Publications
Browse our reports, submissions, evidence reviews and published research
Submission: Early Years Strategy
Our submission to the Australian Government's Early Years Strategy focuses on the importance of parenting support in the early years.
Submission: Parenting with intellectual disability and learning difficulties
Our submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability.
Parenting Today in Victoria: a comprehensive survey
The most comprehensive survey made to date into the concerns, needs and behaviours of Victorian parents.
Connections between parenting interventions and mental health
This special issue of Advances in Mental Health aims to promote discussion about how to best support good mental health in children and adults.
Let’s Talk About Children: intervention for parents with mental illness
This study evaluates the effectiveness of Let's Talk About Children, an intervention for parents with mental illness that aims to improve family dynamics.
Improving understanding of child resilience
This study offers direction for improving understanding and measurement of child resilience. It shows resilience is determined by multiple factors and can be learned.
Submission: Mental health and parenting
Our submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System says parents with poorer mental health are less likely to feel confident and effective in their role as parents
Submission: Sleep health awareness in Australia
Our submission to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into sleep health awareness says there is major parent demand for information and guidance in this area
Review: Responding to problem sexual behaviours in children
Our submission to the NSW Government says generally any form of treatment for problem sexual behaviour is better than none at all
Understanding intergenerational impacts of parental mental illness
This issue brief outlines the importance of addressing the intergenerational impacts of parental mental illness, which can significantly impact the wellbeing of children.
Improving children’s physical activity with sleep intervention
With evidence suggesting a correlation between sleep and metabolism, this study shows promising effects of an intervention targeting sleep on children's physical activity and sleep duration.
School-age follow-up of the Early Home Learning Study
This study will examine whether the benefits to toddlers shown in this early intervention program designed to improve parent-child interaction continue throughout the school years.
What influences parental engagement in early intervention programs?
Poor participant engagement undermines the benefits of early intervention parenting programs. This study explores the factors influencing recruitment and retention.
Changing practice cultures in statutory child protection
How a framework for improving the quality and effectiveness of child protection work enabled workers to build stronger relationships with families.
Child protection: engaging with parents
This review aimed to identify and synthesise strategies for engaging parents with workers in statutory child protection services and other agencies that work with families involved in the child protection system.
Talking about the science of parenting
This report is designed to help change the conversation about parenting. If we want to give children the best chance of healthy development we need to better support the parents who care for them. We can do this by using and sharing what we know from research.
Supported playgroups for children from birth to five years
This Evidence Brief looked at two systematic reviews and three single studies to summarise the current state of knowledge about the impact of supported playgroups for children from birth to five years.
Review of parenting interventions in Australia
Evidence review: An analysis of the evidence for parenting interventions in Australia
Improving child language, cognition and communication
This Evidence Brief reports on the impact of family and parenting support programs and home visiting on language, cognitive and communication outcomes for children.
Improving physical health and wellbeing outcomes for children
This Evidence Brief looked at seven high-quality systematic reviews reporting on the impact of parenting and family support interventions and home visiting on child physical health and wellbeing.
Improving social outcomes for children
This Evidence Brief pulled together the findings of 27 high-quality systematic reviews to report on the impact of family and parenting support programs and home visiting on social outcomes for children.
Submission: Parenting support’s role in protecting child rights
Our submission to the National Children's Commissioner says parenting support is critical to better outcomes for children
Improving emotional outcomes for children
This Evidence Brief looked at 27 high-quality systematic reviews that investigated the impact of family and parenting interventions on child emotional outcomes.
Review of case management with vulnerable families
This review assessed the evidence to support case management models for vulnerable families
Intensive service models for vulnerable families
This review looked at the evidence for interventions suitable for families involved in the child welfare system.
Information technology support for parents
Rapid evidence assessment: do technology-based parenting interventions improve parent skills and outcomes?
Enabling choice, recovery and participation
Evidence-based early intervention support for psychosocial disability in the National Disability Insurance Scheme
Child protection and domestic violence service collaboration
Facilitating the Collaborative Interface between Child Protection and Specialist Domestic Violence Services: A Scoping Review.
Fathers’ psychological distress in early parenting
Trajectories of fathers' psychological distress across the early parenting period: Implications for parenting
Contemporary experiences of parents today
Parenting Today: Development and methodology of a state-wide representative survey of contemporary parenting experiences
Submission: Support for new parents and babies in NSW
Our submission to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into new parents and babies says most parents can parent well with the right support
Parents’ fear about children’s independent mobility
What influences parents’ fear about children’s independent mobility? Evidence from a state-wide survey of Australian parents
Perceptions of parenting: mapping gaps in understanding
Much of the public discourse about parenting does not agree with the evidence that parenting is a skill learned on the job
Let’s Talk About Children: a family focused intervention
‘Let's Talk About Children’: Investigating the Use of a Family-focused Intervention in the Gambling Support Services Sector
Prevalence of mental illness within regional families
Prevalence of mental illness within families in a regional child-focussed mental health service
The importance of hope when living with severe mental illness
Hope, recovery and symptoms: the importance of hope for people living with severe mental illness
Psychological trauma in the context of familial relationships
Psychological trauma in the context of familial relationships: A concept analysis
Parent perspectives of adolescent school support
Contrasting disclosure practices and experiences of school support for Australian adolescents with cancer, cystic fibrosis and anorexia nervosa
Applying intervention mapping for early childhood educators
Applying Intervention Mapping to develop an early childhood educators’ intervention promoting parent–child relationships
Mothers’ experiences of observational and reported assessments
Mothers' experiences of parent-reported and video-recorded observational assessments
An Australian-first recovery model for parents
Developing an Australian-first recovery model for parents in Victorian mental health and family services: a study protocol for an RCT
Parenting programs to improve Indigenous child outcomes
Parenting interventions for Indigenous child psychosocial functioning: A scoping review
A qualitative study of children’s independent mobility
'Worries’, ‘weirdos', neighbourhoods and knowing people: A qualitative study with parents and children of children’s independent mobility
Enhancing parenting and the home learning environment
Impact of a Brief Group Intervention to Enhance Parenting and the Home Learning Environment for Children Aged 6-36 Months
Family-focussed practice: workforce characteristics
Thinking families: A study of the characteristics of the workforce that delivers family-focussed practice
Early educators supporting parent-child relationships
Early childhood education and care educators supporting parent-child relationships: A systematic literature review
Depression and anger in fathers of unsettled infants
Depression and anger in fathers of unsettled infants: A community cohort study
Parents with intellectual disabilities in Australia
Identifying prevalence and demographic data on parents with intellectual disabilities in Australia
Interventions for children exposed to trauma
Evidence summary: This Evidence Summary examines the evidence for interventions for helping children exposed to trauma
Enhancing the early home learning environment
Enhancing the early home learning environment: Study protocol and baseline sample characteristics for a cluster randomised controlled trial
Raising community awareness of parenting
Analysis summary: Raising community awareness of parenting
Preventing postnatal mental disorders in primiparous women
Gender-informed, psychoeducational programme for couples to prevent postnatal common mental disorders among primiparous women
Peer support interventions for parents
Evidence summary: Peer support interventions for parents
Evidence summary: Evidence for out-of-home care
Evidence review: Analysis of the evidence for out-of-home care - which interventions are supported by evidence?
Recruiting and engaging parents in online interventions
Comparison of methods for recruiting and engaging parents in online interventions: Study protocol for the Cry Baby program
Developing a parenting self-regulation scale
Development and preliminary validation of a parenting self-regulation scale: “Me as a Parent”
Review for Royal Commission on previous inquiries
Implementation of recommendations arising from previous inquiries of relevance to the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse
Effective evidence-based interventions for family violence
Submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence (Victoria): Effective evidence-based interventions for family violence
Evaluating peer support groups for caregivers
Brief online surveys to monitor and evaluate facilitated peer support groups for caregivers of children with special needs
The Healthy Migrant Families Initiative: an obesity intervention
The Healthy Migrant Families Initiative: Development of a culturally competent obesity prevention intervention for African migrants
Pre-employment screening to prevent child sexual abuse
Scoping review: Evaluations of pre-employment screening practices for child-related work that aim to prevent child sexual abuse
Fathers’ mental health when children have intellectual disability
Risk factors associated with the mental health of fathers of children with an intellectual disability in Australia
Children with cerebral palsy: activities and participation
Activities and participation of children with cerebral palsy: Parent perspectives
Mental health impacts on parents with intellectual disability
Parent mental health as a mediator of contextual effects on parents with intellectual disabilities and their children
Review of evidence on interventions dealing with childhood trauma
Approaches targeting outcomes for children exposed to trauma arising from abuse and neglect – Evidence, practice and implications
Supporting parents and early childhood parenting services
Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into childcare and early learning: Supporting parents and early childhood parenting services
Review of evidence for out-of-home care interventions
Evidence review: Analysis of the evidence for out-of-home care
Parents of vulnerable children: review of interventions
Evidence review: An analysis of the evidence for parenting interventions for parents of vulnerable children aged up to six years
Journal publication archive: published research 2007-2013
Browse our archive of published research from 2007 to 2013