Useful links

Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) links

Evidence Portal guides:
- Quick Start Guide to Using Evidence – a quick start checklist for accessing and using evidence and the DCJ Evidence Portal
- Using evidence to improve our services – a user guide to accompany the DCJ Evidence Portal
- FACSIAR evidence hub (Department of Communities and Justice) – DCJ-commissioned evidence reviews, evidence to action notes, and evidence and gap maps to help you identify high-quality evidence.
Local priorities and data profiles – resources to support service providers in understanding their local area. Includes district data profiles, local priorities and Their Futures Matter data packs.
Online dashboards:
Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study - the first large-scale prospective longitudinal study of children and young people in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia.
Resource Centre - resources that provide information about DCJ clients, the services they receive and the outcomes they achieve, including:
- Annual reports and other publications
- FACS Insights, Analysis and Research Publications
Data Exchange Self-Service Reports - The Data Exchange has a number of different reports that:
- collate and analyse the data you Targeted Earlier Intervention (TEI) services have entered about your their services and clients
- provide population-level data to help us understand the communities our in which TEI services are delivered.
These reports can be accessed through the Data Exchange at any time. See below for more information about each report:

Links to other evidence sources

Analysis and Policy Observatory (APO) - public policy research covering a broad range of topics including communities and neighbourhoods, inclusion, child protection, parenting and families.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) - provides data on a wide range of economic, social, population and environmental matters:
- Quickstats: provides a high-level summary of demographic information (e.g. age, education, employment, income, family composition). This data is available at a number of different levels e.g. nationwide, state, LGA, suburb etc. Use the search box to find the area you’re interested in.
- Community Profiles: can be used for researching, planning and analysing geographic areas for different social, economic and demographic characteristics. You can access ‘General Community’ profiles and ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ profiles.
- Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA): ranks areas in Australia according to relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage. You can explore the distribution of advantage and disadvantage in Australia via interactive maps or ABS.Stat.
Australian Early Development Census - a nationwide data collection of early childhood development at the time children commence their first year of full-time school. Access the AEDC Data Explorer for information about children’s development at the state, community and local community level.
Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) research findings - reports, journal articles, research snapshots and data that can be filtered by topic.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) - routinely publish reports and resources related to the health and welfare of Australians. You can access information on population groups, including mothers and babies.
Campbell Collaboration - a research network that produces systematic evidence reviews, plain English summaries and policy briefs. Topics include early education, crime and justice, parenting, families and communities.
Child Family Community Australia publications - publications which explore how research applies to policy and practice. Topics range from communities and neighbourhoods to family support programs.
HealthStats NSW - provides data on a number of different topics, including alcohol and substance misuse, mental health, obesity, immunisation and maternal health.
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) - provides data on crime, victims and offenders in NSW LGAs, suburbs or postcodes including:
- Recorded Crime Reports: these are quarterly and annual reports that examine trends in crime
- NSW LGA Excel Tables: these tables provide information on trends and patterns in crime
- Crime Mapping Tools: these interactive maps show the spatial distribution of recorded crimes.
Outcomes, Practice and Evidence Network (OPEN) - links to key information, activities, practice resources and experts to foster the sharing of practice experience, research and evaluation to achieve better outcomes with children, young people and families.
Open-access libraries - search open-access libraries to find academic research evidence:
Parenting Research Centre publications - reports, submissions, academic journal articles and evidence reviews relating to supporting children and families to thrive by improving parent’s skills and knowledge. The Parenting Research Centre also hosts a Telepractice Hub of evidence-informed resources to help services use digital technologies to reach more families, more effectively.
Regional Insights for Indigenous Communities - brings together a range of regional statistics about the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their communities.
Raisingchildren.net.au provides free, reliable, up-to-date and independent information for families in Australia. Funded by the Australian Government, reviewed by experts and non-commercial it offers hundreds of parenting tips and resources from conception to 18 years, and can be used by workers in their interactions with families to build knowledge and skills.
SNAICC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led early intervention program profiles – a showcase of nine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations identified by SNAICC as successfully working with children and families to prevent them from coming into contact with the child protection system.