Social inclusion in Australia: What has it achieved?

There is a long history of Australian government policy and initiatives by
non‑government bodies that aim to secure the inclusion of people who are
understood to be excluded. In this context, the term ‘social inclusion’ has come
to be associated with two policy moments in particular: first, the creation
by the South Australian Labor government under Premier Mike Rann of the
Social Inclusion Board in 2002; and second, the adoption by the newly elected
Australian federal government under Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of a social
inclusion framework in 2007. Both moments offered all the promise associated
with a new approach – in particular, new ways of considering the meaning of
poverty and exclusion in contemporary Australian society, and new – joined‑up –
means of addressing it.