Public policy for the common good
As ACU’s public policy think tank, the institute’s brief is to contribute to deeper thinking and new conversations about important issues confronting the Catholic community and Australian society, to help renew and strengthen our life in common.
Our latest report, A snapshot of palliative care services in Australia, provides an overview of the provision of palliative care services by looking at it through the lens of two important principles - access and equity. It identifies gaps in provision, illustrates two case studies of an integrated community-based model of care, and offers some policy recommendations.
The institute’s work is centred on three major work streams: Democracy in a Religious World; The End of Human Rights?; and Strengthening Hope, Renewing Confidence. The aim is to provide a clear-eyed, evidence-based survey of the political and sociological landscape, and the opportunities and challenges for the years ahead.
The institute also undertakes a range of stand-alone projects to highlight evidence and perspectives which can be overlooked in the discussion of contentious issues, such as religious freedom, palliative care and euthanasia, Indigenous recognition, and social cohesion, trust and belonging in Australia.