Australia has a diverse and evolving social culture. There are a range of different social group spanning ethnicities, age, abilities, beliefs, religion and gender. At times, some of these populations may experience exclusion or difficulties accessing the range of services or benefits that the rest of society does. There are a range or programs and initiatives that have been established to address these gaps and to reduce the exclusion that some groups experience. Furthermore, some initiatives aim to increase the diversity in particular places where it has been previously underrepresented.
There are national initiatives but there are also many community and business level programs that aim to increase social inclusion, which are the focus of this report. These programs cut across many different sectors of the community and service the needs of a variety of populations. Businesses also run a range of programs to increase inclusion and diversity within their organisations and beyond.
The collective knowledge of these diverse programs can be gathered by taking a broader view of their approaches and outcomes, the lessons learned and what the common themes are amongst effective interventions.
BehaviourWorks Australia was commissioned by Australia Post, on behalf of Inclusive Australia to conduct a practice review on Australian community and business social inclusion and diversity programs.
Individuals and organisations with a useful resource on social inclusion are encouraged to get in touch so we can direct people to the content.
