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This paper begins by examining the social inclusion agenda that formed the centrepiece of the social policy agenda of the Australian Government between 2007 and 2013. It discusses several features of the agenda, including its objectives (as articulated by the government) and some of the administrative and bureaucratic mechanisms that were put in place to assist with its development and implementation. Although no formal assessment of the impact of the agenda is attempted, some of the ways in which such an agenda could make a difference are identified. The paper then summarises the social inclusion indicator framework developed by the Australian Social Inclusion Unit with assistance and advice from the Australian Social Inclusion Board, and compares its structure and content with the frameworks developed by two of Australia's leading social research institutes. Finally, data from two national surveys of poverty and social exclusion are used to examine recent changes in social exclusion and the association between the severity of exclusion and levels of subjective well‐being. These latter results show clearly that subjective well‐being is consistently lower among those who experience the greatest degree of social exclusion, suggesting that exclusion as identified and measured reflects external constraints rather than internal preferences.

This paper reviews major developments in Australian poverty research in the 50 years since the Melbourne poverty study established the Henderson measurement framework. It focuses on the limitations of the dominant, but narrow income (poverty line) approach used in Australia, contrasts it with the deprivation approach pioneered and refined in the United Kingdom, and shows how this provides more compelling evidence that poverty exists. Against the background of recent developments in international poverty research, the paper identifies existing gaps in Australia, and explores what needs to be done to address this situation. It then draws on international experience to examine how anti‐poverty policy has evolved, focusing on the role of poverty targets in producing better data and promoting debate between policy makers, researchers and community sector practitioners about developing better measures. Australia lags behind these developments: a new approach is needed that engages researchers, policy makers, and other key stakeholders in positive dialogue aimed at setting a new framework for poverty measurement and an achievable anti‐poverty policy agenda.

Poverty in Hong Kong is high and rising. This has given rise to community concern and put the government under pressure. It responded by establishing a Commission on Poverty in 2012, which announced in 2013 that it had reached agreement on an official poverty line for Hong Kong — a decision that has since been endorsed by the government. This paper describes how the poverty line is constructed and summarises the key findings in a new report on poverty in Hong Kong. It highlights existing policy failings and examines the implications for policy reform and research.

AbstractSocial inclusion has been at the centre of the Australian social policy agenda since the Australian Labor Party (ALP) was elected to government in 2007. Since then, the government has set in place a series of administrative, consultative and measurement structures designed to improve understanding of the issue, to monitor change and to help develop appropriate policy responses. However, while much has been achieved, it remains unclear whether the new policy focus has made a substantive difference in practice to what would have been achieved by any new centre‐left government coming to office after a decade of policy reform driven by a combination of social conservatism and economic neo‐liberalism. This article describes how the Australian social inclusion policy agenda has evolved since 2007, reviews recent research developments and presents new findings on recent changes in different dimensions of exclusion. Attention also focuses on the problems associated with identifying instances of exclusion in general, on the overlap/relationship between exclusion and poverty, and on the impact of exclusion and poverty on subjective well‐being.

Many social policy objectives align with religious beliefs – poverty alleviation, compassion for the poor and addressing more generally the needs of the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society. Yet there are also conflicting views about means, including the role of the state in redistributing resources from the rich and powerful to the poor and powerless. Redistribution and poverty alleviation are central goals of the welfare state, although ideological and other differences mean that views about the need for, as well as the design, delivery and impact of social programs vary. Against this background, this paper reviews existing national and international studies that have examined how religious belief and practice are associated with the attitudes that underpin the welfare state: compassion, altruism, redistribution and egalitarianism, and the activities that are assumed to align with modern conceptions of 'a good civic citizen': participation and engagement. The analysis draws on recent Australian survey data to examine whether the attitudes of those who actively practice their religious beliefs differ from other groups in society and, if so, whether those differences are consistent with the underlying goals of social policy.