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 Public Housing Renewal Program
- 14 December 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to put forward our views on the Public Housing Renewal Program to the Victorian Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on Legal and Social Issues. We appreciate the significant role of public and social housing in providing much needed stability and security for many disadvantaged people in Victoria. We welcome the…
Flourishing Communities: Taking lessons from place-based approaches, justice reinvestment and social cohesion
- 17 November 2017
Making Australian communities safer requires something more than the current policies on offer. The ever-increasing amount of money poured into prisons is not making us safer and could be put to much better use. Overlapping lessons drawn from place-based approaches to addressing disadvantage, justice reinvestment and social cohesion strategies reveal the ‘better use’ to which…
Submission to the ALRC Discussion Paper: Incarceration Rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- 4 October 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper: Incarceration Rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. We believe the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system is a national disgrace. More than two decades ago, the report of the Royal…
Submission to the Law Council of Australia's Justice Project
- 4 October 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the Justice Project’s consultation papers regarding access to justice in Australia. Our submission specifically responds to the Justice Project’s issue paper on people with disability. Our comments focus on the particular situation of people with acquired brain injury (ABI) who interact with the criminal justice…
Submission to the Visa simplification policy consultation
- 4 October 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to put forward our views to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s ‘Visa simplification’ policy consultation. In our submission we call on the Australian Government to ensure that any transformation of our visa system retains a nation-building focus: reuniting families, enhancing social networks, enriching our cultural diversity and…
Submission to the Inquiry into Drug Law Reform
- 21 September 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Victorian Law Reform, Road and Community Safety Committee’s Inquiry into Drug Law Reform. In our submission we call for a reduction in the number of people interacting with the justice system because of drug use, and welcome approaches that treat drug use as a health…
#JusticeSolutions: Expanding the conversation
- 28 August 2017
Youth justice is at a crossroads in Australia. In every state and territory across the nation, governments are grappling with youth justice issues as they seek to reduce crime, improve community safety and respond to public concern that is being fanned by sensationalised media coverage. In order to inform the discussions around youth justice in…
Submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s OPCAT in Australia Consultation Paper
- 18 August 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Australian Human Rights Commission’s OPCAT in Australia Consultation Paper. We support the Australian Government’s commitment to ratify OPCAT* and believe it provides: a valuable opportunity to strengthen oversight measures in detention facilities a clear opportunity to drive more holistic and therapeutic practices within prisons, and…
Submission to the Inquiry on the Implications of climate change for Australia’s national security
- 16 August 2017
Jesuit Social Services recognises the evidence of the risks that climate changes pose for national and human security and the imperative to take immediate action to mitigate these risks. As an organisation, we have for several years sought to bring an ecological perspective to all our operations, recognising that environmental challenges pose significant risk to…
Submission to the inquiry on the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment Bill 2017
- 20 July 2017
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to put forward our views to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry on the Australian Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening the Requirements for Australian Citizenship and Other Measures) Bill 2017. In our submission we call for a number of amendments to the bill to ensure that citizenship remains…