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.

Submission to the inquiry into the Victorian Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 3 September 2020
At the time of writing this submission, Victoria was grappling with a surge in COVID-19 cases and a second large-scale lockdown. Much remains uncertain. We do not know how long this pandemic will last, the total number of deaths, or the full physical, mental, social and economic toll. We do know, however, that certain groups…
Submission regarding the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020
- 12 August 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to write in support of the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020. Our work in the Territory reinforces every day the size, diversity and unique demographics of this jurisdiction. It is extremely difficult to imagine how the Territory would be appropriately or fairly…
Submission to the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19
- 9 June 2020
Life before the COVID-19 pandemic was already tough for many people on the margins. As an organisation working with some of the most disadvantaged members of the community, we saw and continue to see this first hand. While we are all affected in some way, the burdens of crises such as these are not borne…
Submission to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
- 5 May 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. The bushfires of 2019-20 were unprecedented and tragic. The bushfire crisis finds common roots with the current overlapping health and economic crises of the COVID-19 pandemic in our broken relationship with our environment and our failure to recognise…
Submission to the Inquiry into the 2019-2020 Victorian Fire Season
- 1 May 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Inquiry into the 2019-2020 Victorian Fire Season being conducted by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM). The Victorian Government announced this Inquiry in January 2020, at the same time as it established the statutory body, Bushfire Recovery Victoria. The focus of the first phase of the…
Submission to the Victorian Government’s inquiry into VCAL
- 28 April 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Victorian Government’s review of Vocational and Applied Learning (VCAL) in Senior Secondary Schooling. In our experience working with young people who have disengaged from education in Victoria, many students benefit from undertaking VCAL as an alternative to the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). We believe…
Submission on the NT Aboriginal Justice Agreement
- 22 April 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft Northern Territory Aboriginal Justice Agreement. Almost 20 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody that initiated the development of Aboriginal Justice Agreements (AJA) in other jurisdictions, the development of an AJA for the Northern Territory is an historic process. Jesuit…
Submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability – Criminal Justice System Issues Paper
- 8 April 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on the Criminal Justice System Issues Paper prepared by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. We support the Royal Commission’s focus on key issues that people with disability face when they come into contact with the criminal…
Submission to the Inquiry into Homelessness in Australia
- 8 April 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ Inquiry into Homelessness in Australia, in recognition that homelessness is a significant issue across our country. Our submission focuses on four interconnected areas of policy and practice relating to housing and homelessness: Structural disadvantage and the need to increase…
Submission to the Freedom of Religion Consultation
- 25 February 2020
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Freedom of Religion Consultation on the second exposure draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill. Jesuit Social Services supports the rights of all Australians to freedom of religious expression and freedom from direct or indirect discrimination arising from those beliefs. However, the right to freedom from…