We tracked 72,000 NSW public school students over a decade and found 19% had been suspended or expelled. Report by researchers Kristin R. Laurens, Lauren M. Piltz and Linda J. Graham Suspending or expelling a student is the most serious disciplinary measure available to schools. Research tells us...

Sing, Learn, Connect: Indigenous Songbook for Young Children A new children’s songbook, Buga Yanu Junba: Songs for Young Children, has just been released alongside an album of the same name. Launched at the Baya Gawiy Early Childhood Centre in Fitzroy Crossing, the project celebrates the rich...

Soaring house prices may be locking people into marriages, reports Stephen Whelan and  Luke Hartigan House prices continued to rise across Australia in June, recent data shows. Nationally, prices have risen about 38% in the past five years. Higher housing prices are simply one contributor, albeit a...

Emphasising function over form will help to encourage a positive body image in children, writes clinical psychologist Renee Mill. Why Body Image Matters At a mums’ group late last year, Grace shared she had read the government was planning to monitor magazines for their depiction of skinny...

‘Thriving Kids’ could help secure the future of the NDIS, report Helen Dickinson, Anne Kavanagh and Catherine Smith Mark Butler, the minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), announced a new plan to “secure the future” of the NDIS. Central to this plan is...

Not every parent has family or friends close by, but there are simple ways to create the support network your children—and you—need. Why a Village Matters Parenting can feel overwhelming when you don’t have people to lean on. While some families have grandparents, neighbours and friends close...

Australian children are being robbed of their childhood, according to Barnardos Australia, as new research reveals that more than one in three children in single-parent families are living in poverty. The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey shows that 36.2% of children...

Michael Townsley examines what’s driving the rise in retail theft—is more security the answer? “Fortress stores” with security-tagged chicken and steaks in wire security cages. GPS-tracked jars of instant coffee. Everything from toothpaste and deodorant to face creams, locked inside display cases, with buttons to call...

Fewer friends, more time stress: the essential charts from this year’s HILDA survey, writes Inga Lass, Ferdi Botha, Kyle Peyton and Roger Wilkins. Every year, one of Australia’s biggest longitudinal surveys provides a range of insights on how the nation is changing. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics...