Measuring Disadvantage, Inequality and Social Inclusion

1. Measuring Disadvantage, Inequality and Social Inclusion Patricia Faulkner Chair, Australian Social Inclusion Board NatStats 2010 - 17 September 2010

2. Presentation overview

3. A socially inclusive society is one where all individuals have the capabilities, opportunities, responsibilities and resources to participate fully in Australian life • A small but significant proportion of Australians are highly disadvantaged Participation • An effective social inclusion agenda uses a range of initiatives to: • develop people’s underlying resources • address resource gaps • provide opportunities • increase capabilities • encourage participation • to learn, work, engage, have a voice • invest in support systems & reform • measure and evaluate progress Resources Resources (Individual, Family and Community) Adopting a structured agenda will help to shape responsive policy

4. The Commonwealth government focus is on six priority areas

5. Evidence is important to inform policy development One of the core principles of social inclusion is the importance of evidence and integrated data to inform policy: • It will also be important for government to report regularly on progress in social inclusion, using clear indicators and reporting from the perspective of the individual, the family, the neighbourhood or the community affected. Indicators should be responsive to effective policy interventions and identify the essence of the problem and have a clear and accepted interpretation. • National policy reforms are based on effective cross-government collaboration and depend upon strengthened measurement, reporting and accountability arrangements. See: Principles for Social Inclusion – everyone’s job

6. Social Inclusion Indicator Framework - Overview • Headline and supplementary indicators • Relatively small number of outcome indicators • Monitor important social inclusion issues or identify particular at-risk population groups • Supplementary indicators support the headlines and provide further detail • Strategic change indicators • Leading indicators of potential progress • Show areas of government policy intervention which are expected to influence social inclusion outcomes • Risk or protective factors, intermediate outcomes, or outputs of government programs aimed at addressing social exclusion Source: Social Inclusion in Australia: How Australia is Faring

7. The framework provides the basis to tell a story about social inclusion in Australia and how it is changing The indicator framework has headline indicators for aspects of participation (work, learn, engage and have a voice) and underlying resources which can be analysed for selected population groups, especially at-risk population groups

8. The Commonwealth Government will be held accountable through regular reporting • Baseline report • Released by the Board in January 2010 - Social Inclusion in Australia: How Australia is Faring • In May 2009, the Board released an international comparison report – Compendium of Social Inclusion Indicators • Major reports on outcomes • Next in 2012 and then four-yearly following release of ABS General Social Survey • Progress reports • Commonwealth agencies will report on strategic change indicators and agency initiatives designed to improve social inclusion outcomes in their departmental annual reports • Evaluation and analysis • Evaluation studies and analysis projects to understand whether programs and services designed to improve social inclusion are effective, and particular issues such as breaking the cycle of disadvantage.

9. How are we faring? Source: Social inclusion in Australia: How Australia is faring, 2010

10. Disadvantage in one respect can lead to disadvantage in others and concentrate in particular locations People living in low income households: Areas with lower socio-economic status: Have higher proportions of children who were developmentally vulnerable on two or more domains of the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) Have lower levels of employment In 2006, 49% of people living in the most disadvantaged regions were employed, compared with 74% of those in the least disadvantaged regions Have lower levels of participation in community activities In 2006, 60% of those living in the most disadvantaged regions participated in at least one community group, compared with 81% of those in the least disadvantaged regions • Have poorer health • 35% of people in the lowest income quintile reported fair or poor health compared to 7% in the highest quintile • Are more likely to have difficulty accessing transport • 10% of people in the lowest income quintile compared to 1% in the highest quintile • Are less likely to have access to the internet at home • 33% of people in the lowest income quintile compared to 85% in the highest quintile • Are less likely to attend community events • 52% of people in the lowest income quintile compared to 75% in the highest quintile Source: Social inclusion in Australia: How Australia is faring, 2010

11. In an ideal world we would have ready access to complete information to evaluate policies and programs

12. We still need... • Summary measures of social inclusion • A very small set of indicators that can summarise social inclusion • Barometer of change to capture the attention of the public • Detail for small population groups • For example, outcomes for refugee and humanitarian migrants, or people with mental illness • Community indicators • To understand their local conditions and hold governments accountable • To help more targeted service delivery • Linked data • Value data as an asset • Maximise use of information • Improve quality of the information resources • Administrative, as well as survey and Census data Linked administrative data has great potential to inform the social inclusion agenda

13. Proposal: Linking data on education pathways and outcomes for Australian students Source:

14. Improved homelessness data to measure progress toward targets The National Homelessness Research Agenda sets out the priorities for research that will contribute to the whole-of-government response to homelessness. The research effort will complement data improvements in progress at Commonwealth and State/Territory levels. In addressing research gaps, the Agenda seeks to build a robust and reliable evidence base that identifies the: Extent and nature of homelessness for disadvantaged groups Pathways in and out of homelessness Effective ways of responding to homelessness

15. Australia needs to invest in improving the National Statistical system Australia is a rich country... but some Australians are missing out Some people face a number of barriers, so they start a step behind One form of disadvantage will often lead to further disadvantages Disadvantage tends to concentrate in particular neighbourhoods Barriers to participation have implications for individuals and families over the long term and can often be bequeathed to the next generation We need to: Invest in improving the National Statistical System Value data as a strategic resource and asset Improve the quality of, and access to, administrative data for research purposes Contact Australian Social Inclusion Board Secretariat socialinclusionunit@pmc.gov.au More information at www.socialinclusion.gov.au

16. Questions?

17. Multiple disadvantage is of particular concern A small but significant number of Australians have multiple disadvantages. Analysis by the Social Inclusion Unit of the 2006 ABS General Social Survey found that 5% of persons aged 18-64 years had 3 or more disadvantages based on 6 factors across 3 domains: 67.1% 20.1% 7.7% 3.2% 1.4% 5% have 3 or more disadvantages 0.4% Source: Social inclusion in Australia: How Australia is faring, 2010

18. Work on measurement and reporting continues... Over the next 6 months: Further work on the indicator framework will be completed A data development strategy to improve the availability of data for each of the indicators by population sub-groups will be drafted. ... and the evidence base continues to improve • New COAG reporting initiatives are helping to improve the availability of data in a number of areas • Changes to the ABS General Social Survey to increase sample of people from relatively disadvantages areas • Improvements in administrative data sources • Evaluation studies of trials of new approaches