ABSTRACT Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) is the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) endorsed‐behavioural intervention framework. Understanding how and why PBS is effective is critical, given the increasing number of autistic children accessing the NDIS. Guided by critical realist theory, this synthesis of nine international studies identified mechanisms that informed the development of theories for reducing autistic children's problem behaviours. This research provides insight into the activation of PBS mechanisms, including the role of behaviour practitioners. Examination of PBS practice under routine NDIS service conditions is now required to determine whether NDIS PBS practitioners can achieve comparable outcomes for autistic children receiving behaviour support to the included studies.
ABSTRACT Participatory approaches such as inclusive research and co‐production are recognised as best practice in disability research and service design. These approaches promote inclusion and improve the relevance, quality, and impact of research and services. However, organisations outside academia often lack practical guidance to implement these methods effectively. This scoping review examined Australian‐authored guidance for non‐academic organisations on inclusive research and co‐production with people with cognitive disability, including its target audience, content, and development process. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was followed with an a priori protocol. Thirty‐one sources met the inclusion criteria. Guidance varied in scope and detail, and positioned people with cognitive disability as participants or collaborators . Principles such as accessibility and shared power were common, but actionable steps for implementation were limited. Barriers and enablers to practice included funding, time, organisational capability and collaborative partnership approaches. Involvement of people with cognitive disability in creating guidance ranged from consultation to co‐authorship, and accessible formats were scarce. Findings highlight the need for coherent, practical, and co‐produced guidance to support organisations in embedding inclusive practices. Future research should explore how existing guidance is applied in organisational settings, evaluate its usefulness, and generate evidence to inform the co‐development of subsequent guidance.
ABSTRACT Nations manufacture non‐belonging of temporary migrants through policy frameworks that produce exclusion. This precarity maximises the economic benefit of temporary migrant labour by minimising their political, social and legal rights. In this paper, we examine how non‐belonging targeting Working Holiday Makers (WHMs) is manufactured in Australia through visa design, labour regulation, and Australia's white possessive logic. Drawing on national survey data and in‐depth interviews, we demonstrate how governance arrangements position WHMs outside the national community and make them vulnerable to discrimination and exploitation. We indicate how the COVID‐19 pandemic intensified these precarious dynamics of manufactured non‐belonging via policy exclusions, media reporting, and government messaging that framed WHMs as labour units and threats to Australian jobs and health. This was exacerbated for racially marginalised WHMs. The study underscores the need to address structural inequalities and develop socially inclusive policy responses for temporary migrants.
Aged care work is physically and emotionally demanding. Workers can feel disempowered, vulnerable and at increased risk of experiencing work-related stress. This in turn can result in sub-optimal care and staff shortages. This study aimed to investigate what provisions exist within Australia's strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards to support aged care worker safety and wellbeing. Document analysis was conducted on the new Aged Care Quality Standards document and 13 ancillary documents. Three provisions were identified, presented as themes: (1) Keeping aged care workers safe; (2) Workforce needs; and (3) Empowering aged care workers. The standards address important issues like work conditions and make provisions for workers' voice to be heard, thus supporting worker empowerment. However, there is a need for focussed attention to aged care workers' safety that further considers the complexity of aged care work and includes plans that are both targeted and that address systemic issues to support aged care workers' wellbeing. Additionally, issues related to leadership competence and worker protections from violence are under-emphasised.
Despite the introduction of various policies aimed at promoting equality for people with disability since Australia ratified the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008, there has been little evaluation regarding the extent of change in inequity since then. In particular, the outcomes for young people (15-29) with disability are consistently overlooked in policy evaluation, with current progress measures criticised as capturing only a partial picture. The current study aimed to track trajectories of social inequity between young people in Australia with and without disability from 2001 to 2023, as an indication of Australia's progress in promoting the rights of young people with disability. Secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. General linear models were used to compare outcomes for young people with and without disability on 29 indicators reflecting seven articles from the CRPD covering social, economic, educational and health outcomes. The results showed that while several outcomes improved for both young people with and without disability over time, there has been little change in the extent of inequity faced by those with disability since 2001. Implications and recommendations regarding future measures for policy evaluation are discussed.
