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Policy Areas

Reflecting the connected nature of policy responses our social policy credentials are broad and deep with over twenty five years’ experience working in and for a diverse range of portfolios including:

  • early childhood

  • education

  • human services

  • justice

  • central agencies (including first minister’s departments and treasuries)

Early Childhood

The early years of life are a time of rapid brain development, skills and language acquisition and identity formation. Access to high quality early childhood services can assist with educational achievement, identification of developmental issues and support long term productivity and economic participation. Governments recognise this and have made significant investments to improve access, participation and quality of early childhood services and programs to support parents in their most important of jobs – educating and raising children.

Our experience includes:

  • designing early childhood strategic policy documents

  • reviewing disability services for young children and maternal and child health policy and programs

  • supporting  early childhood service providers adjust to changed funding policy requirements

  • undertaking early childhood workforce development analyses

  • implementing planning for transformational preschool policy reforms.

Education

Education provides the key to unlock potential, achieve aspirations and ensure equitable access to opportunities. Skilled teachers and leaders implementing effective pedagogy and curriculum in appropriately resourced schools are instrumental to the achievement of the educational gains necessary for Australia’s competitive advantage. Inclusive practice and a strong set of student wellbeing programs are central to enabling all students to take full advantage of educational opportunities to enable them and their communities to reach their potential, thrive and prosper.

Our experience includes:

  • designing and implementing school reform frameworks

  • reviewing health and wellbeing frameworks

  • reviewing scholarship programs

  • designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation frameworks for education programs

  • reviewing student wellbeing programs.

Human Services

Supporting the health and overall wellbeing of the community is at the heart of human services delivery. All community members can experience vulnerability and require additional support from time to time. For some, these needs are more complex and made more challenging as a result of entrenched disadvantage, intergenerational poverty and trauma. Equipping individuals and families to be in control of their own futures requires an approach which places the person at the centre of decision making, better coordinating supports and ensuring high quality services.

Our experience includes:

  • whole of service system reform

  • reviewing family safety representative structures

  • evaluating service system reform initiatives

  • funding and policy review

  • business process re-engineering

  • reviewing independent visitor programs in secure residential welfare services.

Justice

The justice ecosystem is complex and has many linkages with other social policy portfolio areas. Priorities include supporting safer communities, delivering  effective and coordinated emergency responses and effectively managing prisoners and non custodial offenders and promoting rehabilitation.  Providing fair and equitable access to justice is critical to the stable functioning of a civil society. At the same time systemic challenges must be tackled including the over-representation in the justice system of key cohorts particularly Indigenous people and young offenders.

Our experience includes:

  • reviewing policies contributing to the disproportionate rates of Indigenous imprisonment

  • developing emergency services strategic frameworks and funding reform

  • demand modelling for the youth justice system

  • developing court portfolio budget submissions and business cases

  • reviewing the independent visitor programs in youth justice settings.

Central Agencies

Advising first ministers and providing a whole of government lens and oversight is a critical role for the public sector. This includes providing policy leadership, driving whole of government reform priorities, ensuring coordination and driving accountability for outcomes. In addition the resource allocation processes led by treasuries with key input from first ministers’ departments are key components of the resource management framework which underpins sound public policy development, resource allocation and accountability.

Our experience includes:

  • central policy processes and resource management arrangements

  • developing outcomes frameworks

  • drafting of cabinet submissions

  • supporting first ministers departments in relation to priority reforms particularly in relation to self-determination and Aboriginal affairs.