Child protection
AIFS has built expertise in a range of areas relating to child protection including risk and protective factors for child abuse and neglect, out-of-home care and strategies for prevention.
Research expertise
AIFS has been conducting high quality research relevant to both policy and practice for 40 years. Over this time, the Institute has built research expertise in a range of areas related to family wellbeing.
Child care and early childhood education
The way families juggle their work and child care arrangements has become a key research area for the Institute.
Child and adolescent development
AIFS has developed expertise in child development research primarily through the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Topics of research include education, health, work and family, time use and activities and social and emotional development.
Families and the military
Institute research on families and the military focuses on the mental and physical health of serving and ex-serving Defence members as well as the role of family in supporting seriously wounded Defence members.
Family trends and transitions
Family trends and transitions has always been important research area for the Institute. Key topic areas in the area have included family demography, patterns of leaving home, family stability and couple and family formation.
Gambling research
Through the Australian Gambling Research Centre, AIFS has built a range of expertise relating to gambling in Australia, including gambling behaviour, trends, harms, prevention, treatment and policy.
Indigenous families
Research at AIFS on Indigenous families has focused on identifying the strengths of cultural practices in family life and building safe and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Laws and families
Family separation and family law have been a core focus of the Institute's research since its inception in 1980.
Longitudinal studies
AIFS has built expertise in longitudinal research by conducting, leading and collaborating on several large-scale longitudinal research studies.
Parenting
AIFS research on parenting has included research on work and family, post-separation parenting, caring for children outside of school hours, parental and unsupervised time.
Relationship breakdown
Key focus areas of the Institute's research on relationship breakdown include separation and divorce, post-separating parenting, child support and service pathways for separated families.
Violence and families
AIFS has an extensive research program on families and violence that primarily examines how experiences of violence affect family functioning.
Work and family
Work and family has always been a key area of research expertise for the Institute. Research in the area has explored child care use, parental employment and work-family policies.
