Goal 1: No poverty

Australia's Health Tracker series measures national progress on a range of health issues, including chronic disease, oral health, and mental health in Australian children and adults. These trackers are used by a range of policy-makers to inform decision-making at local, state and national level. Australia’s Health Tracker by Socioeconomic Status 2021 is produced by the Australian Health Policy Collaboration, led by VU’s Rosemary Calder of the Mitchell Institute, of over 50 health organisations and experts. The report card shows the relationship between low socio-economic status and higher risk for preventable chronic diseases and poor health.

Elizabeth Knight from the Centre for International Research on Education Systems and Emma Colvin from Charles Sturt University undertook the study Supporting Care Experienced Young People into Higher Education for the Collier Foundation. Care Experienced Young People are less likely to attain educational qualifications, less likely to have good health, and are more likely to have contact with the criminal justice and mental health systems. The report documents the: systemic lack of understanding of the needs of care-experienced students in higher education; significant gap in post-school transition planning; and the multiple barriers to accessing career information.

Emeritus Professor Robyn Broadbent wrote a report on building youth work practice. In the report Professor Broadbent emphasises the need for professional youth work practice to stay focused on poverty due to the intractable nature of intergenerational poverty and the and the barrier it poses to better life outcomes.

Annie Venville from VU teamed up with Sarah Booth from Western Health to assess the effectiveness of a 12-month pilot partnership program between social work staff at Western Health hospitals, and the Centrelink Community Engagement Officer, to improve access to income support for vulnerable hospital patients. The program saved time for the hospital social work staff and for patients, but further research is needed for the potential to for health and social care staff to deliver integrated psychosocial care to improve outcomes for vulnerable patients.

Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute was awarded a $5.5m grant by the Paul Ramsay Foundation to conduct a community-based research program in the west of Melbourne to improve the transition from school to further education and work. The program aims to break the cycle of poverty for young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

The Master of International Community Development engages with the UN SDGs in the course learning outcomes and practice-based assessments, to prepare graduates to work on SDG projects and programs of implementation. The approach is one of critical engagement, interrogating intersectionality and social and cultural inclusion in the SDG targets and indicators.

Units focus on transformational change, including: transnational gender issues and human rights; conflict resolution in groups and communities; engaging communities for sustainability; building capacity and mobilising civil society, as well as project and organisational management. Students undertake a research thesis or a community-based research project arising out of a placement with a partner development agency or project in Australia or overseas.

The Bachelor of Youth Work is the largest in Australia and provides the skills to develop young people through enjoyable, challenging and educational activities. Diploma-qualified people already in the youth work industry can continue to work while they study with the online course.