Australian Society System and Social Policies †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Australian Society System and Social Policies. Answer: Introduction Social policies are created in order to improve the overall conditions of people. The development in social policies is a variance of the Canadian pattern which took place from 1935 to 1950 which can be best understood in the light of the political and social structure of the country. The development of social policy is somewhat dependant on the dominant political party and the interest of dominant class on the state. However, in Australia, as social researchers comment, one cannot trace the history and attribute the development of social policy to any single group or their individuals. There are many instances of policy activism in the field of social policy which resulted in the formulation of a number of social policies with special emphasis on jobs and employment, especially for women and physically disabled people. Policy Policy is a course o plan of action that will be undertaken or implemented by government or a lawfully constituted group of individuals to achieve the desired outcomes in the real world. In the words of M. Considine, policy can be seen as a continuance of work brought into action by group of policy actors who operate through public institutions in order to give expression to the things that they deem valuable (Patton, Sawicki Clark, 2015). Social Policy Social policies are implemented with a degree of involvement with government decisions, political parties and society functioning and representing itself through lawfully constituted groups of individual (Alcock, 2016). Social policies are intricately related with the development of economy and the welfare of the citizens, either individually or collectively. It is achieved with a proper allocation of available resources. Social policy takes into its spectrum a range of things like political science, history, law, philosophy, sociology and economics. In Australia, social policies have tremendously affected the lifestyle pattern and choices of Australians. The study of social policy helps a learner to understand the crucial functioning of a society and therefore assess government actions an implementation. A broad, historical overview of the development of Australia's major social policies Social policies may or may not be always formulated in statement and instead can be made to function in a somewhat informal manner, for instance in Commonwealth Employment Service, there were a number of informal policies to ensure that the unemployed people are getting access to their due benefits. In Australia, the significant number of social policies like the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation introduced in the 1980s was mainly aimed at improving the living conditions of the minority groups and as well to protect and enlarge their rights. The introduction of Child Endowment in 1941 was an act of recognition of the rising costs of bringing up of a child. The act allowed five shillings per week after the birth of the second child which was later shifted to include the first child from 1950 above. The government also reached out to single women with children, divorced and illegible for Widow Pension that was introduced in 1942 to provide assistance to some 134766 window s under 60 years of age. The introduction of Child Endowment in 1941 It was introduced during the inter-war years when the Menzies Government recognized the need for a payment of mere five pounds in a week from the birth of the second child. Australia was one of the many countries who undertook the initiative to provide for the needy family, borne in collective cooperation of the tax payers (Smith, 2017). The introduction of Medicare in 1975 It was introduced in a period of huge discontent with the voluntary health insurance scheme and Medicare was introduced with the aim of providing the best health insurance coverage for the Australian population with a simple administration. Medicare has considerably reduced the overall costs of availing basic healthcare services and has made healthcare service which is a basic right to the people, easy. The expansion of childcare in the 1980s This was a culmination of the number of social changes that were taking place within the framework of the society in regard to the care and upbringing of Australian children hailing from financially unstable families. The enlarging of feminist movements, development of the education sector and the need for substantial funding in the sectors of education and childcare propelled the need for expansion of childcare policies in the Commonwealth. It resulted in the functioning of 11000 day care homes for children and 1000 care places for non-school hours with the assistance of Commonwealth and State/Territory funding. In 1988, the expansion provided for assistance to 30,000 childcare places spanning the country. The Northern Territory National Emergency Response Act in 2007 In order to protect the Aboriginal children of Australia from any forms of sexual abuse and violence, the act was initiated by the Australian government. The act was a source of relief for hundreds of women and children from the Northern Territory and recognition of the widespread sexual abuse predominant in the territory (Bielefeld Altman, 2015). Alcohol, drug abuse, family violence and pornography massively victimised the womenfolk and children due to lack of proper initiative on the part of government. The act was a revolutionary change and aimed to protect the children and women by imposing a ban on alcohol, midday meals for children and introducing pornography filters on public computers in certain areas, compulsory health check-ups for the children (Roffee, 2016). Paid parental leave in 2011 The PPL scheme was brought into action to encourage women participation and as well to expand productivity and introduce an atmosphere of gender equality in the workplace. The scheme opened an avenue of opportunities to maintain work-life balance. After the implementation of the act, parents are allowed to take time off from work after the birth of a newborn and at the same time get funded by tax-payer (Dahl et al., 2016). Under the scheme, self-employed to full-time workers, all were eligible to take due benefits. Conclusion The study proves how over the time social policies have sought to improve the overall well-being of the people of Australia. The policies have been introduced into a number of spheres like healthcare and education, job sector, providing care and financial aid to the widows to improve the social and living conditions of the Australians. References: Alcock, P. (2016). The student's companion to social policy. John Wiley Sons. Bielefeld, S., Altman, J. (2015). Australia's First PeoplesStill Struggling for Protection Against Racial Discrimination. Dahl, G. B., Lken, K. V., Mogstad, M., Salvanes, K. V. (2016). What is the case for paid maternity leave?. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(4), 655-670. Ogloff, J. R., Pfeifer, J. E., Shepherd, S. M., Ciorciari, J. (2017). Assessing the mental health, substance abuse, cognitive functioning, and social/emotional well-being needs of aboriginal prisoners in Australia. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 23(4), 398-411. Patton, C., Sawicki, D., Clark, J. (2015). Basic methods of policy analysis and planning. Routledge. Roffee, J. A. (2016). Rhetoric, Aboriginal Australians and the Northern Territory Intervention: A Socio-legal Investigation into Pre-legislative Argumentation. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 5(1), 131-147. Smith, J. (2017). Paying for care in Australias wage earners welfare state: The case of child endowment. Crown and Sword: Executive power and the use of force by the Australian Defence Force, 161. Winter, B., Forest, M., Snac, R. (2018). Introduction. In Global Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage (pp. 1-18). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.