August
- Equity And Access
- Higher Education Awards
‘They do it tough’: Universities welcome disadvantaged Australians
Bridging courses pave the way to university for students without high-school qualifications, and the Equity winner has been doing it for decades.
- Sian Powell
July
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Middle Australia is indeed the lucky country
A suite of new data sources has enabled the Productivity Commission to revise its measure of economic mobility. The result surprised everyone.
- Tom Burton
May
Contractors in the firing line as public service headcount soars
The number of bureaucrats has increased nearly 10 per cent in one year alone and some $1.8 billion has been allocated to overhaul staffing at Services Australia.
- Tom Burton
The students to get Labor’s new ‘prac payment’, and who misses out
Too strict means-testing would make the federal government’s newly announced prac payment for university and TAFE students out of reach.
- Julie Hare
April
The four Cs: How to rebuild a department after robo-debt
Considered one of Canberra’s best leaders, former navy chief Ray Griggs is now Department of Social Services secretary, helping to rebuild culture after a damning royal commission.
- Tom Burton
July 2023
How a spreadsheet error spawned the $4.7b robo-debt monster
An analysis created by junior officials looked at just 418 welfare cases and contained a fundamental error. Their bosses seized on it anyway.
- Tom Burton
Former ministers and officials brace for robo-debt judgment day
Ex-ministers and senior officials involved with the failed robo-debt scheme face a raft of possible adverse findings when the royal commission reports on Friday.
- Tom Burton and Tom McIlroy
May 2023
Rich investors turn to ‘impact’, boosted by banker smarts
Macquarie, Minderoo, UBS and Paul Ramsay are among the foundations joining forces to share expertise and unlock finance for social enterprises.
- Ayesha de Kretser
Overuse of consultants is really a problem in one department: Audit
An audit of federal government outsourced labour has found the consulting problem is both relatively small and highly concentrated.
- Tom Burton
Budget pledges $100m for social impact fund
The Treasurer says an upcoming investor roundtable will examine how institutional investors could provide wholesale capital to fund social services.
- James Eyers
April 2023
NAB CEO says homelessness a national ‘disgrace’
The bank pledged $300,000 to the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal to alleviate cost of living pressures on the most vulnerable, including from higher interest rates.
- James Eyers
Billions wasted in poorly evaluated community programs: CEDA
The impact of hundreds of billions of government spending is unknown according to new research, due to federal and state schemes not being properly evaluated.
- Tom Burton
February 2023
Jim Golden-Brown disappears from Indigenous charity chairmanship
Aboriginal Elders & Community Care Services Inc has quietly announced it has brought in a new chairman following a Financial Review investigation.
- Michael Roddan
- Analysis
- Robo-debt royal commission
Bad government on display for all to see in robo-debt debacle
The robo-debt scheme continued for more than two years despite mounting advice it was both unlawful and inaccurate, and would never make its targets.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Australian economy
Making an impact: Why Chalmers is backing social investing
Facing a constrained federal budget, the Treasurer sees an opportunity to use private capital to advance Labor’s social welfare objectives.
- John Kehoe
October 2022
- Exclusive
- Big four
Big four may back $400m social impact investment bank
The prime minister has reconvened the social impact investing taskforce, which has engaged with major bank CEOs on a co-funding model for social services.
- James Eyers
August 2022
Chalmers’ plan lifts hopes of social impact investors
They say many opportunities will be unlocked if the government creates a social impact investing ‘wholesaler’ to develop the market.
- James Eyers
July 2022
‘Broken’ system putting Victorian residents at risk
Victorian social housing residents are dealing with a broken complaints handling system that is putting health and safety at risk, the state ombudsman says.
- Cassandra Morgan
June 2022
Call for social impact investing ‘wholesaler’ to attract capital
Leaders in the social investing scene hope the new government will release and act upon recommendations in a taskforce report ignored by Scott Morrison.
- James Eyers
Seniors healthcare expansion a ‘first order’ issue for Labor
Labor’s plans to expand discounted healthcare for seniors are a “first order” priority, part of efforts to address growing cost of living pressures for more than 50,000 people, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says.
- Tom McIlroy