In this unit of study Australian social policy is explored: the legal and administrative framework; relationships between family and the state; employment, unemployment, unpaid work and welfare; the public/private mix; aged care policies, the culture of welfare state provision, indigenous policies, migration, multiculturalism and the formulation and delivery of social welfare services in Australia.

This unit is essentially conceptual and theoretical, emphasising the contested principles of social policy - discourse, theories, ideas and ideologies - around which the contemporary welfare state was, is and continues to be organised, discussed and debated. This unit focuses on the application of concepts and theories in practical social policy arenas. In particular, the emphasis will be on the debated, sometimes contested, nature of concepts and theories in social policy discourses in contemporary societies.

The unit examines how some of the key social policy ideas are (or not) translated into policy practice. It explores the sort of policy ideas that feature prominently in the contemporary formation of welfare state. It then discusses the role of the key actors in the process of social policy-making and examines the conditions under which these ideas become materialized. Through the use of case studies, it explores policy dynamics that underpin the emergence, development and demise of social policies.