Strengthening Communities, Supporting Families And Social Inclusion

1
Australia 2020 Summit Strengthening Communities,
Supporting Families And Social Inclusion
April 2008
2
These background materials aim to tell an
evidence-based story about how Australia is
faring. They are not intended to be definitive or
comprehensive, but were put together to stimulate
discussion on the main challenges and
opportunities facing the country and the choices
to be made in addressing them. They do not
represent government policy. The materials end
with a set of questions. We hope that these,
along with many other questions, will be the
subject of conversation both prior to and during
the Summit.
3
Australia's population is ageing - by 2036, it is
predicted that one quarter of Australians will be
over 65
Australian population by age bracket 1976-2036
population by age bracket
For more on Australia's demographic
transformation, see Population, Sustainability...
(p14-17)
Source ABS 3222.0, Population Projections,
Australia, 2004-2101 (2006) ABS 3201.0,
Population by Age and Sex, Australian States and
Territories (2006)
4
We have a high migrant population, and a wealth
of cultures
Migration
Language
Permanent settler arrivals - top 10 countries of
birth 1985/6, 2005/6 (Ranked country of
emigration total migrant population)
Religion

• Christianity is the most common religious belief
  (around 12.7m people)
• Buddhism is the second most common (around
  420,000 followers this has grown from 200,000
  in 1996)
• Islam has around 340,000 followers, up from
  200,000 in 1996
• Hinduism has around 150,000 followers, more than
  double the 1996 figure
• The Jewish community comprises around 89,000
  people
• 240,000 citizens cite religions and religious
  affiliations outside the above

1. Others with lt50,000 respondents (2006)
French, Indonesian, Persian (includes Dari),
Maltese, Russian, Dutch, Japanese, Tamil,
Sinhalese, Samoan, Portuguese, Khmer, Thai,
Assyrian, Hungarian, Korean, Turkish, Polish and
Serbian Source ABS 2068.0, Census Data 2006 ABS
1301.0, Year Book Australia 2008 (2008)
5
High cultural diversity is a phenomenon of inner
urban communities, where between 5 and 35 of
people arrived in Australia less than 5 years ago
Sydney
Melbourne
"New arrivals" Persons arriving on or after 1
January 2001 ( total usual residents)
"New arrivals" Persons arriving on or after 1
January 2001 ( total usual residents)
Source ABS, Data source Census MapStats 2006
Data available on request
6
For most people, family remains the anchor-point
of support networks and social engagement
Family is the most common form of support for
people in crisis...
...and also the greatest beneficiary of our
generosity and care
Source ABS 4159.0, General Social Survey, 2006
(2007)
7
Increasingly, families come in a wide range of
forms
8.8
Australia has more single parent and childless
households
No family structure is "typical"
More people are remaining unmarried or living in
de facto relationships
Only 40 of families are "traditional" nuclear
families, with 2 parents and their shared
biological children only It is estimated that
28 of marriages entered into in 1985-7 will end
in divorce and 33 of marriages from 2000-2.
Half of all divorces involve one or more children
under 18 5 of families with children are
"step" families2 and a further 3 of families
with children are "blended"3 In 2001, 0.5 of
all couple families reported being same-sex
couples. Of these families, 11.2 had one or
more children
Other household
Unmarried
Single parent family
De facto
Couple family with no children
Married
Couple family with children1
1. Includes all couple combinations (de facto and
married), with one or more children of either
parent 2. Families in which there are biological
children of one or other parent and another
partner rather than both. 3. Families which
contain a mix of the biological children of
resident parents, and one or more children from
another union Source ABS 2068.0, Census Data
2001 and 2006
8
Women are increasingly highly educated, are
having fewer children (and later), and are
participating more fully in the workforce
,
Women are attaining tertiary qualification
faster than men
Women are bearing fewer children, and having
them later in life
More women are working, especially dominant in
part-time employment
Australian Labour force profile 1978-2008
Highest level of qualification - Australia
1996-2006
Crude birth rate and median age of mothers at
birth 1976-2006
Unemployed and seeking FT or PT work
Other1
Median age of mothers at birth (left hand axis)
Employed part-time
Bachelor degree or higher
Fertility rate (right hand axis)
Employed full-time
Diploma/Certificate
For more on education and the labour force, see
Education, Skills and the Productivity Agenda
Today, 16.4 of women have a bachelor degree
or higher, compared with 14.7 of men
1. Other post-secondary qualification not
specified or inadequately described Source ABS,
2068.0 Census Data 2006 ABS, 4102.0 Australian
Social Trends, Data Cube (2007) ABS, 6202.0
Labour Force Jan 2008
9
The composition of our households is changing,
with increasing numbers of people living alone
Single-person households are expected to
increase...
...with a particular spike in older lone women
Projected composition of households - Australia
1996-2026
Projected numbers of lone persons, by sex -
Australia 1996-2026
Lone persons 1996 23 2026 28
Groups 1996 4.2 2026 3.6
Families 1996 73 2026 66
This highlights the continuing importance of
communities our support networks outside the
home
Note Projections use Series B assumptions
including moderate fertility and migration
levels Source ABS, 3236.0 Household and Family
Projections, Australia, 2001-2026 (2006) ABS,
2068.0 Census Data 1996
10
One in five Australians have some kind of
disability

Most disability is mild or moderate
Much of disability is addressed using aids and
equipment
1. 4.8 of the population have non-core
limitations 2. Total number of people with
core-activity limitations was 3,001,900 3.
Some people use more than one aid Source ABS,
4430.0 Disability, Ageing and Carers Summary of
findings, 2003 (2004)
11
Many families are taking on informal carer
responsibilities, with both benefits and burdens
More than 250,000 Australians care for a person
with a disability, of which 63 are also in the
workforce
Caring can be rewarding, but brings a range of
challenges
Population aged 15 and over reporting primary or
other carer responsibilities and workforce
participation Australia 20031 ()
48 of primary carers and 66 of other carers are
also employed2
1. Refers to informal caring duties as reported
to the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
2. Includes part- and full-time employment by
self or another 3. Due to decreased income or
extra expenses resulting from carer duties 4.
Refers only to carers who live with the recipient
of care Source ABS, 4430.0.55.003 Disability,
Ageing and Carers, Australia Caring in the
Community 2003 (2004)
12
Housing stress is once again emerging as a
serious challenge for families
185
...with fewer first home- buyers able to enter
the market
Housing is an increasing burden on family
budgets...
Australian nominal household income versus first
homebuyer qualifying income 1994-2006
Average weekly household expenditure on housing
Australia 1994-2006
Percentage of household income spent on housing
(right axis)
Mean household income2
Weekly household housing costs (left axis)
Qualifying income3
1. 2005/6 dollars 2. Seasonally adjusted 3.
Qualifying income is defined by HIA as the income
necessary to meet repayments on an average
established dwelling purchased by first home
buyers. Qualifying income monthly mortgage
repayments x 40 months Source ABS,
4130.0.55.001 Housing Occupancy and Costs,
Australia, 2005-6 (2007) HIA Economics Group
13
Many working households have low incomes, and
there is an older group of Australians who lack
sufficient retirement savings
54
It is estimated it would cost 500k to retire
in Australia today,3 but at least one quarter of
pre-retirees have less than that amount
Low income appears to affect working people as
much as those not working or subsisting on
social benefits
Australian households with sufficient retirement
savings3 reference person aged 55-64, with
gt500,000 in superannuation, financial assets or
household net worth 2005/6 ( households)
Australian households with an equivalised
household income of less than 50 of the median
2005/6 ( households)
1. All households which report a weekly income
from employment or business. 2. All other
households (may have government, extra-household,
retirement or investment income) 3. Association
of Superannuation Funds Westpac. Assumes life
expectancy of 77.6 for men and 82.9 for women,
spending 35,430 a year for singles and 47,507
for couples 4. Includes savings/transaction
accounts, superannuation, all investment classes.
5. Includes all financial and non-financial
assets and liabilities including house value
and any (un)incorporated business value Source
Gillian Bullock, How much do you need to retire?
(2006) http//money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id
147791 ABS, 6541.0 Survey of Income and Housing
2005-6, Confidentialised Unit Record File
14
Australia has relatively high numbers of low
income households
8.4
Australia ranks among the most highly developed
nations in the world...
...but, of these countries, bears one of the
highest rates of low income households2
Human Development Index1 - top 20 most developed
nations 2005
of population subsisting on less than 50 of
median equivalised disposable household income
top 20 most developed nations3 2000-4
For more on income disparity in Indigenous
populations, see The Future of Indigenous
Australia (p4)
1. The normalised measure of life expectancy,
education, standard of living, and GDP per
capita. 2. Defined as the percentage of the
population living on less than 50 of the median
adjusted household disposable income 3.
Luxembourg and Hong Kong not shown (incomparable
geographical size) Note Income poverty data not
available for Iceland and New Zealand Source UN
Development Program, Human Development Report
2007/8 (2008)
15
Despite record low unemployment, many Australian
children are growing up in a household where no
adult works
Australia is one of the worst performing OECD
countries for children raised in "workless"
households
Percentage of working-age households with
children without an employed parent - OECD
countries 2000

• Our low official unemployment rates mask a high
  number of non-working Australians
• Unemployment rate in 2007 was as low as 4.36,
  however official workforce participation rate was
  only 62.8
• People may be "non-participants" for a range
  of reasons
• Retirement, studentship, illness or disability
• Unpaid volunteer or care work
• Long-term workless people who have stopped
  looking
• People who simply choose not to work
• The problem is acutely felt by families with
  children
• The child caring burden may be a disincentive to
  participating in the workforce especially for
  single parents
• 2006 data indicates that 15.7 of all children
  under 15 live in a household where no parent
  works including 47.7 of single parent families

For more on worklessness in Indigenous
households, see The Future of Indigenous
Australia (p6)
working age households with children without an
employed parent
Source UNICEF, Child Poverty in Perspective An
overview of child well-being in rich countries
(2007) ABS, 6260.0 Labour Force Projections,
1999-2016 (1999) ABS, 6202.0.55.001, Labour
Force, Australia, Spreadsheets Jan 2008
16
Many children live with multiple family
disadvantages
Financial stress
Disability or illness
Exposure to drugs or violence

• 1.8 of children under 15 have a parent requiring
  assistance with core activities. Of these, 20
  live in single parent families
• Children also assist with non-primary care to
  other family members
• The Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
  reports that 2.6 of children under 15 offer some
  level of non-primary care to another person
  (parent or other relative) due to age, illness or
  disability
• Carer families are more likely than non-carer
  families to
• Have low income (27 are in the bottom income
  quintile)
• Rely on government pensions/ allowances (42 of
  carers cite this as the primary source of income,
  compared with 27 of non-carers)
• Be non-participants in the workforce (44 of
  carers compared with 32 of non-carers)

• Family violence levels (whilst difficult to
  accurately quantify3) impact on children
• 49 of adults experiencing violence from a
  current partner2 have care of a child 27 say
  that the child has witnessed the violence2
• A 1999 study found that witnessing parental
  family violence was the strongest predictor of
  perpetration of violence in young people's own
  intimate relationships
• Many children are also exposed to drugs
• The home is by far the most commonly cited "usual
  place of use" for alcohol and illicit drugs
• Children are at a higher risk of early initiation
  to drug use if family members are substance
  abusers4
• Whilst the link between substance abuse and
  violence is not self-evident, child protective
  services report their significant co-incidence in
  child-related incidents
• The NSW Department of Community Services reported
  in 2003 that up to 80 of child abuse cases were
  associated with drug/alcohol misuse

Single parent families are far more likely to
experience multiple financial crises
For information on educational disadvantage, see
Education, Skills and the Productivity Agenda (p8)
One event
Two events
Three or more
1. Percentages refer to households with
dependent children experiencing the crisis in
last 12 months 2. Includes both men and women
experiencing violence. Figures for violence
experienced at the hands of a previous partner
are 61 caring for a child, and 36 witnessing
the violence 3. Due to difficulty of obtaining
accurate reporting rates. 4. The literature on
this topic is extensive see ARECY
report Source ABS, 4159.0, General Social Survey
2006 (2007) ABS, 2068.0 Census Data 2006 ABS,
4430.0 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers
(2004) Australian Institute of Criminology,
Canberra, Indermaru, D "Young Australians and
Domestic Violence", Trends and Issues in Crime
and Criminal Justice No. 195 (2001) NSW
Department of Human Services, Annual Report
2002-3 (2003) AIHW, 2004 National Drug Strategy
Household Survey First Results (2005)
Australian Research Alliance for Children and
Youth, The impact of drug and alcohol misuse on
children and families (2007)
17
Problem gambling is an added pressure for some
Australians
1000
Problem gambling carries a range of financial
and non-financial pressures
Gambling is an increasing financial burden on
some Australians
In 1999, gambling cost 760 per Australian adult
(or 3 of Household Disposable Income). This is
more than the 1999 per adult spend on energy
(600) or household appliances (400), and just
shy of alcohol (860)

• The 1999 national study estimated that 1 of
  adult Australians had severe gambling problems,
  with a further 1.1 considered moderately
  problematic1
• More recent evidence indicates that problem
  gambling is still an issue. A 2006 study of
  gambling in NSW found that 0.8 of NSW adults
  have a severe gambling problem, with a further
  1.6 considered a moderate risk
• Australia has 21 of the world's poker machines
  and 42.3 cents in every dollar passing through a
  poker machine comes from a problem gambler
• The Commission identified a range of common
  gambling-related harms
• Depression
• Loss/change of job or adversely affected work
  performance
• Bankruptcy
• Obtaining money illegally
• Trouble with police/the law
• Often or always spending more than can afford
• Relationship breakdown
• Lack of time to look after the family's interests

More recent data from 2005 suggests that this
trend has flattened out somewhat with net
takings from gambling representing an expenditure
of 966 per adult or 3 of Equivalised Household
Disposable Income3
1. According to the South Oaks Gambling Screen,
self-assessment questions and other indicators of
harm. See Productivity Commission Chapter 6 2.
Defined as participation in the last 12 months.
3. Refers to HDI for 2005-6 Source Productivity
Commission, Inquiry into Australia's Gambling
Industries (1999) ABS, 8684.0 Gambling Services,
Australia, 2004-5 (2006) ABS, 1301.0 Year Book
Australia, 2008 NSW Office of Liquor, Racing and
Gaming, Prevalence of Gambling and Problem
Gambling in NSW A Community Survey (ACNeilsen
2007)
18
There is significant variation in the social
outcomes experienced by communities
Case study A comparison of three Victorian
communities
Education
Crime
Health
Community
Bayside (Inner suburban)
These differentials are exacerbated by variable
access to social infrastructure
Frankston (Outer suburban)
Swan Hill (Regional)
Source Community Indicators Victoria
www.communityindicators.net.au, citing ABS,
Victoria Police, Community Indicators Victoria
Survey, Department of Planning and Community
Development
19
The costs of substance abuse are borne by
communities as well as individuals
,
Despite declines in the use of some
drugs, substance abuse remains a significant
issue...
...with a range of more and less quantifiable
costs to the community
For more on drugs as a health risk factor, see
Long-term Health Strategy (p7)
1. Refers to population reporting use of
illicit drugs in preceding 12 months Source
AIHW, 2004 National Drug Strategy Household
Survey First Results (2005) Collins, Lapsley
and Lecvalier, Improving economic data to inform
decisions in drug control (2000)
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/
bulletin_2000-01-01)1)page003.html
20
Communities also suffer the effects of dangerous
alcohol consumption
...and brings a range of related risks to the
health and wellbeing of the broader community
Binge drinking is a serious problem, though
traditionally under-recognised...

• 79 of Australians do not believe they drink too
  much despite
• Average male consumption 4 times recommended
• Average female consumption 2 times recommended
• Most see other people as the problem
• 60 agree that Australians in general drink too
  much
• 51 of 18-24 year olds think others drink too
  much alcohol
• Only 14 self nominated as drinking too much
• Alcohol misuse costs the Australian economy an
  estimated 15.3b

Men
Women
For more on alcohol as a health risk factor, see
Long-term Health Strategy (p7)
Source Alcohol Education Rehabilitation
Foundation, Aussie Drinkers in Denial? (13 March
2008) AIHW, 2004 National Drug Strategy
Household Survey First Results (2005)
21
Australia has relatively high crime, and people
feel less safe than in many other countries
The UN cites that in 2004/5, 17 of Australians
were victims of crime...
...and that 27 of Australians felt unsafe
walking the streets at night
Percentage of population reporting as victims of
crime in the last 12 months - top 20 countries
2004/51
Percentage of population who report feeling
unsafe on the streets after dark - top 20
countries 2004/5
1. Refers to all violent or non-violent crime to
person or property, in the 12 months to 2004
and/or 2005 (varies by country). Excludes
non-conventional crime such as consumer fraud and
corruption. Data collected by survey as to crime
victimisation rather than official
crime/prosecutorial statistics Source UN Office
on Drugs and Crime, Criminal Victimisation In
International Perspective Key Findings From The
2004-5 ICVS And EU ICS (2007)
22
Crime rates in Australia are dropping, although
some violent crime is on the rise
8
Population1 who have been victims of specified
crimes (reported and unreported) Australia
1998-2005
1998
2002
2005
1. For break-in/vehicle theft, refers to
surveyed households for robbery, assault and
sexual assault, refers to surveyed individuals.
Includes reported and non-reported crimes 2.
Reporting rates refer to break-in / attempted
break-in respectively 3. Data on reporting rates
for sexual assault is difficult to obtain.
Lievore (2001) estimates 15. See Non-reporting
and hidden recording of sexual assault in
Australia. Source ABS 4509.0, Crime and Safety,
Australia 2005 (2006)
23
Questions

• Community and family life can give people the
  support, resilience and outlook that they need to
  play a full part in Australias future. What can
  we do to enable local communities to provide
  social networks and support to every member?
• What are the root causes and consequences of
  social exclusion? What roles can different
  sectors play in tackling them?
• What measures can we take to ensure that people
  feel safe in their homes and communities?
• What roles do government, business and community
  sectors play in helping families care for older
  Australians, children and people with a
  disability?
• How do we ensure that all Australians have access
  to adequate housing that is affordable, secure,
  safe and accessible?
• What can be done to help new Australians to
  settle and participate in the community?
• Some localities experience chronic disadvantage.
  What needs to be done to ensure that communities
  have the appropriate physical and social
  infrastructure to foster people's health and
  wellbeing?