Family centred communities

The Families Commission works to ensure that the interests of families are reflected in central and local government policies and services.

Click here to read this report online

An extensive body of research evidence indicates that family functioning and circumstances significantly affect the life chances of individual family members, and the successful functioning of society and the economy. However, findings from the Commission’s major research projects suggest that the importance of the family is not always reflected in public policies and services. Little consideration is given to the wellbeing of the entity itself over and above the wellbeing of individual members or population groups.

The Commission is currently working with the local government sector on an initiative to encourage councils to take a family-centred approach to planning and decision-making. This literature review has been produced as a resource for this project. The Families Commission’s understanding of the issues discussed in this report will grow as the project progresses, and the Commission will consider reporting on this later in the project. Meanwhile, the Commission feels that this report is a useful resource for ourselves and others, and for that reason, we have placed it on our website.

The report is based on a review of key published papers and reports. It is not intended to be a fully comprehensive review of the literature.