This specialisation provides students with deep and comprehensive understanding of the nature and challenges of social policy within nations and globally. Multidisciplinary in nature, this specialisation will provide insight into key theories, principles and approaches, providing a foundation for social policy analysis, development and implementation across a range of contexts. The social policy specialisation equips students with an understanding of the key actors engaged in social policy making – including the growing influence of ‘non-traditional’ actors. Through electives, students in this specialisation can explore a wide range of issues relevant to social policy development and implementation, such as the boundaries of social policy; influences on social policy, including demographic and labour force trends; how social policy intersects with other aspects of government policy; and debates about financing of welfare programmes, inequality and income distribution, wellbeing and social justice, in Australia and internationally.
This specialisation offers opportunities for advanced investigation of the analytical skills, public policies and organisational practices appropriate for advising on social policy and managing program outcomes. It is well-suited for those in social policy development and/or implementation in government and non-government sectors.