The United Nations has declared 1994 International Year of the Family. This provides the government of NSW with a unique opportunity to take a leading role in promoting the value of families within our communities with the aim of strengthening families and supporting family life.

As part of the NSW strategy to assist families the Cabinet has decided to issue new guidelines to assist in the preparation of Family Impact Statements for inclusion in Cabinet Minutes. These guidelines supercede those outlined in Memorandum No. 89-45.

In most cases agencies will be required to prepare a short statement on the assessed impact of the proposal on families. The statement should demonstrate how consideration has been given to the possible impacts on families of the proposal, in particular the impact on family roles and responsibilities must be considered. The intended or unintended consequences for disadvantaged families must be considered and where appropriate, strategies to lessen the impact outlined.

Most importantly, I consider that the proper use of Family Impact Statements should encourage greater co-ordination between agencies. By adopting a family 'frame of reference' agencies are asked to consider how better outcomes for families will be achieved and the potential for interdepartmental co-operation in achieving these.

To assist in the preparation of Family Impact Statements attached is Supporting Information which contains a definition of families, more detail on areas to consider in the Statements and some statistical information on the key trends in family life today.

John Fahey
Premier

SUPPORTING INFORMATION FOR FAMILY IMPACT STATEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

In 1988 the NSW Government introduced Family Impact Statements as a requirement of all Cabinet Minutes. The guidelines for Cabinet Minutes require a brief statement which identifies and quantifies, where appropriate, the major impact of the proposal on families, rather than a comprehensive and detailed assessment.

This document is a set of guidelines to assist the development of this statement. It contains trigger questions which may be useful in developing a thoughtful, qualitative response. The response need not be long and there are many issues which may not need a response. In cases where it is obvious that there will be an impact on families, possible solutions and/or monitoring proposals should be addressed.

PURPOSE OF THE FAMILY IMPACT STATEMENT

Family Impact Statements are to be prepared for the purpose of assisting government to make better and informed decisions about issues likely to have substantial impact on families.

A DEFINITION OF FAMILY

Families are the fundamental units of society. Within society there is an overwhelming belief in the value of families and in supporting family relationships, particularly for the benefit of children.

Families are diverse and are therefore best considered in terms of the functions they perform and how they identify themselves rather than by type or other category. Consideration of families involves not only recognition of the family unit but of the particular roles and responsibilities of individual family members.

A key role for government is to assist families to continue to meet their responsibilities in changing times.

ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES

1. TYPES
How does the proposal impact on all family types, including nuclear families, single parent families and extended family groups?
2. ROLES
How does the proposal impact on the changing roles and responsibilities within families? For example, the changing nature of parenting and caring roles.

3. FUNCTIONS
How does the proposal influence the family's ability to:

• provide economic support for its members,
• fulfil its nurturing and caring role,
• empower its members?

4. CARE OF CHILDREN
Does the proposal strengthen and enhance the capacity of families to meet their needs in child rearing?

3. TARGET GROUPS
Will some families be excluded and/or disadvantaged by the proposal? Consideration should be given to physical, geographic, economic, cultural and socially disadvantaged families.

Identify groups which will benefit from or be advantaged by the proposal. For example,

• Does the proposal improve the accessibility and appropriateness of services to families with particular characteristics and needs such as people with a disability, Aboriginal people and people from a Non-English speaking background?
• Does the proposal strengthen and enhance the capacity of families to meet their needs for members with disabilities?
• Does the proposal assist young and/or older people live full and independent lives within the community?

6. CO-ORDINATION
Has the proposal examined potential areas for better co-ordination between State agencies to achieve better outcomes for families? Are there any areas where the State's responsibilities could be re-defined to achieve better outcomes for families?

KEY STATISTICS AND TRENDS

These may assist in providing some background information on the current status of families to-day.

• 82% of children live with both parents, 6% in step families and 12% in one-parent families.
• About one in five children can expect to experience the divorce of their parents before they reach maturity.
• About one in every three children can expect to spend part of their childhood years in a one-parent family.
• Almost two-thirds of single parents were either divorced or separated.
• Family separation and reformation mean that the socialisation of children is now frequently the responsibility of adults who
  are biologically unrelated to those children.
• In 1988, about 10% of Australian children were living in families with incomes below the poverty line.
• Research suggests that as many as one in three married women may be subjected to domestic violence at some stage.
• Household size will become smaller, with greater numbers of people living alone.
• There will be a greater number of families with cultural ties to another country. Some 20% of the population is born
  overseas.
• In 1989, 51% of children aged 0-14 years had both parents employed, 42% had one parent employment and for 7% neither was employed.
• In 1990, 43% of all women and 41% of all men in the labour force had dependent children.
• In 1990, 46% of single mothers were employed.
• 122,000 persons in the labor force were also the main carers for a severely handicapped person in their own home.

For most people, men and women, the primary reason for working is economic. High housing costs and the costs of
children are most often cited as economic pressures, contributing to the need for additional income.

Other trends highlighted by social researchers and which seriously affect families include:

• the plight of rural communities
• the changes occurring in relationships and roles within families
• the increasing divisions between the rich and poor
• a shrinking middle class
• a sense of hopelessness in many young people who feel they have no future
• dramatic changes in work patterns
• the ageing of the population
• increasing cultural and religious diversity within the community.