By Jessica Cocks, Rob Ryan & Ben Spence

“Australia has child protection systems mired in hopelessness and risk aversion. We are caught up in a cycle of inquiries, successive “silver bullet” policies and poorly designed reforms that change little and often make things worse. Tweaking the system and making practice improvements are no longer options. Radical and multiple changes to child protection processes are needed, including the strategies proposed in this article. The child protection system needs a thousand new flowers to bloom that challenge, dismantle and reconfigure the structures of power within which current practice occurs.”

By Cliff Eberly & Wenqian Gan

“A predetermined pattern of review, recommend and adjust has become the norm – a carousel that is perpetually in motion, but doesn’t move the system forward. Meanwhile, disadvantage becomes entrenched and trust in government stagnates.

The abundance of technical recommendations fixate on what government does, not seeing communities as part of the solution. A focus on compliance has given rise to an “us and them” dynamic that creates distance between government and community. Until we learn how to better connect policy and service design with “the people they are meant to serve”, a system that works for people will remain out of reach.”

By Thea Snow

“In an increasingly complex and polarised world, we believe that stories have an important role to play in government and communities. Stories deepen understanding of challenges, opportunities, and potential solutions. Stories make space for tension and ambiguity and resist government’s tendency to impose a logic of legibility. As Hannah Arendt has said, “Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.”

By Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi

“Australia needs a comprehensive policy approach that accounts for complex relationships between housing affordability, accessibility and stability. This calls for the adoption of long-term plans that advance sustainable development, equitable growth and community wellbeing. Small, incremental reforms can only deliver so much. Big, comprehensive adjustments are required to guarantee a robust and equitable housing system.”

By Jarrod Wheatley

“What if instead of asking “how do we keep this child safe?”, we instead asked: “what do we need to do to help this child be connected, and through these connections thrive (and hence be kept safe over the long term)?”. What if instead of saying “providers need to deliver services in this way”, we said, “providers need to show how their decisions and actions result in children and young people being connected to others”? What if we could build a system not just around ensuring a house to live in and a school to attend, but equally around ensuring that each child has at least one person, and hopefully a whole network, who knows them and genuinely cares about them? What if we strove to build a system based on relationships?”