Social Policy
The Centre for Independent Studies remains at the forefront of social policy debate in Australia, with a focus on key issues such as welfare, health care, education and child protection. Ending the growth of the welfare state is a priority for the CIS social research team, as government spending on welfare continues to increase, seemingly unabated.
Since the 1980s, the CIS has been researching social policy issues, with the aim of promoting policies that emphasise personal responsibility and individual choice.
The CIS seeks a future for Australia that has individual freedom under a limited government. We believe that such a future would strengthen community life, leading to a more cohesive and flourishing civil society.
Follow the links for further information on our major social policy areas:
Featured Publication
Dying with Their Rights On: The myths and realities of ending homelessness in Australia
Carlos d'Abrera
12 December 2018 | RR38
The orthodox understanding of the causes of homelessness promoted by the ‘homelessness industry’ over emphasises the role of economic and social structures. Solutions based on structuralist explanations – such as increasing the supply of affordable social housing – are insufficient to reduce rough sleeping. Such approaches minimise the need to…
READ MOREPublications
Mapping migrants: Australians’ wide-ranging experiences of immigration
Charles Jacobs
05 December 2018 | PP13
Australians’ experiences of immigration are highly varied. Using 2016 ABS Census data, this POLICY Paper finds that – statistically – the wealth of the suburb we live in can have a major impact on the type of interaction we may have with migrants. These different…
Why we should defend capitalism
Eugenie Joseph
28 November 2018 | PP12
Capitalism has become a controversial idea in recent years; yet economic markets and free enterprise are responsible for lifting millions of people out of abject poverty, improving the quality of life around the world, and creating shared prosperity. Capitalism has also proven effective at sustaining…
Have We All Gone Mad? The Snowflake Epidemic
Steven Schwartz, Lindsay Shepherd, Claire Lehmann, Tiffany Jenkins
22 November 2018 | OP168
University campuses throughout the West are in the grip of a troubling social phenomenon, now in danger of spreading beyond the ivy walls. Once bastions of intellectual rigour and freedom of thought, universities have become closed-minded and self-censoring, pandering to what appear from the outside…
Australian Attitudes to Immigration: Coming Apart or Common Ground?
Jeremy Sammut, Monica Wilkie
18 November 2018 | PP11
Immigration has been a contentious political issue in Australia and overseas for a number of years. Many political parties and figures have emerged promising to severely restrict or halt immigration. Australia has largely avoided significant political disruptions over this issue. However, as immigration levels continue…
Conflict vs Mistake: Academic cultures and explanatory conflict
Claire Lehmann
11 September 2018 | OP167
The 2018 Helen Hughes Lecture explains why and how universities are fuelling the corrosive identity politics phenomena that is sweeping western countries. With a mix of erudition and common sense, Claire Lehmann — the founder and editor-in-chief of renowned online magazine Quillette — unpacks complicated…
Media & Commentary
Should the nanny state cap your calories?
Eugenie Joseph
18 January 2019 | Ideas@TheCentre
After a summer break filled with well-earned indulgence, you may be starting your New Year’s resolution to diet. But it could soon be the government’s responsibility to control your calorie…
Rough sleepers need tough love
Carlos d'Abrera
14 January 2019 | SPECTATOR FLAT WHITE
The Everybody’s Home lobby group has been clanging the alarm bells about a growing rate of homelessness in Western Sydney. But they are using flawed 2016 census data to show…
Saluting the rights and ignoring the risks for the homeless
Carlos d'Abrera
22 December 2018 | QUADRANT
Lendlease Property has announced that part of the proceeds from the sale of every new home and land lot will now be directed to a new philanthropic venture to help…
Sausage sizzle saboteurs shamed at the 2018 Nanny Awards
Steven Schwartz
14 December 2018 | Spectator
We’re facing a global paternalistic tide, and nothing is out of bounds. France has banned free re-fills of sugary drinks, while the UK introduced a tax on them. Scotland, Scotland…
Ending homelessness demands real solutions
Carlos d'Abrera
14 December 2018 | Ideas@TheCentre
It’s more than a year since the infamous Martin Place tent city was dismantled, but we are no closer to addressing the real causes of genuine homelessness. Unfortunately, the debate…