Policy submissions

Here you’ll find a wide selection of policy papers and submissions we’ve published. Each paper draws on our experience working with disadvantaged youth, families and communities.

Federal Pre-budget Submission 2026-27
- 22 December 2025
This submission, provided in advance of the 2026-27 Federal Budget, provides a number of system-level recommendations that will support efforts to intervene earlier and break cycles of disadvantage, and recommendations for specific initiatives which can help move the needle for those in our society experiencing acute disadvantage.
Response to Department of Social Services consultation - A new approach to programs for families and children
- 5 December 2025
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Department of Social Services’ proposed changes to programs supporting families and children. If developed through a genuine partnership with the community sector, these reforms offer a meaningful opportunity to reshape how government and community services work together to ensure children and young people are…
Climate Justice Alliance - NT temperature projections resource
- 2 December 2025
The Climate Justice Alliance, facilitated by Jesuit Social Services’ Centre for Just Places, has released a new temperature projection resource to support communities across the Northern Territory to understand the scale of future heat risk.
The NSW Man Box 2025
- 24 November 2025
The purpose of this report on NSW data from the Man Box 2024 study is to contribute to building the evidence base for the primary prevention of domestic, family and sexual violence across NSW. The report finds that consistent with the national study, NSW has a problem when it comes to the perpetration of intimate…
Submission to the Disability Discrimination Act Review
- 14 November 2025
This submission focuses on the experiences of our participants with disability who have contact with the criminal justice system. The discrimination our participants face occurs in the context of their engagement with government systems and institutions. This often leads to compounding harms and entrenchment in the criminal justice system. We therefore argue that reform to…
Submission to the NSW Law Reform Commission’s Review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
- 16 September 2025
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the NSW Law Commission’s review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) (the ADA). Our submission details employment-related discrimination experienced by individuals in NSW who have a criminal record, the way this discrimination impacts their ability to participate in the workforce, as well as broader ramifications.
Submission to the NSW Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy
- 11 September 2025
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to inform the NSW Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Our submission is informed by the lived and living experience of Jesuit Social Services staff in Western Sydney – and their reflections on their community’s experience – of mental health and wellbeing, and of the mental…
Submission to the Northern Territory’s draft Refreshed Domestic Family and Sexual Violence (DFSV) Reduction Framework 2025-2028
- 22 August 2025
Our feedback draws on history of working alongside Aboriginal communities and organisations in the NT since 2008; and our research and practice expertise in primary prevention and early intervention of DFSV, with a focus on engaging men and boys.
Submission to the Inquiry into Student Pathways into In-Demand Industries
- 7 August 2025
People’s ability to engage in education, training and employment is crucial – not only for their development, but for building a socially cohesive society where people can access well-paid, secure jobs. Yet many people in Australia face significant barriers to accessing these pathways, and government efforts to address them are lagging.
Submission to the Queensland Government's review of system responses to child sexual abuse
- 1 August 2025
Earlier this year, Jesuit Social Services was invited to make a submission to the Queensland Government's review of system responses to child sexual abuse. The review was established following the sentencing of Ashley Paul Griffith, who last year pleaded guilty to more than 300 charges committed in daycares in Brisbane and Italy over a period spanning almost…