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 inform Victoria’s emissions reduction target for 2035
- 24 June 2022
Jesuit Social Services welcomed the opportunity to contribute to consultation on Victoria’s emissions reduction target for 2035. We note the importance of this consultation given that climate change is having unprecedented impacts on people and nature across every region of the globe, including Victoria. In this submission, Jesuit Social Services urges the Victorian Government to…
Submission to Victoria's inquiry into children affected by parental incarceration
- 18 May 2022
We know that when a person goes to prison their entire community and family, including children, are impacted. Limiting people’s involvement with the justice system by ensuring prison is reserved only as an option of last resort, and keeping families connected is the best way to prevent this harm from occurring. Jesuit Social Services was…
Victorian 2022-23 Pre-Budget Submission
- 28 April 2022
Many people in Victoria continue to experience persistent disadvantage that manifests in disengagement from school, joblessness, homelessness, substance misuse, family violence, contact with the justice system, mental ill-health, and trauma. These are complex challenges, especially because they intersect, interact, and are often intergenerational. The Victorian Government is to be commended for implementing several important initiatives…
Federal Election 2022 platform – A blueprint for a just recovery
- 21 April 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many pre-existing social and economic issues in Australia to the fore, from housing stress, to poverty, family violence, and insecure employment. As an organisation working with some of the most disadvantaged members of the community, we have witnessed firsthand the disproportionate impact of this crisis on already marginalised people and…
Dropping off the Edge – VicHealth report
- 4 April 2022
Dropping off the Edge 2021 was released in November 2021 and provides a comprehensive analysis of persistent and entrenched disadvantage across Australia, including a state-by-state analysis using 37 indicators as well as supporting qualitative research. This report, commissioned by VicHealth, presents Victoria-specific findings from Dropping off the Edge 2021 and has an added focus on…
Submission to the Review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement
- 23 March 2022
Jesuit Social Services works with many people – especially those with mental health and substance misuse issues, newly-arrived refugees and migrants, those exiting prison, and those leaving out-of-home care – who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, inappropriate or unsafe housing, housing instability and stress, and other forms of disadvantage in their lives. In our…
Feedback on the Draft National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
- 4 March 2022
Jesuit Social Services strongly believes that addressing family violence requires tackling its root causes by supporting men and boys to live respectful, accountable, and fulfilling lives, and addressing the social conditions that contribute to violence. We recently gave feedback on the federal government’s Draft National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032 (the…
Submission to the Inquiry into the Protections within the Victorian Planning Framework
- 21 February 2022
Jesuit Social Services recently contributed a submission to the Inquiry into the Protections within the Victorian Planning Framework. Our submission is based on our decades of experience working with people who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness, housing instability and housing stress, inappropriate or unsafe housing, as well as other forms of disadvantage. Through our…
Submission to the Federal Pre-Budget 2022-23 consultation
- 7 February 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified many of the pre-existing challenges experienced by people on the margins of society. These challenges include homelessness and housing stress, family violence, insecure employment, and poverty. The climate crisis continues alongside the pandemic, with 2021 recorded as one of the hottest years on record. Like COVID-19, climate change is disproportionately…
Prisons, climate and a just transition
- 19 January 2022
Australia, like many other countries, is seeing the damaging impact of climate change on communities and ecosystems. In the face of these worsening climate change impacts, marginalised people and communities are most at risk, including people in prison. In December 2019, when bushfires burned close to Lithgow Correctional Centre in New South Wales, people detained…