Planning the way forward for child protection research

The Gillard Government has commissioned a National Research Audit to examine research on child protection in Australia and help target further research.

Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services, Julie Collins, today released the audit, conducted jointly by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Social Policy Research Centre.

“Protecting children and their right to a safe and healthy life is one of the most important responsibilities of all governments,” Ms Collins said.

“The National Research Audit was recommended by experts and practitioners to plan research priorities and avoid duplication and unnecessary investments.

“The audit provides directions and priorities to help target future research, including the Government’s National Research Agenda for Protecting Children, which will be finalised later this year.

“The National Research Audit indicates we need more research into understanding neglect, the emotional and physical abuse of children, as well as the impact of parental substance abuse and mental illness on child safety and wellbeing.

“It also identified Indigenous-specific issues and solutions, as well as kinship care, the role of community education on child abuse and neglect, and risks and abuse of children with disability and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds as areas for future research.

“The National Research Agenda for Protecting Children is one of the key activities under our National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children which provides a national approach to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Australian children.

“The directions and priorities in the National Research Audit will be critical in helping build an evidence base to inform our thinking about improved outcomes for children,” Ms Collins said.

The National Research Audit has been supplemented by an online register that will enable users to access the audit information more easily and keep up to date with the latest research.

The Protecting Australia’s Children Research Audit is available online at the National Child Protection Clearinghouse at http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/register.