Research, Social Policy and Advocacy
Mission Australia has a long history of speaking out about poverty and disadvantage. With over 150 years of field experience, coupled with the expertise of our people, we have a strong knowledge base to advocate for a fairer Australia for all.
Today we increasingly use our influence in the sector, with government and business representatives, our media profile and community connections, to stand up for disadvantaged Australians.
Election 2013 Manifesto
Mission Australia believes our nation needs to come up with better ways to support the most vulnerable Australians.
In the lead up to the 2013 Federal Election we are calling on the next government to stand up and address disadvantage through welfare reform, better early childhood education, a new job services system, and investment in affordable and social housing and homelessness services. It can be done.
Read our Mission Australia’s 2013 Election Manifesto to find out how we believe the next government can address disadvantage.
Research
We undertake research and produce publications on the key issues affecting our services and the people who use them. We aim for positive change by translating our research into practice - contributing to the planning and development of new services, or the re-shaping of existing programs to make sure we meet the evolving needs of the community.
Our research contributes to discussions about key and emerging issues within media, academia, business and the community. Much of our work is available for download.
Recent major research projects include:
Youth Survey
Mission Australia’s Youth Survey, our annual ‘temperature check’ of youth across the nation. To take part in this year’s survey and find out results from past years visit our Youth Survey page.
The Michael Project
The Michael Project, 2007-2010: New perspectives and possibilities for homeless men, which found it costs more to leave someone homeless than it does to help them.
Social policy
Social policy is one of the tools we use to influence government policy. It’s our way of telling governments what they can do better to improve the lives of disadvantaged Australians. Sometimes we can make more of an impact on our client’s lives by changing public policy than we can by delivering another service.
The social policy team seeks to affect change to public policy by preparing responses to State and Federal Government inquiries, consultations and legislative reviews. Download copies of submissions prepared on behalf of Mission Australia at the link below:
Advocacy
We stand alongside people in need and speak up on their behalf in a way that represents their interests.
Our advocacy is about speaking up for what’s right and using our collective, national voice to speak up for people we support.
We advocate for a fairer Australia by appealing to the highest levels of decision makers – to change government policy and public perceptions. This work is designed to complement our service delivery, so that together we can have a greater impact.
In 2009 Mission Australia became the first Australian community services organisation to launch a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) – a strategy to help reduce the gap in living standards between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and their fellow Australians. Find out more about on our ‘Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ page.
Stay informed and in touch
For more information download our Policy Submissions, Social Policy Reports.
For more informaiton about our advocay work, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Research, Policy, Advocacy