Stepping Stones

The centrepiece of the DAISES project is a multi-cohort, multi-wave longitudinal survey program which will see the Social Research Centre undertake approximately 150,000 interviews with persons on income support and users of Employment Services over the next three and a half years.The survey component of the research program will be known as Stepping Stones: Longitudinal Survey of Employment Services and Income Support.

Job Seeker Account Study

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, 2004.  Major program evaluation involving a series of in-depth interviews and focus groups with Job Network members, and focus groups and depth interviews with Jobseekers, followed by 4,919 telephone interviews with jobseekers, examining usage and expenditure from the Job Seeker Account.

Parents on Low Income Survey (POLIS)

Department of Family and Community Services, 2003.  A survey amongst 1,500 parents on low income to identify income support exit pathways and evaluate education, labour market and ‘participation’ outcomes.

Personal Advisor Evaluation Survey

Department of Family and Community Services, 2004.  Evaluation involving a two wave longitudinal survey with 3,000 recipients of income support, 600 interviews with Personal Advisors and 45 depth interviews with special groups of income support recipients.

The Family Pathways Survey

The Family Pathways Survey program is part of a wider research program being undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) to support the evaluation the reforms to the family law system in July 2006.

The Social Research Centre has been contracted to provide survey research services to AIFS.  After a successful pilot test, data collection for the first phase of the project, Wave 1 of a longitudinal survey of 10,000 separated parents, has been completed and the second phase is due to commence in mid-2009.  An additional cross-sectional study of 2,000 parents who separated before July 2006 is currently underway.

The Parenting New Claims Survey

Department of Family and Community Services, 2002 to 2004.  The design and conduct of a mutli-cohort, three wave longitudinal survey of some 6,500 Parenting Payment customers.

Welfare to Work Evaluation

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, 2006 to 2008.  Design, development of conduct of a five wave, multi-cohort longitudinal study of 20,000 recipients of income support payments to evaluate initiatives undertaken as part of the Welfare to Work Program.