1. Director's review

The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) started the 2018/19 financial year with a significant highlight - the successful 15th biennial AIFS 2018 Conference, which was held in July with the theme 'What matters most to families in the 21st century?'.

With record numbers of participants and presentations, the hugely positive response took us by surprise and in many ways created a benchmark of achievement for the rest of the year. It caused us to re-examine our stakeholder engagement, how we communicate our stories, and how we plan the activities around our research projects and events.

2018/19 was the third year of our Strategic Directions 2016-2020, a journey of transforming how we work at the Institute and with our partners, to ensure that our internal culture, capabilities and systems align with our aspirations to achieve 'Excellence for Impact'. We reviewed our Strategic Directions this year and extended them to 2021/22. And there are signs that we're making great strides towards realising our strategic goals of leading research in to family wellbeing in Australia.

Our focus this year has been to build on earlier foundational work, to ensure our research evidence is useful for policy makers and service deliverers, and ultimately to improve the lives of children, families and communities. We have worked hard to consolidate the gains of the first couple of years of our Strategic Directions and this year we began to see some acknowledgement for our effort in our ability to impact national discussion around key reform areas such as family law and domestic and family violence: the Direct Cross-Examination in Family Law report informed new legislation, and I was invited to participate in the COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence Against Women and their Children, a first for AIFS, recognising the important work we have done over many years in this field.

This report outlines the journey we've taken this year towards achieving our 2022 strategic goals.

Research highlights 2018/19

During the past year we worked on 33 projects, including seven new research projects, and continued to extend our expertise and experience to make a significant contribution to practice and policy development in a wide range of family wellbeing areas.

Child Care Package Evaluation

The Australian Government Department of Education introduced the Child Care Package on 2 July 2018. In December 2017, AIFS was commissioned by the Department to lead an evaluation of the Child Care Package, with consortium partners the Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM) at the Australian National University; the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales; and the Social Research Centre (SRC). Extensive evaluation activities took place in the 2018/19 financial year following the implementation of the Package. Key activities for AIFS were:

• data collection from families, services and other stakeholders (including some survey data and interview data collected by AIFS, as well as data collected by consortium partners with input from and oversight by AIFS)
• analysis and reporting on data collections, and on other information relevant to the evaluation (the key deliverable was the first of the evaluation reports, an Early Monitoring Report, finalised in 2018/19)
• reporting on evaluations of two specific programs, the In Home Care program and the Inclusion Support Programme
• provision of support to the Department of Education on their Post Implementation Reviews
• ongoing liaison with the Department, stakeholders and consortium partners to manage the evaluation project, and participate in briefings and discussions on issues relevant to the Child Care Package.

Australian Gambling Research Centre

Globally, gambling has expanded at a rapid pace, and related harms are an increasing concern. The Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) undertakes policy-relevant research that enhances understanding of the nature and extent of gambling participation and related harms, and advances knowledge of ways to prevent and reduce harm among at-risk populations, their families and communities. The AGRC has conducted several significant research projects in the past year, including:

• the National Consumer Protection Framework for Online Wagering in Australia: Baseline Study, which the Department of Social Services commissioned as part of a larger four-phase evaluation of the National Consumer Protection Framework
• Pints, Punts 'n' Peers, a study exploring the relationship between alcohol consumption and sports betting among young Australians, see 'Report on performance' for more information
• The Relationship Between Gambling and Domestic Violence Against Women, a national project investigating the nature of the relationship between gambling and domestic violence, funded by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety
• Identifying lessons from public health policy for interventions to prevent gambling-related harm, a project involving a review of evidence from the fields of tobacco control, alcohol and obesity prevention to recommend ways to adapt successful policies and interventions from these fields to gambling and funded by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
• Gambling in Suburban Australia, a study investigating environmental factors that contribute to gambling consumption and related harm at the local level.

Building a New Life in Australia

Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants (BNLA) is a long-term research project examining how humanitarian migrants settle into a new life in Australia. Close to 2,400 individuals and families living in communities around Australia, who have been granted permanent humanitarian visas, are taking part in the study. In 2018/19, the fifth wave of data for the study was collected. The study has continued to be well-received by participants, with very high response rates.

Two presentations were given by the BNLA team in July 2018. A presentation about the factors associated with psychological distress among recently arrived humanitarian migrants was presented at the 25th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (Gold Coast). A presentation on English language proficiency among humanitarian youth was given at the AIFS Conference in Melbourne.

The first four waves of data from the BNLA study are available to approved researchers from government, academic institutions and non-profit organisations. Wave 5 data are anticipated for release in late 2019.

Child Family Community Australia

The Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) information exchange, funded by the Department of Social Services, provides evidence-informed resources, publications and support for professionals working in the child, family and community welfare sector. In 2018/19, CFCA increased user engagement with its website with over 3.5 million page views. Over 16,450 subscribers receive the fortnightly CFCA News, a 36% increase on 2017/18. CFCA produced 13 publications this financial year and its expanded webinar program attracted large numbers of attendees per session (almost 12,000 participants across 14 webinars; a 50% increase on 2017/18) - playing a significant role in professional development for the sector.

User feedback indicates that CFCA content contributes to the increased use of evidence in policy and practice, and increased knowledge of the latest research.

Family law research

Following the completion of the Children and Young People in Separated Families study and Direct Cross-Examination in Family Law Matters research in June 2018, the Family Law and Family Violence team engaged in significant dissemination activities during this financial year. These activities included giving 19 presentations and preparing three submissions in response to key inquiries and reviews.

In April, the Australian Attorney-General's Department announced that the Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and Cross-examination of Parties) Act 2018 had commenced. Last year we were commissioned by the Department to explore data relevant to direct cross-examination, involving self-represented litigants in family law matters, involving allegations or substantiated instances of family violence. Legislation that was passed in Parliament last December and which has now been enacted drew on our report Direct Cross-Examination in Family Law Matters: Incidence and Context of Direct Cross-Examination Involving Self-Represented Litigants. From 11 September 2019, personal cross-examination will be banned in family law proceedings in certain circumstances, including when there are allegations of family violence.

The team continued its important research in the area of elder abuse, as the lead research organisation in the Elder Abuse National Research Stage 1: Strengthening the Evidence Base project. This now-concluded research comprised three components, including the development of an Australian definition of abuse of older people for application in research; the development and testing of instruments to measure the prevalence of abuse of older people in Australia; and the analysis of existing datasets. The Attorney-General's Department has commissioned the Institute to conduct a prevalence study of elder abuse in Australia. This is the first large-scale effort to assess the nature of elder abuse and the extent to which it occurs among those in the Australian population aged 65 and over.

The team is also engaged in research activities for the Singapore Ministry of Family and Social Development aimed at understanding trends of co-parenting in Singapore.

Families and Children Expert Panel

The Expert Panel Project aims to help Families and Children (FaC) Activity service providers to better articulate the evidence underpinning their programs and to build program monitoring and evaluation into their routine. Its ultimate aim is to support evidence-informed programs for parents and children, and help those programs to achieve better outcomes for parents and children. For more information, see 'Report on performance'.

Growing Up in Australia

Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) follows the development of 10,000 children and their families in urban and rural areas and continues to provide insights into the paths Australian children and their families take through life.

Wave 8 fieldwork was completed during 2018/19 and the data are planned for release in 2020. For more information about Growing Up in Australia, see 'Report on performance' for more information.

Ten to Men

Ten to Men: The Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health is the first national longitudinal study in Australia focusing exclusively on male health and wellbeing. The study aims to fill the gaps in knowledge about male health and wellbeing across the life course and to contribute to the development of health programs and policies targeted to the special health needs of men and boys. Activities in 2018/19 included fieldwork for the Wave 3 data collection, refreshing the Ten to Men logo and identity, and upgrading the study website. For more information about Ten to Men, see 'Report on performance'.

Communicating our research

We have continued to improve our methods in communicating research findings to a wide range of audiences, including policy makers, practitioners, other researchers and the general public.

Communicating our research is a key AIFS function. We do this through releasing research publications, both in short and long form, through our information exchange services, such as CFCA, by researchers presenting at conferences and events, and in our webinars. The Institute's research is widely reported in the media and promoted through our websites, newsletters and social media.

Events

The Institute increases its public engagement by hosting its conference and other events. As previously mentioned, the biggest event to take place in the 2018/19 financial year was our 15th biennial AIFS 2018 Conference, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 25-27 July 2018. Headlining the conference program were keynote speakers Nora Spinks (Vanier Institute of the Family, Canada), Professor Brigid Featherstone (University of Huddersfield, UK) and Dr David Halpern (Behavioural Insights Team, UK). A total of 211 oral presentations, 41 poster presentations and three plenary panel sessions were presented. The event also attracted a record 22 different sponsors, which highlights that the conference is a highly valued event for networking and brand exposure.

Significant planning was also undertaken in 2018/19 for our next conference to be held from 9-12 June 2020 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Our 2020 Conference theme is: What is a good life for families? And how do we get there?

Another key event for us this year was a special panel discussion on the Australian Law Reform Commission's (ALRC) review of the family law system. The event, held on Thursday 6 June 2019, was facilitated by ABC Journalist Damien Carrick, with panellists Angela Lynch AM (Women's Legal Service, Qld), Wendy Kayler-Thomson (Forte Family Lawyers) and Anne Hollonds (AIFS). The event also featured an introductory speech by the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, The Honourable William Alstegren. The discussion was recorded by the ABC and aired on Radio National's Law Report the following week. The invitation-only event, which was a full house, was the first of its kind for AIFS in our new building. We plan to host similar events in the future.

We also hosted a Policy Design Masterclass, delivered by Christian Bason, Chief Executive Officer of the Danish Design Centre. This invitation-only workshop gave our senior researchers and key policy advisers from the Department of Social Services and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet exposure to innovative methods around the co-creation of policy and citizen engagement, and the promotion of 'professional empathy' as a skill in government.

Our regular webinars for CFCA, Emerging Minds and the Families and Children Expert Panel have been hugely popular, with more that 12,000 participants tuning in through the year. They are yet another way in which we support family wellbeing through innovative knowledge translation and communication.

Publications

We continued to publish high-quality research into the wellbeing of Australian families, with 68 project reports and papers produced, and more than 4.2 million publications viewed or downloaded from our websites. We also produced a host of short articles, news pieces, infographics, fact sheets, social media posts and practice resources. In the past year, publishing highlights included authoritative reports on:

• empowering migrant and refugee women
• stay-at-home fathers
• foster and relative/kinship carers
• children and young people in separated families
• challenging misconceptions about sexual offending
• low income and childhood poverty dynamics
• the association between family, neighbourhood and school level disadvantage and children's cognitive and social outcomes.

Governance, performance and risk management

Finances

In the 2018/19 financial year, AIFS operated with $4,412,000 of government appropriation and $9,684,672 of other revenue (primarily from contracted research), as detailed in the 'Financial statements'. The Institute incurred a budget deficit for the financial year 2018/19 of $405,387. This deficit is primarily due to the depreciation expense for 2018/19 of $448,535. After adjusting for this item, AIFS reported a surplus of $43,148.

Organisational culture and staff engagement

Significantly, in 2018/19, AIFS was shortlisted as a finalist in the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) 'Public Sector Innovation' Awards 2019 in the category of Culture and Capability, in recognition of our internal culture transformation. The concerted effort behind this transformation has seen AIFS ranked in the top 10 agencies in the Australian Public Service in 2018 in the categories of staff wellbeing, engagement and innovation (Source: APS Employee Census). These results are evidence of the large amount of work undertaken to respond to staff concerns. Successful initiatives include:

• building management capability
• improved internal communication
• a more coordinated approach to change management
• a focus on wellbeing initiatives.

Highlights of this transformation were staff co-designing the AIFS Values and Behaviours and the highly consultative process underpinning our relocation to smaller and more cost-effective premises. At the heart of these two pieces of work were the principles of design thinking. Through a series of creative exercises, we tapped into right-brain thinking to draw on our imagination, creativity and powers of visualisation. The products were the values and behaviours that would create a culture we needed to achieve our goals, and an office space that actively shapes the way we work and collaborate.

There is no doubt that AIFS is now a better place to work, with 81% of staff reporting they would recommend AIFS as a good place to work (up from 36% in 2016). But this is also a story of unlocking our capability so that we can make progress on tackling some of Australia's biggest challenges, such as family violence, child abuse and neglect, and mental ill-health. We are much more creative, collaborative and agile. By bringing this new mindset into our work, we're better placed to tackle the complex social issues we address in our work every day.

Outlook for 2019/20

Planning for our 16th AIFS Conference on 9-12 June 2020 was begun in 2018/19, with the bulk of the work to take place in 2019/20. The 16th AIFS Conference coincides with the Institute's 40th anniversary, and we will celebrate this milestone at the conference by showcasing our research over the years.

The AIFS Conference as well as other events are central to our knowledge translation capability strategy, which we will continue to implement in 2019/20.

The key priorities for 2019/20 include:

• implementing knowledge translation strategies for our research
• planning and implementing the AIFS 2020 Conference
• enhancing our data management strategy for future capability requirements
• planning for the migration of our websites' content management system
• an end-to-end review of our recruitment strategy
• testing and refining our new performance measures.

We will continue to experiment, learn and adapt, to innovate and build on the research excellence for which we are highly regarded. We will advance our capabilities and our partnerships to ensure that our research evidence is useful for those who need it, in particular policy makers, service providers and the Australian public.

Anne Hollonds 
Director, Australian Institute of Family Studies 
06 September 2019

2. Agency overview

AIFS is a Melbourne-based statutory agency of the Australian Government, established in February 1980 under the Australian Family Law Act 1975.

A non-corporate entity, AIFS is a portfolio body within the Department of Social Services (DSS). We also have close links with the Attorney-General's Department (AGD), the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Defence, the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA), the Department of Health and other Australian Government portfolios, their departments and agencies. Our staff are employed under the Public Service Act 1999. At 30 June 2019, 104 people were employed at the Institute, excluding the Director.

Role and functions

We aim to increase understanding of factors affecting the welfare of Australian families by conducting research and communicating findings to policy makers, service providers, researchers and the broader community. We evaluate policies and programs, and we provide advice to inform the design and implementation of policy and services.

AIFS Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22 unveiled the What Works for Families Research Framework (Families Framework) that guides our research agenda, including commissioned projects. The Framework outlines four key research areas:

• Life stages and transitions
• Family relationships
• Social and economic participation
• Challenges for families.

We communicate our research findings to make evidence accessible and useful for decision makers, practitioners and the general public. We do this through our research publications, conferences, websites, information exchanges, information services, presentations, seminars and webinars, representation and through mass media.

The AIFS Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22 outlines our roles and functions for this annual reporting period. The four strategic priorities outlined in the plan are:

• Create knowledge
• Communicate for impact
• Collaborate and connect
• Activate organisational sustainability.

Organisational structure

The Director is responsible for providing the overall leadership of the Institute and is supported by two Deputy Directors: the Deputy Director Research and Deputy Director Corporate Services (see Figure 2.1). This group works together to lead a team of managers responsible for the day-to-day work of AIFS in meeting our strategic objectives.

The Deputy Director Research is responsible for our research program, which includes a wide range of research, evaluation and dissemination projects focusing on policy and practice relevant issues affecting families in Australia.

The Deputy Director Corporate Services is responsible for the management of services to support our research activities, including human, financial and physical resources, information management and communications technology, communication services and corporate governance.

Research managers oversee teams of research staff who work on a range of commissioned and internally initiated projects. During the reporting period this included two information exchanges - the Australian Gambling Research Centre and the Child Family Community Australia information exchange - and five longitudinal studies.

The Corporate Services area supports our research activities by providing administrative and specialist functions such as library, publishing, finance, information management and technology, communications, human resources and business capability services.

Figure 2.1: AIFS organisational structure as at 30 June 2019

Outcome and program structure

In this reporting period, we operated within the Australian Government's outcome and output framework published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2018-19 (PBS) and the AIFS Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22. The Institute has a single planned outcome: Increased understanding of factors affecting how families function by conducting research and communicating findings to policy makers, service providers and the broader community.

All our activities have been directed to achieving this outcome. Key performance criteria, detailed in the 'Report on performance' section measure the Institute's core outputs and deliverables. The Institute's management accountability performance is described in the 'Management and accountability' section and its finances in the 'Financial statements' section.

3. Report on performance

Performance statement

We have a single planned outcome:

To achieve this outcome, we:

• conduct high-quality research relevant to policy and practice on a broad range of issues regarding the wellbeing of Australian families
• through collaborative partnerships, expand the national knowledge base of factors affecting families
• increase the effectiveness of communications to foster greater understanding about factors that affect families
• build organisational capacity to achieve research and communication objectives.

We operated within a continuing environment of fiscal restraint in this reporting period. This has primarily affected the ability of other organisations to initiate and fund new projects, which in turn resulted in a decrease in research outputs - see Table 3.1 for performance criteria. Despite these constraints, most of the indicators exceeded their targets, demonstrating that we continue to perform at a high level and achieve our stated outcome.

Research domains

Our research program during the reporting period was structured around our Families Framework, first reported in the AIFS Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22. The Framework outlines four key research areas:

• Life stages and transitions
• Family relationships
• Social and economic participation
• Challenges for families.

Research activities are either initiated by us or commissioned by another organisation. Institute-initiated research is funded from the budget appropriation.

Research projects conducted by us range in scale and type, and include:

• research projects that provide evidence relating to social policy issues
• major evaluations and reviews of government policies and programs
• longitudinal studies that provide valuable data on children and their families
• specialist advisory services commissioned by government agencies
• information exchanges that collect, evaluate and synthesise evidence about a subject and communicate that evidence to policy and practice professionals.

In addition, we promote research collaboration by sharing data nationally and internationally, and making presentations at a wide range of local and overseas conferences and other meetings (see Appendix C for details).

We communicate our research through a variety of channels, including information exchange activities, publications, conferences, seminars and webinars, podcasts, web-based content, and library help desk and bibliographic services. These communication activities deliver research findings to three broad groups:

• policy makers, to inform the development and review of policies and programs affecting families
• service providers, to improve professional practice that supports families
• the research and general communities, to raise understanding and knowledge of family functioning.

Performance criteria

The report on our performance criteria for 2018/19 (Table 3.1) is divided into the four Strategic Directions outlined in the AIFS Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22:

• Create knowledge
• Communicate for impact
• Collaborate and connect
• Activate organisational sustainability.

Note: During the reporting period, we changed our performance measurement framework and we are no longer reporting on stakeholder satisfaction. We are now measuring whether our research is easy to access and whether our stakeholders use our research. This has been recorded in our Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Analysis of performance

Create knowledge

Performance criteria

The number of commissioning bodies is indicative of the spread of research undertaken at the Institute. The measure also highlights that we are not reliant on a single source of income. In 2018/19, we were commissioned by 21 organisations to undertake research projects.

In 2018/19, 33 research projects were active at some stage during the reporting period, which was below the performance target. This was mainly due to our decision to seek to undertake larger-scale projects that can continue for several years in place of a larger number of small projects.

We were involved in five longitudinal studies during the reporting period:

• Australian Temperament Project
• Beyond 18: The Longitudinal Study of Leaving Care
• Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants
• Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
• Ten to Men: The Australian Longitudinal Study of Male Health.

The number of longitudinal studies has been included as a performance measure because these studies are useful for analysing trends in the changing nature of families over time. Such studies require a longer-term commitment of resources by funding and partner bodies, often over a number of years.

Table 3.2 highlights progress against our objectives and actions for Pillar 1 of our Strategic Directions relating to creating knowledge in our Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Communicate for impact

Performance criteria

The number of AIFS publications viewed and downloaded indicates the uptake of our published findings. In 2018/19, we had 4.2 million views of our publications, which was well above target. This was mainly due to the launch of new Growing Up in Australia and Ten to Men websites, as well as increasingly effective social media and stakeholder engagement strategies. A complete list of our research outputs and publications for 2018/19 is available in Appendix C.

The number of media mentions highlights our commitment to communicating our research to a wider audience. The 4,255 media mentions were below target mainly due to the reduction in research publications produced throughout the year.

We produced 66 research products in 2018/19, which was below the target. The lower than predicted output can be attributed to a greater focus on other methods of knowledge translation such as the delivery of workshops and webinars. We published six research reports and five commissioned reports.

Our staff made 68 presentations in this reporting period, which was below the target. This was mainly because the Institute has focused on larger-scale projects and therefore there was not as many opportunities to present findings from smaller projects.

Bibliographic records provide a description of material related to family studies that have been published by AIFS or others, and help to provide a valuable reference resource for researchers in this field. The 2,115 records generated in the reporting period was slightly below the target.

Table 3.3 highlights progress against our actions for Pillar 2 of our Strategic Directions, relating to communicating for impact in our Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Collaborate and connect

Performance criteria

The 8,390 participants that attended our events throughout the year were substantially higher (139%) than the target of 3,500 participants. This is due to a number of factors. A continued focus on producing regular webinars in the Child Family Community Australia (CFCA) and Emerging Minds projects has been the main contributor to the higher attendance figures. In addition, the AIFS 2018 Conference, which was held in the reporting period, was successful in attracting a higher number of participants than in previous years. Appendix C provides a complete list of these events.

The number of conferences, seminars, webinars and other events hosted by us was above the targeted forecast, with the Institute hosting 22 events. Our events included 14 webinars, three workshops, four seminars and the conference.

Partnerships, MOUs and collaborations enable us to widen the scope of our research capabilities, which further helps to reach our yearly research and dissemination goals. We had 33 partnerships, MOUs and collaborations in place during 2018/19, which was above the target.

Government submissions are a performance measure as they are an important avenue for AIFS to use its research to inform government policy. In 2018/19, we made eight submissions to government inquiries, which met the target. A list of submissions made by AIFS can be found in Appendix D).

Table 3.4 highlights progress against our actions for Pillar 3 of our Strategic Directions relating to collaboration in our Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Activate organisational sustainability

Performance criteria

An indication of our capability and readiness to undertake high-quality research is the proportion of researchers with postgraduate qualifications. In 2018/19, 69.7% of our staff held postgraduate qualifications, which is significantly higher than the target of 65%.

The reduction in operational costs is a measure to determine whether we are delivering services efficiently. In 2018/19, we achieved a 5.2% reduction in our corporate operational cost by decreasing expenditure from $5.916 million in 2017/18 to $5.611 million in 2018/19.

The percentage of clients satisfied with our services was not captured in the reporting period. This was because the information gathered in previous reports was not deemed useful for our purposes as the sample size was too small and it was difficult for some clients to respond to questions if the project was in an early stage of development.

The percentage of stakeholders satisfied with our services was not recorded in the reporting period as we changed our performance measurement framework. We are now measuring whether our research is easy to access and easy to read. Baseline results from our stakeholder survey highlighted that of 660 survey participants, 80% agreed or strongly agreed that AIFS research and resources were easy to locate and 89% agreed or strongly agreed that AIFS resources and publications are written in plain accessible language. In terms of whether our research is used was 74% of respondents highlighted that they had used AIFS research in the previous 12 months.

Table 3.5 highlights progress against our objectives and actions for Pillar 4 of our Strategic Directions relating to activation in our Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Performance against AIFS research directions

This section reviews the major projects undertaken by AIFS during the reporting period, within the framework of our Families Framework research areas.

The majority of our research projects relate to more than one research area. A summary of the projects is provided in Table 3.6.

A full list of publications and presentations produced by us during the reporting period is included in Appendix C.

More details about major work being conducted by the Institute are available on the AIFS website at aifs.gov.au/about-us.

Abbreviations

ABS: Australian Bureau of Statistics

AGD: Attorney-General's Department

ANROWS: Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety

BNLA: Building a New Life in Australia

CCS: Coordinated Client Support

CQU: Central Queensland University

DET: Department of Education and Training

DHHS: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services

DoH: Department of Health

DSS: Department of Social Services

DVA: Department of Veterans' Affairs

HILDA: The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey

LSAC: Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudial Study of Australian Children

PRC: The Parenting Research Centre

QFCC: Queensland Family and Child Commission

SPRC UNSW: Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales

VRGF: Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Research highlights

Beyond 18

Beyond 18: The Longitudinal Study of Leaving Care ran between 2012 and 2018. The study was commissioned by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with the aim of improving understanding of the factors associated with different pathways when leaving out-of-home care (OOHC).

The Beyond 18 study aimed to do this by exploring young people's preparations for leaving care, their experiences of transition from care and their post-care outcomes.

The Beyond 18 study had four components:

• Survey of Young People from OOHC
• three waves of qualitative interviews with participants in the Survey of Young People
• two online surveys of carers and caseworkers
• analysis of a data extract from the DHHS Client Relationship Information System database.

The Survey of Young People was Beyond 18's central component. It comprised three waves of an online survey of young people who had spent time in statutory OOHC in Victoria after their 15th birthday. The surveys were undertaken in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18. Qualitative interviews with a subset of participants in the Survey of Young People was Beyond 18's other main data source. The interviews took place concurrently with the online surveys and finished mid-2018. The interview data provided a nuanced understanding of young people's experiences and allowed them to share their perspectives on the support they had received when leaving care and what they needed.

Fieldwork for Beyond 18 finished mid-2018 and the final research report (on the results of the Wave 3 survey and interviews) was submitted to DHHS in October 2018.

The research reports on Wave 2 and Wave 3 of the Survey of Young People were published on the AIFS website on 25 June 2019.

Families and Children Expert Panel

The Expert Panel Project aims to help Families and Children (FaC) Activity service providers to better articulate the evidence underpinning their programs and to build program monitoring and evaluation into their routine.

Its ultimate aim is to support evidence-informed programs for parents and children, and help those programs to achieve better outcomes for parents and children.

We do this by providing advice, resources and support to build service providers' capacity to plan, implement and evaluate programs, adopt evidence-based programs when appropriate and relevant to clients' needs, and/or strengthen existing programs.

Activities in 2018/19 included:

• continuing to work with Communities for Children service providers to assess over 130 programs in relation to the evidence-based criteria
• providing direct support to FaC Activity service providers in relation to program planning activities
• continued redevelopment of website content to better integrate Expert Panel, Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FP) and CFCA content for the benefit of users
• continued administration and management of the Industry List process and projects
• initiation and implementation of the 'Building effective partnerships between non-Indigenous FaC providers and Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisations (ACCOs)' project, in partnership with SNAICC
• development and publication of new planning and evaluation resources, including a Needs Assessment resource and an Implementation Practice Guide
• delivering presentations and workshops at several sector meetings, conferences and forums
• analysing data for the Evaluation of the Expert Panel project and finalising the interim evaluation report and web summary
• refining the plan and data collection instruments for phase 2 of the Evaluation of the Expert Panel project.

Pints, Punts 'n' Peers

Despite increasing community concern regarding the normalisation of sports betting and risky drinking among populations of young people, we have limited understanding of the relationship between these behaviours, the contexts in which they co-occur, and how co-consumption contributes to health-related harms.

Researchers from the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) are seeking to address some of these gaps in knowledge via the Pints, Punts 'n' Peers project. Using an online survey and follow-up interviews with young Australians aged 18-35, this study explored topics such as patterns, settings and contexts of simultaneous sports betting and alcohol consumption, and impacts on health and wellbeing.

Findings from this project will help to inform the development of appropriately nuanced and targeted public health prevention strategies, and policy and regulatory responses to address the widespread marketing and availability of sports betting products.

Growing Up in Australia

Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) follows the development of 10,000 children and their families in urban and rural areas of Australia and continues to provide insights into the paths Australian children and their families take through life.

Wave 8 fieldwork was completed during 2018/19 and the data is planned for release in 2020. This release will include a number of exciting new measures, including:

• young people's drug use
• risk taking
• work, study and training
• financial support and financial literacy
• gender and sexual identity
• sexual behaviour
• romantic relationships
• experiences and perpetration of abuse, bullying and sexual harassment
• social networks and online activities.

Fieldwork for Wave 9 began in June 2019 and is expected to conclude by August 2021. The LSAC Annual Statistical Report 2017, which reported on the first six waves of LSAC data, was released in December 2018. The report highlights the effects of experiences and environments on the prospects and progress of the study children as they move into adolescence. It features chapters on several areas of child and adolescent development and wellbeing, including eating problems in mid-adolescence, adolescent help-seeking, children's housing experiences, use of technology in the classroom and children's use of health services.

Ten to Men

Ten to Men: The Longitudinal Study on Male Health was commissioned by the Australian Government following the 2010 release of the National Male Health Policy.

The study began in 2012 when health and lifestyle information was collected from nearly 16,000 men and boys across the country via surveys and interviews.

Ten to Men is funded by the Department of Health. The first two waves of the study were conducted by the University of Melbourne and AIFS will be managing Wave 3 of the study. Fieldwork for Wave 3 of the study began in 2018/19 and pre-interview testing will be conducted in the coming months. The testing will consist of cognitive testing and focus groups, and will test survey content as well as fieldwork materials such as envelopes and primary approach letters.

Refreshing the Ten to Men data was another key focus for the team in 2018/19 and it is hoped that the new data version will be released via the Australian Data Archive Dataverse platform later in 2019.

Ten to Men also went through a rebrand in the reporting period with a new logo, brand and website. The upgraded Ten to Men website is now able to support exciting and innovative communication products such as videos and podcasts. The new website was launched in June 2019, during Men's Health Week.

Report on performance - Financial activities

Operating results

In accordance with the Australian Government net cash appropriation arrangements, AIFS incurred a deficit for the financial year 2018/19 of $405,387. This deficit is primarily due to the depreciation expense for 2018/19 of $448,535. After adjusting for this item, AIFS would have reported a surplus of $43,148.

See Table 3.7 for a summary of budgeted and actual expenses for 2018/19.

Operating revenue

The total operating revenue was $14,096,672 and consisted of the following:

• government appropriations of $4,412,000
• sale of goods and rendering of services of $9,601,719
• other revenue of $82,952.

Operating expenses

Total operating expenses were $14,502,058 and consisted of:

• employee costs of $9,823,638
• supplier expenses of $4,218,110
• depreciation and amortisation of $448,535
• loss on sale of assets of $11,777.

Note:

1. The headcount and average staffing level are not the same measure. The headcount is the total number of employees at 30 June 2019. The average staffing level is an average over the financial year.

Balance sheet

Net asset position

The net asset position at 30 June 2019 was $2,254,938 (2018: $2,389,115).

Total assets

Total assets at 30 June 2019 were $13,251,596 (2018: $11,131,457). Financial assets increased by $2,120,139. This increase in financial assets was mainly due to an increase in the amount of Section 74 receipts received at the end of June 2019. Non-financial assets increased by $221,446. The increase in non-financial assets is mainly due to purchase of capital assets mostly video and telephony systems following the move to new premises in 2018 and an increase in prepayments.

Total liabilities

Total liabilities at 30 June 2019 were $10,996,658 (2018: $8,742,342). The increase is mainly due to a higher level of unearned revenue of $2,112,059 and increases in employee provisions of $95,645.

4. Management and accountability

Management accountability is achieved with the support of the Corporate Services area of the Institute.

Corporate Services provides a range of functions to assist us to meet our goals, through the ongoing improvement and application of financial, administrative, human resources, communications and information management and technology policies and practices.

Accountability is met through our internal management committee, advisory and governance committees, staff and management committees, including the Senior Leadership Group, robust reporting processes, internal and external audits, the Business Continuity Plan and policies and guidelines under the Protective Security Policy Framework.

Corporate governance

We operate under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). The corporate focus throughout 2017/18 was the effective maintenance of high standards of governance, accountability and reporting in order to fulfil all PGPA requirements and build organisational capacity to achieve our research and communication objectives. This corporate oversight is conducted through senior management committees (detailed below).

The Family Law Act 1975 sets out our role, functions and governance arrangements. During 2017/18, the responsible minister for AIFS was the Hon. Christian Porter MP (until 20 December 2017) and the Hon. Dan Tehan.

Fraud control

During the financial year 2017/18, no fraud was identified. The next fraud risk assessment is scheduled to be conducted in 2018/19.

Senior executive members

Ms Anne Hollonds is the Director of the Institute reporting to the Minister for Social Services. Two Deputy Directors assist the Director in leading and managing AIFS. Dr Michael Alexander has been the Deputy Director (Corporate Services) since January 2016. Ms Kelly Hand has been the Deputy Director (Research) since February 2017.

Senior management groups

The Director has overall responsibility for the leadership and management of the Institute. A number of groups are in place to support this function.

Executive Group

The Executive group leads and coordinates all aspects of the research and corporate functions of the Institute. It comprises the Director and the two Deputy Directors.

Senior Leadership Group

The Senior Leadership Group comprises the Executive and Senior Managers from the corporate and research areas. The group is a strategic leadership forum providing advice to the Director and Deputy Directors.

Governance committees and advisory groups

We support sound management of our accountability and ethical and legislative responsibilities through the Risk Assessment and Audit Committee, and the Human Research Ethics Committee. We also have numerous research advisory groups providing advice on the research projects.

Risk Assessment and Audit Committee

The Risk Assessment and Audit Committee reports to the Director and plays a key role in our corporate governance. It helps ensure effective and efficient use of resources by reviewing the performance and operations of internal controls and performance management systems. It approves our internal audit program and advises the Executive on risk fraud compliance and performance. It also provides assurance to the Director on preparing and reviewing financial statements. An external member chairs the committee. Membership includes the two Deputy Directors and three independent members external to the Institute. The committee met four times during 2017/18, addressing a range of issues including the review of budgets.

Risk Assessment and Audit Committee members, 2017/18

• Dennis Mihelyi (Chair), Chief Financial Officer, Australian Building and Construction Commission
• Brian Scammell (Member), Assistant Commissioner, Corporate Group, Productivity Commission
• Matthew Zappulla (Member), Technical Director, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board
• Kelly Hand (Member), Deputy Director (Research), AIFS
• Dr Michael Alexander (Member), Deputy Director (Corporate Services), AIFS
• Anne Hollonds (Observer), Director, AIFS
• Malcolm Williamson (Observer), Chief Financial Officer, AIFS

Human Research Ethics Committee

The role of our Human Research Ethics Committee is to ensure the ethical standards outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans, and elaborated in our ethics statement, Ethical Issues in the Research Process (1996), are met in all research projects undertaken by us.

In particular, the committee must ensure projects meet the three key principles of: respect for persons, beneficence and justice, as set down in the National Statement. The committee is registered with the Australian Health Ethics Committee, a sub-committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council.

The Ethics Committee meets to consider new project proposals, receive brief oral and written reports on ongoing projects, consider any complaints or problems that may have arisen regarding ethical issues in our research, and review the complaints procedures, as required.

The committee met four times in 2017/18 and undertook expedited considerations on two occasions, assessing 14 ethics applications for new, revised or extended research projects. The committee also has an expedited review process in place for projects that need approval between meetings of the committee.

Members of the Ethics Committee are appointed for three-year terms, with the exception of one member who has sought an extension of their appointment for a shorter term.

Human Research Ethics Committee members, 2017/18

• Dr Duncan Ironmonger AM (Chair), BCom, MCom (Melb.); PhD (Cambridge); Department of Economics, University of Melbourne
• Dr Richard Ingleby, MA, DPhil (Oxford); LLM (Cambridge); Visiting Professor, North China University of Technology
• Ms Lorraine Parsons, BA (La Trobe); BSW (La Trobe); Grad. Cert. Management (Curtin)
• Rev. John Lamont, BA (La Trobe); BTheol (United Faculty of Theology, Ormond College)
• Dr Kerreen Reiger, BA (Hons) (Melb.); PhD (La Trobe); Honorary Associate, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce, La Trobe University
• Dr Sarah Wise, BA (Hons), MA, PhD (Melb.); Good Childhood Fellow, Social Work, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne/Berry Street
• Ian Claridge, BA, Grad. Dip. Special Ed., Grad. Dip. Ed. Leadership, Associate National College for Leadership; Education Consultant/Accredited Executive Coach (Until October 2017)
• Victoria Triggs, BA (Melb.), Grad. Dip. Ed. Admin. (Melb.), Williamson Fellow (Leadership Victoria), Grad. Dip. Australian Institute of Company Directors
• Ms Carol Soloff, B.Sc (Hons) Australian National University (Appointed December 2017)
• Mr Ian Walker (Appointed October 2017)

Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) Expert Advisory Group

The Expert Advisory Group of the AGRC provides advice to the Director (in his/her capacity as Director of AGRC), in relation to:

• strategic directions and research plans and programs for undertaking or commissioning research into, or producing data and statistics about, gambling
• strategies for increasing the capability and capacity of researchers to conduct research into, or produce data and statistics about, gambling.

The Expert Advisory Group consists of the Director and at least seven, but no more than 11, other members.

Australian Gambling Research Centre Expert Advisory Group, 2017/18

• Professor Richard Chisholm AM (Chair), Adjunct Professor, ANU College of Law
• Professor Max Abbott, Director, Gambling and Addictions Research Centre; and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Auckland University of Technology
• Ashley Gordon, Manager, NSW Aboriginal Safe Gambling Services
• Dr Ralph Lattimore, Assistant Commissioner, Productivity Commission
• Professor Alison McClelland, Productivity Commission
• Dr Mark Zirnsak, Director, Justice and International Mission Unit, Uniting Church in Australia Synod Office (Victoria and Tasmania)
• Linda Woo, Executive Director, Office of Regulatory Policy in Queensland's Department of Justice and Attorney-General
• Ms Anne Hollonds, AIFS and AGRC Director

AIFS Expert Advisory Committee

The title and terms of reference of the old 'Advisory Council' were reviewed in October 2017. The future of this group is under consideration.

Corporate and statutory reporting

Our Annual Report for 2016/17 was completed and tabled in a timely manner as required.

During 2017/18, we continued to refine and strengthen our planning processes in order to make our reporting outputs more robust, including ongoing improvements to our budget development, and review and monitoring processes. These initiatives continue to bring together a range of corporate and communications priorities, and have contributed to robust compliance standards and reporting performance against outcomes.

In August 2017, we published our third Corporate (Agency) Plan for 2017/18 to 2020/21 as required under the PGPA Act in the required timeframe. We spent much of 2017/18 implementing the plan's strategic priorities.

Our strategic directions commenced in July 2016. Initially they were a four-year timeframe and covered the period 2016-20. The strategic directions are a rolling plan that we review annually, and we are currently in Year 3 of the plan. We reviewed our goals and believe them to be relevant until 2021/22. One of the activities in 2018/19 is to review our plan to refine our goals and performance measures in our outlook.

Risk management

During 2017/18 we continued to monitor and improve our approach to risk management, including participating in the annual Risk Management Benchmarking Survey conducted by Comcover.

Project management

In 2015/16, we instigated a major review of our financial and management accounting processes. The review recommended that we implement a more systematic approach to our project management processes through the adoption of an agency-wide project management tool and associated processes. By doing so, we expect to be able to generate more accurate and timely analysis from our management accounting activities through a more consistent and sharper focus on project management principles. In addition, the new systematic project management approach is expected to allow risk reporting to be more easily embedded in scheduled projected reporting, as well as reduce the resourcing required in relation to the management of project budgets.

This project was put on hold for much of 2017/18 due to the departure of key personnel and the need to focus extensive resources on our relocation to new premises in February 2018. We are currently reviewing the status of this project with a view to recommencing work in 2018/19.

Internal audit

During 2017/18, three reviews were undertaken by the internal auditors, namely reviews of our Information Management Security, Risk Management practices and compliance to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and related legislation. All reviews confirmed that we have maintained, in all material respects, effective control procedures.

We currently engage BDO East Coast Partnership to provide internal audits.

Business continuity

A major review of our Business Continuity Plan is currently underway following our relocation to new premises in February 2018. The plan aims to provide the necessary guidelines to enable us to:

• take action to prevent potential disruption to the business
• take appropriate action to safeguard staff and property in the event of a crisis
• plan and effectively manage the recovery of operations of the business to a satisfactory level
• plan and manage the resumption of normal business operations in permanent premises with our usual systems and staff
• plan and manage significant staff reductions in the event of a possible pandemic illness or other threat to business continuity that may be of a protracted nature.

Protective Security Policy Framework

We have continued to implement and adhere to the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF), in accordance with guidelines published by the AGD. As at 30 June 2018, we were fully compliant with all 36 mandatory requirements of the PSPF.

Ethical standards

We continue to take actions designed to integrate the APS Values into the organisational culture and the day-to-day work of all employees. The obligations of employees to uphold the APS Values and abide by the APS Code of Conduct are:

• promoted in staff induction and training
• applied to human resource management processes, including individual performance plans
• reflected in human resource policies and procedures, which are made available to all employees on our intranet.

We were not subject to any decisions by the Australian Information Commissioner in 2017/18.

External scrutiny

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) performs an annual statutory audit of our financial statements. In addition, an independent contractor conducts a program of internal audit reviews (BDO East Coast Partnership). The outcomes of all audits are presented to the Risk Assessment and Audit Committee and plans developed for the implementation of recommendations and the ongoing monitoring of  resultant actions for improved processes.

In 2017/18, we were not subject to reports by the Auditor-General, parliamentary committees or the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

We do not have statutory administrative decision-making powers and were not subject to any judicial decisions or decisions of administrative tribunals in 2017/18.

Management of human resources

Employee skills and qualifications

We are fortunate to have employees with a great diversity of skills, knowledge and experience. This ranges from research knowledge in multiple disciplines - including social science, psychology, family law, child and adolescent development, criminology, demography, economics, statistics and survey design - to management skills such as commercial contract negotiation, project management, financial and human resource management, information technology and communications. This diversity of knowledge and expertise exemplifies one of the benefits of working in a small organisation. These skills are known and, as such, can be used across a number of facets of our operations.

Figures 4.1 and 4.2 show, respectively, the highest qualifications gained by our employees overall and by those employed in the research area.

Figure 4.1: Employee qualifications as at 30 June 2018; Figure 4.2: Research employee qualifications as at 30 June 2018

Workforce planning

In 2017/18, we continued to develop our capacity to plan and respond to changing workforce needs. Building capacity and other workforce issues, including increasing the diversity of our workforce, will continue to be an area of focus in 2018/19.

Learning and development

The primary focus of learning and development activities is to ensure that we have the organisational capability to meet operational objectives, both now and in the future.

During the year, staff development focused on a range of interpersonal, leadership, professional workplace and wellbeing topics. The effectiveness of the training provided was evaluated in the performance reviews conducted between managers and individuals.

We also continue to provide professional development opportunities for employees via professional memberships, attendance at conferences and support for formal study.

Recruitment

Our recruitment in 2017/18 focused on specialist research positions, including key positions in knowledge translation, evaluation and longitudinal studies. Our vacancies were advertised via online channels including the APS Jobs site and our social media pages.

Staff engagement, participation and development

We recognise the vital contribution our people make to the achievement of our purpose and the importance of staff being engaged with their work, participating in the workplace, and developing professionally.

AIFS Values

In 2017/18 our leadership team worked with employees to develop a set of core AIFS Values. The AIFS Values and Behaviours, along with the APS Values, help to shape our culture and guide us towards achieving our purpose. AIFS' five values and behaviours are:

Champions of our work and each other

We want everyone's boat to rise: We take collective pride in each other's work and success.

Excellence for impact

We are committed to producing excellent work that makes a difference for families.

Fearless and curious explorers

We value experimentation, creativity and ongoing learnings.

Honest and respectful conversations

We are authentic and have meaningful conversations including the tough ones.

Seeing the lighter side

We value collegiality, humour and fun.

Office relocation change management

Our relocation to Southbank was supported by significant consultation and change management processes. A working group of staff representatives was established to provide a forum for discussion and feedback on matters relating to the relocation, including office design.

Workplace Relations Committee

The Workplace Relations Committee provides a forum for management and employees to discuss matters relating to the Enterprise Agreement as well as the workplace in general. The committee comprises management and employee representatives. The Committee's work in 2017/18 focused on staff consultation on policies supporting the 2017 Enterprise Agreement, which commenced in June 2017.

Health and Safety Committee

The Health and Safety Committee was established to represent staff and facilitate consultation and discussion between management and employees regarding health and safety matters in the workplace. Committee meetings are held at least quarterly and provide an effective forum for staff to raise particular health and safety issues as well as the planning and promotion of health and safety practices and principles in the workplace.

Statistics on staffing

As at 30 June 2018, there were 87 staff - 20 males and 67 females - employed at the Institute under the Public Service Act 1999, excluding the Director.

Tables 4.1 and 4.2 present profiles of our staff by gender and type of employment at 30 June 2018 and 30 June 2017 respectively. As Table 4.1 indicates, at 30 June 2018 we had 41% of staff in ongoing positions and 59% of staff in non-ongoing positions. This represents an increase in non-ongoing staff of 5 percentage points compared to the previous year. Table 4.3 describes staff by classification level, gender and type of employment as at 30 June 2018.

Note: Excludes employees engaged to provide services to us on an irregular/intermittent (casual) basis.

Note: Excludes employees engaged to provide services to us on an irregular/intermittent (casual) basis.

Note: Seventeen employees on higher duties were counted at the higher duties level. Excludes employees engaged to provide services to us on an irregular/intermittent (casual) basis.

Employees who identify as Indigenous

As at 30 June 2018 we had no ongoing or non-ongoing employees who identified as Indigenous, the same as at 30 June 2017.

Individual and collective agreements

Details of the number of staff covered by our Enterprise Agreement or a Section 24(1) determination at 30 June 2018 are shown in Table 4.4.

Performance pay

No employees were eligible for performance pay in 2017/18.

Note: Two EL 2 employees covered by the Enterprise Agreement have been provided with Section 24(1) determinations to supplement the provisions of the Enterprise Agreement. The number of staff excludes employees engaged to provide services to us on an irregular/intermittent (casual) basis.

Assets management

We maintain a detailed and effective assets register. Assets management is not a significant aspect of our strategic business.

Purchasing

All purchasing is carried out in line with the requirements of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, as detailed in the Accountable Authority's Instructions and Financial Guidelines, and in keeping with the core principles of ethical, efficient, effective and economical conduct. Templates covering all aspects of purchasing and approval have been developed and are used consistently.

All procurements in excess of $10,000 are reported in AusTender, and contracts in excess of $100,000 are included in Senate Order 192 reporting.

Consultants

Our core business, to conduct research and communicate the findings, can require the use of consultant expertise. Consultants are generally engaged when particular specialist expertise is necessary and sufficiently skilled expertise is not immediately available in-house, or independent advice is required.

The services provided by new and continuing consultants in the reporting period included provision of research reports, the review and audit of financial activities, human resources and business process analyses, as well as media relations services.

Processes for the engagement of consultants were consistent with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, as detailed in the Financial Guidelines. As with all procurement, the priority in the engagement of consultants is to obtain value for money. Competitive processes are used for the selection of consultants, and the Accountable Authority's Instructions contained guidelines for the approval of expenditure.

Consistent with the policy of including trend data in annual reports, expenditure on consultancy contracts over the three most recent financial years is listed in Table 4.5.

During 2017/18, nine new consultancy contracts were entered into (including those to the value of less than $10,000), involving total actual expenditure of $262,182 (incl. GST). In addition, three ongoing consultancy contracts were active during the year, involving total actual expenditure of $104,097 (incl. GST). Expenditure for the year totalled $366,279 (incl. GST).

Commissioning bodies

During the 2017/18 financial year, the following organisations commissioned projects from the Institute:

• Attorney-General's Department
• Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Ltd
• Australian Psychological Society Limited
• Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Central Queensland University
• Department of Education and Training
• Department of Health
• Department of Jobs and Small Business
• Department of Social Services
• Department of Veterans' Affairs
• KPMG
• Monash University
• National Centre for Vocational Education Research
• Queensland Family Child Commission
• RMIT Training Pty Ltd
• University of New South Wales (Social Policy Research Centre)
• Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
• Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation

Australian National Audit Office access clauses

Our contract templates contain standard clauses to provide for the Auditor-General to have access to the contractor's premises. All contracts let during the reporting period contained these standard clauses.

Exempt contracts

We have not entered into any contracts or standing offers above the reporting threshold value of $10,000 that have been exempted from publication in AusTender.

Procurement initiatives to support small business

We support small business participation in the Commonwealth Government procurement market. Our procurement practices support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by using the following:

• the Commonwealth Contracting Suite for low-risk procurements valued under $200,000
• Australian Industry Participation Plans in whole-of-government procurement where applicable
• the Small Business Engagement Principles (outlined in the government's Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda), such as communicating in clear, simple language and presenting information in an accessible format
• electronic systems or other processes used to facilitate on-time payment performance, including the use of payment cards.

5. Financial statements

Due to their size and format the Financial statements are only available in PDF.

Financial statements [PDF, 3.5MB]

If you require an accessible version of the statements please contact us and we will endeavour to provide the content you need in a format you can use.

6. Appendices

Appendix A: Other mandatory information

Work health and safety

We are committed to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace, and meeting its responsibilities under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. See 'Management and accountability' for our workplace health and safety policies, processes and performance.

Advertising and market research

No payments of $13,200 or greater (inclusive of GST) were made for the purposes of advertising and market research expenditure, as described in section 321A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.

Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance

Our management and staff continue to be committed to the principles of ecologically sustainable development.

The HWT Tower in which we are located has a 4.5 star NABERS energy rating. Lighting throughout our office is sensitive to movement, meaning it will automatically turn off after a set period of no activity and only turn back on when movement is detected to reduce energy usage on unnecessary lighting. In November we installed block-out blinds on all north and west facing windows to reduce heat transmission in the warmer months.

Other energy efficient practices, such as staff shutting down their computers at the end of the day continue to be encouraged, together with ensuring all office equipment and appliances conform to environmental standards.

Meaningful comparison of electricity consumption within the tenancy with previous years is not possible yet as we have only just completed our first 12 months occupancy, although we are confident that our consumption is less than our previous tenancy due to our reduced footprint (from 1,532 m² over 1.5 floors to 1,290 m² over a single floor).

Adverse effects due to transport (causing emissions to the air and use of resources) continue to be mostly due to domestic airline flights. The proximity of our office to train and tram networks enables the majority of staff to take public transport to and from the office. Webinars continue to be very popular and regularly replace face-to-face seminar presentations, extending their reach and reducing the need for people to travel to the Institute to hear them. Installation of new state of the art video-conferencing equipment in late 2018 has meant reduced travel for both staff and key stakeholders as it is now very easy to participate in meetings from our office.

Paper consumption (use of natural resources) is minimised by using recycled paper and ensuring that the office printers default to using both sides of the paper. Two new Konica Minolta printers were installed in February 2019 providing updated technology, reduced consumption of resources during use and more granular reporting of print usage.

Paper use in 2018/19 (number of printer/copier impressions) decreased by 16.22%. This continues the decreased usage reported over the previous three years.

Our transition to digital working in line with the Australian Government's digital transition and digital continuity 2020 policies is continuing. All staff now use laptop computers, meaning they can be fully mobile when they work, with less need to print or store hardcopy records.

Waste generation is reduced by the separation of paper, cardboard, glass, plastics and organic waste at waste stations throughout the tenancy.

Disability reporting

Since 1994, Commonwealth departments and agencies have reported on their performance as policy adviser, purchaser, employer, regulator and provider under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. In 2007/08, reporting on the employer role was transferred to the Australian Public Service Commission's State of the Service Report and the APS Statistical Bulletin. These reports are available from the Commission's website (see apsc.gov.au). Since 2010/11, departments and agencies have not been required to report on these functions.

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy has been overtaken by a new National Disability Strategy 2010-20, which sets out a 10-year national policy framework to improve the lives of people with a disability, promote participation and create a more inclusive society. A high-level two-yearly report will track progress against each of the six outcome areas of the strategy and present a picture of how people with a disability are faring. The first of these reports was published in late 2014 (see dss.gov.au).

Information Publication Scheme

Agencies subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act) are required to publish information to the public as part of the Information Publication Scheme (IPS). This requirement is in Part II of the FOI Act and has replaced the former requirement to publish a Section 8 statement in an annual report. Each agency must display on its website a plan showing what information it publishes in accordance with the IPS requirements.

Although no new requests were received in 2018/19, a decision made in 2017/18 was reviewed and upheld by the Office of Australian Information Commissioner.

Contact details

FOI Contact Officer 
Australian Institute of Family Studies 
Level 4, 40 City Road 
Southbank VIC 3006

Telephone (03) 9214 7888 
Facsimile (03) 9214 7839 
Email aifs-foi@aifs.gov.au

Appendix B: Agency resource statements and resources for outcomes

Notes:

1. Appropriation Act (No. 1) 2018/19 and Appropriation Act (No. 3) 2018/19 (and Appropriation Act (No. 5) 2018/19 if necessary). This may also include prior year departmental appropriation and Section 74 Retained Revenue Receipts.
2. Includes an amount of $0.189 million in 2018/19 for the Departmental Capital Budget. For accounting purposes this amount has been designated as 'contributions by owners'.
3. Appropriation Act (No. 2) 2018/19 and Appropriation Act (No. 4) 2018/19 (and Appropriation Act (No. 6) 2018/19 if necessary).
4. Includes appropriation equity provided through Appropriation Bill (No.2) 2018/19.
5. Does not include 'Special Public Money' held in accounts like Services for Other Entities and Trust Moneys Special accounts (SOETM).

Notes:

1. Full year budget, including any subsequent adjustment made to the 2018/19 Budget at Additional Estimates.
2. Departmental Appropriation combines Ordinary annual services (Appropriation Acts Nos. 1, 3 and 5) and Retained Revenue Receipts under Section 74 of the PGPA Act 2013.

Appendix C: AIFS publications, events, webinars, presentations and submissions 2018/19

The following are the research publications, presentations and other outputs prepared by AIFS staff during 2018/19.

Publications

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Corporate Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Annual report 2017/18. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Growing Up in Australia - The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children annual statistical report 2017. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Data User Guide - December 2018. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2018). Longitudinal Study of Australian Children: Data issues Waves 1 to 7. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Bandara, D., Sipthorp, M., Sufi, F., & Daraganova, G. (2018). Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) data in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Technical Paper No. 21). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Baxter. J. A. (2018). Parents living elsewhere (Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Technical Paper No. 22). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Baxter, J. A. (2018). Who do adolescents spend their time with? In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia - The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 25-34). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Baxter, J. A. (2019). Fathers and work: A statistical overview (AIFS Research Summary). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Browne, M., Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., Thomas, A., & Jenkinson, R. (2019). The impact of exposure to wagering advertisements and inducements on intended and actual betting expenditure: An ecological momentary assessment study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8, 146-156.

Carson, R. (2019). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the Children and Young People in Separated Families project. CFCA short article. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Carson, R., Qu, L., De Maio, J., & Roopani, D. (2019). Direct cross-examination in family law matters (AIFS Research Summary). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Child Family Community Australia. (2018). Digital technology use in the child, youth and family sector (CFCA Resource Sheet). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Child Family Community Australia. (2018). The intersection between the child protection and youth justice systems (CFCA Resource Sheet). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Daraganova, G., Smart, D., & Romaniuk, H. (2018). Family Wellbeing Study: Part 1: Families of current and ex-serving ADF members: Health and wellbeing. Canberra: Department of Defence and Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Dean, A. (2019). Elder abuse: Key issues and emerging evidence (CFCA Paper No. 51). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Edwards, B., Forrest, W., Vassallo, S., Greenwood, C., & Olsson, C. A. (2019). Depression and anxiety in adolescent and young adult offenders: A longitudinal study from 13 to 32 years using the Australian Temperament Project. Journal of Criminal Justice, 62, 87-93.

El-Murr, A. (2018). Intimate partner violence in Australian refugee communities: Scoping review of issues and service responses (CFCA Paper No. 50). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Forrest, W., Edwards, B., & Daraganova, G. (2019). The intergenerational consequences of war: Anxiety, depression, suicidality, and mental health among the children of war veterans. International Journal of Epidemiology, 47, 1060-1067.

Gray, M., Qu, L., Stanton, D., & Weston, R. (2019). Fifty years of changing families: Implications for income support. In P. Saunders (Ed.), Revisiting Henderson: Poverty, social security and basic income (pp. 67-88). Carlton: Melbourne University Publishing.

Gray, S., & Daraganova, G. (2018). Adolescent help-seeking. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia - The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 59-72). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Gray, S., Romaniuk, H., & Daraganova, G. (2018). Adolescents' relationships with their peers. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia - The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 47-58). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Gribble, R., Mahar, A., Godfrey, K. Muir, S., Albright, D., Daraganova, G., Spinks, N., Fear, N., & Cramm, H. (2018). What does the term 'military family' mean? A comparison across four countries. Kingston, Ontario: Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research.

Harvey, J., & Muir, S. (2018). National survey of FaRS-funded service providers (Research Report). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Hateley-Browne, J., Hodge, L., Polimeni, M., & Mildon, R. (2019). Implementation in action: A guide to implementing evidence-informed programs and practices (Families and Children Expert Panel Practice Resource). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Hervatin, M., (2019). Working with fathers who use violence: Highlights from the Invisible Practices project. Emerging Minds short article. Adelaide: Emerging Minds.

Hing, N., Browne M., Russell, A. M. T., Greer N., Thomas, A., Jenkinson, R., & Rockloff, M. (2019). Where's the bonus in bonus bets? Assessing sports bettors' comprehension of their true cost. Journal of Gambling Studies, 35, 587-599.

Hing, N., Russell, A., Rockloff, M., Browne, M., Langham, E., Li, E., Lole, L., Greer, N., Thomas, A., Jenkinson, R., Rawat, V., & Thorne, H. (2018). Effects of wagering marketing on vulnerable adults. Melbourne: Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Hing N., Russell, A., Thomas, A., & Jenkinson, R. (2019). Wagering advertisements and inducements: Exposure and perceived influence on betting behaviour. Journal of Gambling Behaviour. DOI: 10.1007/s10899-018-09823-y.

Homel, J., & Warren, D. (2018). The relationship between parent drinking: Differences for mothers and fathers, boys and girls. Substance use and misuse, 54, 661-669.

Humphreys, C., Diemer, K., Bornemisza, A., Spiteri-Staines, A., Kaspiew, R., & Horsfall, B. (2019). More present than absent: Men who use domestic violence and their fathering. Child and Family Social Work, 24, 321-329.

Jenkinson, R., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Carroll, M. (2018). Weighing up the Odds: Young men, sports and betting. Final Report to the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Jenkinson, R., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Carroll, M. (2019). Weighing up the odds: Sports betting and young men (AGRC Research Summary). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Livingstone, C., Rintoul, A., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., Borland, R., Dietze, P., Jenkinson, R., Livingston, M., Robin Room, R., Smith, B., Stoove, M., & Winter, R. (2019). Identifying effective policy interventions to prevent gambling-related harm. Melbourne: Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

McLean, S. (2018). Therapeutic residential care: An update on current issues in Australia (CFCA Paper No. 49). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Muir, S. (2018). Family Wellbeing Study: Part 2: Military family approaches to managing transition to civilian life. Canberra: Department of Defence and Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Muir, S., Purtell, J., Hand, K., & Carroll, M. (2019). Beyond 18: The Longitudinal Study on Leaving Care Wave 3 Research Report: Outcomes for young people leaving care in Victoria. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

O'Connor, M., Warren, D., & Daraganova, G. (2018). Eating problems in mid-adolescence. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 113-124). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Price-Robertson, R. (2018). Diagnosis in child mental health: Exploring the benefits, risks and alternatives (CFCA Paper No. 48). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Price-Robertson, R., Meddick, T., & Parker, E. (2019). Supporting staff to work with children and families with complex needs: A checklist for organisations. Adelaide: Emerging Minds.

Price-Robertson, R., Reupert, A., & Maybery, D. (2019). Online peer support programs for young people with a parent who has a mental illness: Service providers' perspectives. Australian Social Work, 72, 274-286.

Price-Robertson, R, & Schuurman, C. (2019). Supporting children in families with complex needs: Nine tips for practitioners who feel out of their depth. Adelaide: Emerging Minds.

Purtell, J., Muir, S., & Carroll, M. (2019). Beyond 18: The Longitudinal Study on Leaving Care Wave 2 Research Report: Transitioning to post-care life. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Qu, L. (2019). Family dispute resolution: Use, timing, and outcomes. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 40, 24-42.

Rintoul, A., & Deblaquiere, J. (2019). Gambling in Suburban Australia (AGRC Research Report). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Rioseco, P., Baxter, J., & Warren, D. (2018). Kids' care and activities before and after school. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 87-98). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Smart, J. (2019). Needs Assessment (Families and Children Expert Panel Practice Resource). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Smart, D., Muir, S., & Daraganova, G. (2018). Family Wellbeing Study: Summary report. Canberra: Department of Defence and Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Vassallo, S., Sanson, A., Letcher, P., & Olsson, C. A. (2018). What factors protect bullies and victims from adverse outcomes? APS College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists' e-NEWS.

Vassallo, Smart, D., Tan. E. P., Barker, S., & Letcher, P. (2018). Australian Temperament Project participant newsletter, December 2018. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Vassallo, S., & Warren, D. (2018). Use of technology in the classroom. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 99-112). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Warren, D. (2018). Children's housing experiences. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 9-24). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Warren, D. (2018). Children's use of health services. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 125-142). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Warren, D., Daraganova, G., & O'Connor, M. (2018). Preschool and children's readiness for school. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 73-86). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Whitehouse, G., Baird, M., Brennan, D., & Baxter, J. A. (2018). Australia country note. In S. Blum, A. Koslowski, A. Macht, & P. Moss (Eds.), International review of leave policies and research 2018 (pp. 45-56). London: International Network on Leave Policies and Related Research.

Yu, M., & Baxter, J. (2018). Relationships between parents and young teens. In D. Warren and G. Daraganova (Eds.), Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Annual Statistical Report 2017 (pp. 35-46). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Updated CFCA resource sheets

Children in care (September 2018)

The economic costs of child abuse and neglect (September 2018)

What is child abuse and neglect? (September 2018)

Helplines and telephone counselling services for children, young people and parents (December 2018)

Child protection and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (January 2019)

Reporting child abuse and neglect: Information for service providers (June 2019)

Events and webinars

AIFS events

Australian Institute of Family Studies 2018 Conference, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), 25-27 July 2018.

Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation. Workshop: Bendigo (15-16 August 2018).

Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation. Workshop: Albury (22-23 August 2018).

'Voices of children and young people in family law' Forum, hosted by the Tasmanian Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Hobart (29 October 2018).

Stephen Crossley, Northumbria University. 'Troubled families' or a 'troubling policy'? Lessons to be learnt from the UK's Troubled Families Programme, 28 November 2018.

Christian Bason, CEO, Danish Design Centre. Policy Design Masterclass, 19 March 2019.

Lisa Calderwood, Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. Teenagers in the UK today: Initial findings from the age 14 sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study, 10 April 2019.

Outcomes Measurement and Evaluation. Workshop: Wagga Wagga (30 April - 1 May 2019)

'Family law in Australia: Where to from here?' Discussion panel, Melbourne (6 June 2019)

CFCA webinar series

Muriel Bamblett, VACCA; Candice Butler, QATSICPP. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination in child protection, 18 July 2018.

Peter Parry, University of Queensland. Diagnosing children with mental health difficulties: Benefits, risks and complexities, 2 August 2018.

Rachel Carson, AIFS; Norma Williams, UnitingCare. Give children a bigger voice more of the time: Children's and young people's experiences of the family law system, 27 September 2018.

Jessica Cocks, Life Without Barriers. 'A community that values its children will cherish their parents': Family inclusion in child protection systems, 24 October 2018.

Andrew Cummings, Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network; Sally Thompson, Multicultural Youth Tasmania. Working with young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds: Applying the National Youth Settlement Framework in mainstream services, 28 November 2018.

Erica Frydenberg, Janice Deans, University of Melbourne. Building resilience and wellbeing in the early years: Coping strategies for parents and children from CALD backgrounds, 27 February 2019.

Alissar El-Murr, AIFS; Adele Murdolo, Multicultural Centre for Women's Health; Cecilia Barassi-Rubio, Immigrant Women's Support Service. Intimate partner violence in Australian refugee and immigrant communities: Culturally safe strategies for practice, 27 March 2019.

Paul McDonald, Anglicare Victoria; Philip Mendes, Monash University. Extending care: Supporting young people's transition from out-of-home care to adulthood, 15 May 2019.

CFCA-Emerging Minds webinar series

Brad Morgan, Helen Francis, Jaisen Mahne, Emerging Minds. What is infant and child mental health and why is it important for all practitioners to think about it? 9 October 2018.

Chris Dolman, Lisa Johnson, Dom Kleinig, Emerging Minds. Engaging children as partners in practice to support their mental health and wellbeing, 12 December 2018.

Angela Obradovic, Myfanwy McDonald and Mandy, Emerging Minds. Sharing information and engaging with parents about child mental health, 12 February 2019.

Sarah Wendt, Flinders University; David Tully, Relationships Australia South Australia. Child-focused approaches when working with parents affected by family and domestic violence, 29 May 2019.

CFCA-Expert Panel webinar series

Paul Harkin, the Benevolent Society; Jessica Smart, AIFS. Needs assessment: A tool for program planning and community building, 8 May 2019.

Robyn Mildon, Jessica Hateley-Browne, Centre for Evidence and Implementation. Implementing programs and practices in child and family services: The 'why' and 'how' of good implementation practice, 26 June 2019.

Presentations

Armstrong, R. (2018, November). Creating a culture of research and evaluation: Communication for impact - telling the story of your program. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Armstrong, R., & Hand, K. (2018, October). Improving our impact: Building institutional capacity for effective knowledge translation. Paper presented at the Global Evidence and Implementation Summit (GEIS), Melbourne.

Armstrong, R., Reddel, T., West, S., & Maiorano, V. (2018, July). How can research be made relevant? Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Bandara, D., Daraganova, G., Mohal, J., & Edwards, B. (2018, July). Consent to data linkages in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC): The role of survey methodology, participant characteristics and public concerns about personal data security. Paper presented at the Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys II Conference, Essex, UK.

Bassett, M., Canning, M., Renda, J., Kok, B., & Foeken, E. (2018, December). LSAC goes online: Asking young people to complete an online survey prior to the home visit. Paper presented at the 6th ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference, Sydney.

Baxter, J. A. (2018, July). Motherhood and employment transitions: Updated findings using the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Baxter, J. A. (2018, July). Trends in fathers' working arrangements. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Baxter, J. A. (2018, August). Fathers at work: Statistical overview. Paper presented at the 'Why Fathers' Care Matters: Enabling Gender Equity in Care and Work' Forum, Canberra.

Baxter, J. A. (2018, November). Fathers and mothers: Work and care. Paper presented at the IPAA WA Women in Public Sector Leadership Forum, Perth.

Broadley, K., & Paterson, N. (2019, May). Violence towards workers in the child, family and community welfare sector. Poster presentation at the 6th Child Aware Conference, Brisbane.

Carroll, M., & Lapinski, V. (2018, July). What's in a game? Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, July). Children participating in research: Experiences from the Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, July). Direct cross-examination in family law matters - a new approach? Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, July). Developing an Australian definition of abuse of older people. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, July). Findings from the Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, July). Presentation of data from the Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented at the Family Court of Australia.

Carson, R. (2018, August). Direct cross-examination in family law matters. Paper presented at the Family Law Practitioners (Western Australia) Conference, Perth.

Carson, R. (2018, October). Children and young people in separated families: Key findings. Paper presented at the 'Voices of children and young people in family law' Forum, hosted by the Tasmanian Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Hobart.

Carson, R. (2018, October). Elder abuse national research: Stage one, strengthening the evidence base. Paper presented at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) Annual Seminar, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, October). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented to the Family Law Courts Children's Committee, Brisbane.

Carson, R. (2018, November). Direct cross-examination in family law matters: Findings from new research. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Carson, R. (2018, November). Elder abuse national research: Stage one, strengthening the evidence base. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Carson, R. (2018, November). Elder abuse national research: Stage one, strengthening the evidence base, defining abuse of older people. Paper presented at the Australian Association of Gerontology Conference, Melbourne.

Carson, R. (2018, November). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Carson, R. (2018, November). Voices of children and young people in family law. Paper presented at the Australian and New Zealand Children's Commissioners and Guardians Meeting, Adelaide.

Carson, R. (2019, February). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented to the Australian Department of Social Services, Canberra.

Carson, R. (2019, February). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented to the Great Hobart Family Law Pathways Network, Hobart.

Carson, R. (2019, February). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented to the Launceston and Northern Tasmania Family Law Pathways Network, Launceston.

Carson, R. (2019, May). Give children a bigger voice, more of the time: Findings from the AIFS Children and Young People in Separated Families Study. Paper presented at the 6th Child Aware Conference, Brisbane.

Coleiro, A. (2018, July). Effective translation of research. Panel presentation at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne.

Daraganova, G., Bandara, D., Renda, J., & Jessup, K. (2018, July). What can process data add to our understanding of attrition in LSAC? Paper presented at the Methodology of Longitudinal Surveys II Conference, Essex, UK.

Daraganova, G., & Benassi, H. (2018, July). Effects of servicemen's transition from military to civilian life on spouses/partners: Findings from the Transition and Wellbeing Research Programme's Family Study. Paper presented at the 16th European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Livingstone, C. (2018, July). Targeting children: Restricting gambling promotions by adapting lessons from tobacco, alcohol and food. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Deblaquiere, J., & Rintoul, A. (2018, August). 'Family-friendly' EGM venues and family harms derived from gambling: Experiences from the GISA Study. Paper presented at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Conference, Geelong.

El-Murr, A. (2018, November). Intimate partner violence in Australian refugee communities: An overview of underlying issues and service responses. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Foeken, E., Renda, J., Jessup, K., Kok, B., Bassett, M., & Canning, M. (2018, December). Events history calendars: Benefits and challenges. Paper presented at the 6th ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference, Sydney.

Goldsworthy, K., Moore, S., Muir, S., & Smart, J. (2018, November). Program Logic Workshop. Workshop presented at the Family and Relationship Services National Conference, Cairns.

Goldsworthy, K., & Muir, S. (2019, June). What makes a good evaluation? Experiences from the Expert Panel project. Paper presented at the Ian Potter Foundation Evaluation Education Forum, Melbourne.

Guiver, T., & Bandara, D. (2018, December). Data linkage in LSAC: Great benefits but also some challenging issues. Paper presented at the 6th ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference, Sydney.

Haynes, K., Moore, S., Smart, J., Muir, S., & Hand, K. (2018, November). Creating a culture of research and evaluation: Evaluation planning and program logics. Paper presented at the Family & Relationship Services Australia (FRSA) National Conference, Cairns.

Hollonds, A. (2018, October). Voices of children and young people in family law, at Family Law Forum, hosted by the Tasmanian Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Hobart.

Hollonds, A. (2019, March) Using data to inform and inspire big ideas to optimise family wellbeing. Keynote presentation at the Families in Canada Conference in Ottawa, Canada.

Jenkinson, R. (2018, June). Young men and sports betting. Paper presented at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Research Priorities and Grant Round Launch, Melbourne.

Jenkinson, R., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Carroll, M. (2018, July). Weighing up the odds: Young men, sports and betting. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Jenkinson, R., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Carroll, M. (2018, August). Sports and gambling. Paper presented at the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation Conference, Geelong.

Jenkinson, R., de Lacy-Vawdon, C., & Carroll, M. (2018, November). 'Barstool betting': Exploring the relationship between alcohol consumption and sports betting among a sample of young Victorian men. Paper presented at the Australasian Professional Society for Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD) Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.

Jessup, K., Renda, J., Kok, B., Corey, J., & Martin, K. (2018, July). LSAC goes online: Asking young people to complete an online survey prior to the home visit. Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Conference, Milan, Italy.

Jessup, K. (2018, July). What can process data add to our understanding of attrition in LSAC? Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Conference, Milan, Italy.

Moore, S. (2018, July). The Expert Panel project: Reflections and results from a national workforce capacity building initiative. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Muir, S. (2018, October). Research on the role of families in transitions from military service. Paper presented at the Veterans' Families Forum, Invictus Games Symposium, Sydney.

Muir, S. (2018, November). Lessons from the Families and Children Expert Panel project. Paper presented at 'Attracting funding and support for program evaluation: A workshop and partnership networking event for funders, program providers and program evaluators', Melbourne.

Muir, S. (2019, March). Lessons from the Families and Children Expert Panel project. Paper presented at the Communities for Children Forum, Canberra.

Muir, S., & Purtell, J. (2018, July). The Beyond 18 study: Outcomes for young people leaving out-of-home care in Victoria. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

O'Connor, M., Romaniuk, H., Gray, S., & Daraganova, G. (2018, July). Continuity of mental health problems from childhood to adolescence in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Paper presented at the 25th International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Biennial Meeting, Gold Coast.

Price-Robertson, R. (2018, July). Diagnosis in child mental health: Exploring the benefits, risks and alternatives. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Price-Robertson, R. (2018, October). Interdependence in mental health recovery. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Bouverie Centre Mini-Conference, Melbourne.

Purtell, J. & Muir, S. (2018, July). Insights into research with children and young people from highly vulnerable populations. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Qu, L. (2018, July). Caring about carers: Findings from a national survey of foster and relative/kinship carers. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Qu, L., Gray, M., Stanton, D., & De Vaus, D. A. (2018, July). Have the financial consequences of relationship separation changed for older Australians? A comparison of two cohorts. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Quadara, A. (2018, July). Trends in service integration to address family violence. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Rioseco, P. (2018, July). English language proficiency among humanitarian youth: A longitudinal study. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Rioseco, P. (2018, July). Factors associated with psychological distress among recently arrived humanitarian migrants to Australia. Paper presented at the 25th International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Biennial Meeting, Gold Coast.

Smart, D., & Poerio, L. (2018, July). Impact of transition from military to civilian life on families. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Vassallo, S. (2018, July). What helps? What hinders? Key insights about mental health from a 35-year longitudinal study. Paper presented at the 25th International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development Biennial Meeting, Gold Coast.

Warren, D. (2018, September). Young carers: The influence of informal caring on cognitive social outcomes. Paper presented at the 'Lunchtime Learning' session, Carers Victoria, Melbourne.

Warren, D., & Daraganova, G. (2018, July). Self-harm and suicidal behaviour among young people aged 14-15. Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Conference, Milan, Italy.

Warren, D., & Edwards, B. (2018, July). Young carers in Australia: The influence of informal caring on cognitive and social outcomes. Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Conference, Milan, Italy.

Warren, D., & Edwards, B. (2018, July). Young carers: Implications for NAPLAN outcomes. Paper presented at the 15th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Warren, D., O'Connor, M., & Daraganova, G. (2018, July). The impact of early childhood education programs on children's developmental outcomes: Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Paper presented at the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Conference, Milan, Italy.

Submissions

The Institute prepares submissions to inquiries and responds to requests for consultation. Such activity is an indication of the Institute's involvement in the policy and research process.

In 2018/19, the Institute made the following submissions:

• Submission to The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Inquiry into gaming micro-transactions for chance-based items (July 2018)
• Submission to the National Children's Commissioner - Children's rights (August 2018)
• Submission to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Intergenerational Welfare Dependence: Inquiry into Intergenerational Welfare Dependence (September 2018)
• Submission to the Australian Government Department of Health - Draft Charter of Aged Care Rights (October 2018)
• Submissions to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee: Inquiry into the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bills (2018) (November 2018)
• Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission - Review of the family law system - Discussion Paper 86 (November 2018)
• Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission - Inquiry into the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bills 2018 (November 2018)
• Submission to the Productivity Commission's 'What Works' Review' (March 2019).

Appendix D: Acronyms and abbreviations

Appendix E: List of requirements

The Annual Report is prepared in accordance with the Requirements for Annual Reports approved by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. This index refers to mandatory and suggested reporting items.

Note: N/A = not applicable