This document is a submission made in 2018 by the APS to the House of Representative's Inquiry into Intergenerational Welfare Dependence.
The APS submission espouses a Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) approach when considering issues of health, wellbeing and family and child outcomes. Psychologists acknowledge that the social gradient in health reflects material disadvantage and its effects on wellbeing, including insecurity, anxiety and lack of social integration. Living in poverty impacts on mental health, and those with pre-existing mental health issues are more likely to experience disadvantage, be on low incomes and live in poverty.
The APS acknowledged that while it is important to support the role of human agency and maximise the potential of individuals and families to counteract adversity, including intergenerational unemployment, having limited social or material resources makes participation and engagement in the workforce very difficult. The submission recommends that the guiding principle for any welfare reform should be reference to the responsibility of Government to provide an adequate safety net for those most vulnerable to decrease poverty and increase individual and community wellbeing more generally. A range of other evidence-based approaches to supporting child and family outcomes are also presented.
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