmental disability, siblings.
Australia is striving for ambitious early childhood reform, both nationally and within local communities. Despite the scale of change, we are not consistently using the best available information and data to guide critical decisions about children’s health, wellbeing and development. The problem lies not only in data gaps, but in how we use and apply the data that do exist. There is broad agreement that ensuring data play a central role in driving more equitable outcomes for our youngest Australians is critical to effective change. Despite vast amounts of data across health, education and social services, their impact remains limited. Fragmented systems, inconsistent definitions, disconnected technologies and non-evidence-informed indicators leave local early years partnerships, services and governments without the information needed to drive improvement at speed and scale. At the same time, critical gaps persist. Timely, actionable data to demonstrate what is driving outcomes, and feedback data to support continuous improvement, are often missing. This paper proposes an early years data logic – a structured approach that signposts what data are needed, for what purpose and how data can be used. Anchored in principles of equity, precision, access, evidence and utility, and supported by good data governance, the logic aims to provide a roadmap that ensures the right data are in the right hands at the right time for the right purpose. It makes clear why data are collected and how data can be used to drive change. By making purpose explicit, a data logic can guide decision makers at all levels. It clarifies how the system is functioning, highlights which children and families most need support and identifies the gaps that require targeted action to achieve change. It also positions data as a resource for learning, enabling decision makers and frontline practitioners to generate insights, test approaches and adapt through cycles of continuous improvement. There are current challenges, including over-reliance on population-level outcome (lag) measures, inconsistency in definitions and measures used to track progress, and limited workforce capability and inaccessible information systems. However, this paper outlines practical recommendations to mitigate these challenges. These include roles for government, funders, data stewards, local early years partnerships (such as place-based initiatives and integrated service hubs) and services in embedding the logic in practice. Examples from promising initiatives illustrate how better use of data can improve equitable access, service quality and participation. These positive examples sit alongside our practical recommendations to highlight how improvements are possible. Ultimately, this data logic offers a roadmap for shifting from systems that may be data rich but insight poor to a connected ecosystem capable of delivering on the promise of equity. By embedding a shared logic across early years systems, Australia can ensure that every child is visible, every service is accountable and every decision is informed – enabling change at speed and scale.
Financial hardship is a well-established determinant of mental health. From 2021 to 2025, Australian families faced sustained increases in cost of living, yet little evidence exists on how these pressures are perceived to affect families’ mental health. This study draws on data from the November–December 2024 wave of the nationally representative Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll, which has tracked the financial and mental health experiences of Australian families with children aged 0–17 years since 2020. Using weighted proportions, we described: (1) caregivers’ perceived impact of cost of living on their own and their children’s mental health with responses on a five-point scale (‘large positive’ to ‘large negative‘) and (2) variation in these perceived impacts by demographics (gender, child age, sole caregiver status, caregiver education, home language, regionality, neighbourhood socioeconomic status), financial hardship (material deprivation and low-income) and caregiver and child mental health. Responses were received from 1,991 caregivers for themselves and 3,274 children. Most caregivers reported that cost-of-living pressures negatively affected their own mental health, with 41% reporting a small negative impact and 24% a large negative impact. More women reported negative impacts than men. For children, 65% of caregivers reported no impact, although negative effects were more common among adolescents than younger children. Notably, 11% of caregivers and 14% of children were reported to experience positive mental health impacts of cost of living. A bimodal pattern was evident: both large negative and positive impacts were more common for caregivers experiencing low income, material deprivation, lower education, sole caregiving or poor mental health. Conversely, caregivers in two-caregiver households, with higher education or income, or without deprivation, more commonly reported small negative effects. This is the first national survey to measure perceived cost-of-living impacts on caregiver and child mental health. The study demonstrated clear social patterning, and provides timely, policy-relevant evidence for early childhood, family and mental health systems. The findings underscore the need for universal responses that are proportionate to need, alongside integrated approaches that address the complex adversities and challenges families face, as financial pressures persist. Keywords: Australia, caregivers, children, cost-of-living, family wellbeing, mental health, poverty, social determinants.
Hunger and food insecurity in childhood have significant lasting impacts on physical and mental health, as well as cognitive and emotional development. Closely related to multidimensional poverty, food insecurity also prevents children from making the most of opportunities such as access to Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) and undermines their relationships both with peers and within families. Despite being a wealthy and net-food-exporting country, an estimated 42% of Australian households with children experience food insecurity, facing reduced quality, quantity and variety of food, running out of food or being forced to skip meals. The current cost-of-living crisis is further exacerbating food insecurity among Australia’s families. ECEC settings offer a powerful intervention point: by school entry, 90% of Australian children will attend an ECEC service of some kind, presenting a critical opportunity to support children during a time of rapid brain development. However, a fragmented system means access to adequate nutrition is dependent upon postcode, with many services offering limited food or none at all. In addition, the national quality and regulatory framework largely frames food in terms of health and safety rather than a core component of quality. This policy framing exacerbates inequities by missing critical opportunities to require and monitor the quality, adequacy and management of food provision. In the absence of system-level supports, critical opportunities to support children’s development, wellbeing and relationships through food continue to be missed. More broadly, there has been longstanding inaction on hunger and food insecurity by Australian governments – particularly as they impact young children. Australia has no existing national food security strategy, no overarching suite of law and policy to regulate the risks associated with food insecurity, no comprehensive data collection process and no clear responsibility or accountability at any level of government to facilitate equitable access to adequate food. There is also an unsustainable over-reliance on food relief services, which may alleviate immediate hunger but are unable to resolve food insecurity in the long term. How then, can research evidence, lived experience and cross-sector expertise be brought together to inform national policy that ensures every Australian child can access the food they need to thrive? Arising from the National Early Years Policy Summit held in Brisbane, Australia in August 2025, this policy commentary draws on current research, policy settings and practice insights on food provision and nutrition and food insecurity in the early years. It identifies key system gaps and outlines policy reforms, including the opportunities presented by the Albanese Government’s commitments to a National Food Security Strategy and a universal quality early learning system. Keywords: child rights, early childhood, early education and care, food security, hunger.
Young people transitioning from out-of-home care (OOHC) are widely recognised as a vulnerable group, and the subset of those who have been placed in residential care experience the greatest challenges after leaving care. Young women exiting from residential care face numerous additional gender-specific challenges, such as early pregnancy and gender-based abuse, yet they have rarely been the subject of specific research. This study aims to examine the discrete leaving-care transitions experienced by young women exiting residential care settings globally. A scoping review was conducted in a global context, involving 31 peer-reviewed articles from both Global North and Global South countries. By analysing the key findings of these selected studies, this review identified a large range of topics related to female residential care leavers, including their experiences and outcomes before, during and after the transition from care. While the experiences of these young women vary in different contexts, they still exhibit many similar patterns. However, in research conducted particularly in Global North countries, this group is often only a small subset of broader study populations rather than the primary focus. Consequently, the findings related to them remain limited, underscoring the need for greater attention and dedicated investigation.
Filicide, the killing of a child by their parent, stepparent, or equivalent guardian, is a tragic event, but one that receives little attention except when a particularly distressing death occurs. It is not generally appreciated that Australia has a relatively high incidence of filicide in comparison with other countries of similar socio-economic development. One child dies in Australia almost every fortnight at the hands of a parent, stepparent or equivalent guardian. Although late to begin investigating filicide, Australian researchers have undertaken a considerable amount of research on filicide in recent years, identifying incidence in each state and territory, the victims and perpetrators, and the constellation of factors that surround them. Research has shown that a different constellation of factors surrounds each of the three major parental types of perpetrators: mothers, fathers and stepfathers. Research also has shown the contacts that have occurred between victims, victim families, perpetrators and the services that attempted to intervene and, sadly, how the interactions between them failed to prevent the child’s death. The task now is to move this new research-based knowledge into the practice of professionals and the programs and policies of services encountering these families. In this article, recent Australian research is reviewed and integrated to produce new practice insights, including red flag alerts, for relevant professionals and services.
This mixed-methods study explored how transition planning is implemented in Victoria, Australia, from the perspectives of young people, residential out-of-home care staff and cross-sector staff. Data were collected from 46 interviews, 105 surveys and 95 transition plan documents. The study explored who participates in transition planning, how it is conceptualised and implemented in practice and differences across demographic contexts. Findings revealed that young people receive support from multiple organisations, with Child Protection (the government agency responsible for child welfare) and the residential care provider consistently involved. However, interpretations of who holds primary responsibility varied across the workforce, and young people’s participation typically occurred indirectly through informal conversations rather than through formal goal-setting processes. Transition planning was conceptualised as a task-oriented process focused on securing housing, meeting basic needs and developing life skills, with significant variation in how it was understood across demographic contexts. Implementation was shaped by system-driven transition plan documentation, supplemented with multiple documents and bespoke tools to address young people’s diverse needs. Young people typically exited residential care between the ages of 16 and 17 years, with limited long-term pathways out of care. Their readiness to leave residential care was determined by the Child Protection agency, which holds legal guardianship of young people in residential care to age 18. The findings highlight the need for policy and practice improvements to: (1) strengthen role clarity; (2) develop a shared understanding of core transition planning components; and (3) align transition planning processes with young people’s developmental readiness. Further research is needed to explore how transition planning can be enhanced to better meet young people’s diverse needs.
Prior to the 2011 public revelations by Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (ICSA) survivor Manny Waks regarding his experiences of abuse at the Yeshivah Centre, Melbourne, as far back as the 1980s, there was little acknowledgement of the existence, much less the extent, of ICSA within the Jewish community of Australia. To date, there remains limited scholarly analysis of the nation’s Jewish leadership responses to ICSA. However, two Australian Government inquiries, one conducted in the state of Victoria, (2013 Betrayal of Trust Inquiry), the other conducted by the national government (2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse), reviewed the actions of Jewish community leaders. This study drew on a deductive content analysis of documentation and associated materials from these inquiries and aimed to identify the strengths and limitations of Jewish leadership responses to ICSA. Concerns were identified regarding Jewish leadership practices, including limited accountability to survivors and the wider Jewish community, the influence of religious and cultural factors in discouraging disclosures of abuse and inadequate survivor support. Conclusions have been drawn about peak body leadership and the need for reformed practices. These address improved accountabilities, barriers to disclosure and support for survivors of ICSA, both across Jewish communities and additional faith or ethnic communities, particularly those with like cultural practices.
Youth justice services have recently shown interest in developing and implementing new models of practice. Trauma-informed practice has emerged as a promising approach to the case management of justice-involved young people in this context. However, little is known about the extent to which a trauma-informed approach is consistent with current practice or the extent to which guiding policies support and embrace core trauma-informed principles. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the extent to which a youth justice service might be considered receptive and ready to adopt a new model of care. This study reports the findings of a policy audit and workforce survey of community youth justice staff in one Australian jurisdiction, South Australia. Content analysis of 28 policy documents indicated modest alignment between the jurisdiction’s youth justice case-management policies and key principles of trauma-informed practice. Descriptive statistics obtained from workforce survey responses (n = 34) indicated strong endorsement of these principles by youth justice case managers in relation to both individual practice and to case-management administration. Practitioners also identified opportunities for supporting workforce development in trauma-informed practice, reflective practice and policy and organisational reform. The findings suggest a need to review and update the current policy suite to provide an authorising environment to support the implementation of trauma-informed practice. This paper advances knowledge about the type of jurisdiction-wide strategic planning, and the development of policy, needed to enshrine trauma-informed principles – specifically: safety; trust and transparency; choice; empowerment; collaboration; and cultural, historical and gender responsiveness.
This paper reports on a retrospective, qualitative evaluation of an ‘infant and child-led’ therapeutic family practice approach undertaken by an infant-mental-health-trained family therapist between 2013 and 2023 with early years service providers working with families deemed to be ‘at risk’ within the Western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Direct, targeted, therapeutic consultations were delivered to families in situ (in the moment) alongside their key worker, with whom they had already built trust, and who could continue to build on the infant and child-led therapeutic approach undertaken during these sessions. This collaboration between the therapist and the key worker enabled the provision of time-limited, therapeutic consultations to families in their own home or in spaces that were familiar and felt safe. Data collection included an anonymous survey completed by key workers, and reflections from two program managers who supervised the key workers. The key workers who completed the surveys identified they had been impacted by the experience of actively involving and inviting in the voice and perspective of infants and children into the very space that constitutes why, as early years workers, they were involved with these families in the first instance. Workers reported that the quality of services delivered to these families was enhanced through their improved ability to adopt an infant and child-led approach in their practice.
This article is co-authored by children and adults, with children taking the lead based on their deep knowledge and daily experience of learning. School is important to learning, and is a place to learn how to read, write and do maths. It is also a place to learn to get along with others. School helps people get a job. There are also lots of things that children need to learn outside of school, including how to look after ourselves. Children need to learn from people who take care to have positive interactions with children and to treat us with respect. Children also learn from each other, and friendships and kindness are important. Children need adults to teach us in ways that are fun, make sure we are safe, and support us to learn and achieve our dreams.
This article is co-authored by children and adults, and discusses the things about education, learning and having a healthy life that are important to children. School matters now and is important for getting a job and living as an adult. Learning happens in school and also in the community. Children need to learn in ways that are respectful and inclusive. There is no one right way to learn, and children often learn in different ways. Learning is best when it is fun – but sometimes it is very rewarding to learn things that are hard. There are some important things that some children do not learn anywhere, like being able to cope with stress. A key message of this article is that it can be hard to do things alone but with care and support, it is a bit easier for kids. With support, children can reach their dreams.
