From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia
Many social policy texts examine specific social policy debates at a point in time and offer mostly technical interpretations of why existing or amended policies and programs have worked or not worked. In contrast, this text presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of four policy areas where reform was achieved after many years of neglect.

Using a rich corpus of primary and secondary data, this is the first ever time that these four cases – covering discrete policy debates around young people transitioning from out-of-home care, medically supervised injecting facilities, social security payments for the unemployed, and compulsory income management – have been compared within an organized framework. For each of these policy areas, author Philip Mendes presents the long-term chronology of the public policy debates, the key arguments and evidence presented by researchers and advocacy groups in favour of policy reform, the strategies used by policy advocates, and the contrary arguments presented by governments and other bodies, as well as other factors which may have hindered or enabled policy change. Chronicling these cases where long-standing research evidence in favour of practice and policy reform suddenly achieved implementation and political impact when evidence finally trumped ideology, author Philip Mendes also describes the improved outcomes for disadvantaged groups and the wider community.

Arguing that governments should introduce policy development processes and networks that include active engagement with knowledge from domestic and global research studies, this is critical reading for scholars and policymakers internationally on the dynamics of policy initiatives, outcomes and reform.

1147417098
From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia
Many social policy texts examine specific social policy debates at a point in time and offer mostly technical interpretations of why existing or amended policies and programs have worked or not worked. In contrast, this text presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of four policy areas where reform was achieved after many years of neglect.

Using a rich corpus of primary and secondary data, this is the first ever time that these four cases – covering discrete policy debates around young people transitioning from out-of-home care, medically supervised injecting facilities, social security payments for the unemployed, and compulsory income management – have been compared within an organized framework. For each of these policy areas, author Philip Mendes presents the long-term chronology of the public policy debates, the key arguments and evidence presented by researchers and advocacy groups in favour of policy reform, the strategies used by policy advocates, and the contrary arguments presented by governments and other bodies, as well as other factors which may have hindered or enabled policy change. Chronicling these cases where long-standing research evidence in favour of practice and policy reform suddenly achieved implementation and political impact when evidence finally trumped ideology, author Philip Mendes also describes the improved outcomes for disadvantaged groups and the wider community.

Arguing that governments should introduce policy development processes and networks that include active engagement with knowledge from domestic and global research studies, this is critical reading for scholars and policymakers internationally on the dynamics of policy initiatives, outcomes and reform.

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From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia

From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia

by Philip Mendes
From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia

From Resistance to Reform: Case Studies of Long-Term Social Justice Advocacy in Australia

by Philip Mendes

Hardcover

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Overview

Many social policy texts examine specific social policy debates at a point in time and offer mostly technical interpretations of why existing or amended policies and programs have worked or not worked. In contrast, this text presents a comprehensive historical and political analysis of four policy areas where reform was achieved after many years of neglect.

Using a rich corpus of primary and secondary data, this is the first ever time that these four cases – covering discrete policy debates around young people transitioning from out-of-home care, medically supervised injecting facilities, social security payments for the unemployed, and compulsory income management – have been compared within an organized framework. For each of these policy areas, author Philip Mendes presents the long-term chronology of the public policy debates, the key arguments and evidence presented by researchers and advocacy groups in favour of policy reform, the strategies used by policy advocates, and the contrary arguments presented by governments and other bodies, as well as other factors which may have hindered or enabled policy change. Chronicling these cases where long-standing research evidence in favour of practice and policy reform suddenly achieved implementation and political impact when evidence finally trumped ideology, author Philip Mendes also describes the improved outcomes for disadvantaged groups and the wider community.

Arguing that governments should introduce policy development processes and networks that include active engagement with knowledge from domestic and global research studies, this is critical reading for scholars and policymakers internationally on the dynamics of policy initiatives, outcomes and reform.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781835497210
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date: 11/17/2025
Pages: 236
Product dimensions: 5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x (d)

About the Author

Philip Mendes is Professor of Social Policy and the Director of the Social Inclusion and Social Policy Research Unit in the Department of Social Work at the University of Monash, Australia.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1. Young People Transitioning from Out-Of-Home Care (OOHC) in the State of Victoria
Chapter 2. The Victorian Medically Supervised Injecting Room
Chapter 3. The JobSeeker Payment for the Unemployed
Chapter 4. The Rise and Partial Fall of Compulsory Income Management
Conclusion

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