Feature
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and the Superannuation System
It is remarkable how little existing literature there is on outcomes for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in retirement and old age. This is even more remarkable given that Indigenous Australians often face different challenges and life trajectories,... Read article

2019 Women’s Report Card
The Department of Communities in partnership with the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre have today released the 2019 WA Women’s Report Card and Data Insights Platform. The 2019 Women’s Report Card presents fact-based information to raise awareness of the status of... Read article

Better together: Supporting perinatal and infant mental health services
The project maps how services in the cities of Wanneroo/Joondalup interact to enhance the quality of perinatal and infant mental health services for the community. Service providers were invited to work with the research team over 12 months to design,... Read article

The social and economic sustainability of WA’s rural volunteer workforce
Volunteering is critical to the survival and success of rural communities in Western Australia (WA). The past two decades have seen an increase in the community services delivered by volunteers and demand on the volunteer workforce has intensified. Yet, according to data collected... Read article

Enhancing niche tourism
This research builds a profile and understanding of the capacity of regions to benefit from extending their traditional industrial base to include value-added niche activities. These investigations into locally based agri-food systems and niche tourism deliver research findings to support goals to capitalise... Read article

South West for Asia
As a critical growth market for the tourism industry in Australia’s South West (ASW), a stronger focus on emerging Asian markets has become a strategic priority for the region. The project “South West for Asia” is aligned with these broader... Read article

The Private Rental Sector in Australia
This report examines the state of the private rental sector (PRS) in Australia through analysis of 2016 census data and a survey of 3,182 Australian private renters. The survey asked renters about issues such as the number of rental properties... Read article

Older Renters in the Western Australian Private Rental Sector
More people are reaching retirement age without owning a home, and the number of older people residing in the private rental market is increasing. Fixed incomes, short leases, a lack of affordable housing options and limited capacity to modify a... Read article

Gas and oil prospects
In the coming decades natural gas may take a lead role in providing energy to the world while mitigating climate impacts. Our optimistic view is based on the advantages of gas relative to other fossil fuels, including its abundance, wide geographical distribution and... Read article

Power plans for electricity
This is a mixed methods research project aimed at gaining a better understanding of the experience of energy vulnerable households under changes to electricity tariff structures. The research is a collaboration between Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, WACOSS and Horizon Power and... Read article

A strength-based program for adolescents with autism
It is widely recognised that many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have abilities and strengths well suited to employment in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. Despite this, their overall employment rate remains marginal. Recent studies have proposed that implementing... Read article

Are we China-ready?
Chinese tourism to Australia has grown substantially since the start of the millennium, and this group of travellers is now the top international tourism spender. This report looks at the characteristics of Chinese visitors coming to Western Australia, their detailed... Read article

Developing sustainable career pathways for aged care workers
Dramatic increases in the ageing population have created growing demand for personal care assistants (PCAs) across the states and territories in Australia. Available data indicates that the population aged 65 to 85 years will double in Western Australia (WA) by 2050. This demographic... Read article

Housing affordability: Land supply and new housing in Western Australia
This Feature report addresses the topic of land supply, new dwelling construction and housing affordability, a major economic and social issue facing West Australian households. This report complements the BCEC Housing Affordability (2014 and 2016) reports through analysis of similar broad regional... Read article

Inequality in later life: The superannuation effect
This BCEC Feature report examines the extent of economic inequality among Australians over 55 years of age, and seeks to identify the effect, if any, that the current superannuation system has on economic inequality in later life. The report examines inequality by reference... Read article

The nexus between equity markets and housing prices in Australia
This BCEC Feature report examines the impact of equity and energy prices on house prices across Australian capital cities and regional Western Australia, over the period 2000 to 2014. Energy prices, for the purposes of this study, refers to a broad range... Read article

Small Business Enterprise Models of Employment
Adults with disabilities are substantially disadvantaged, economically and socially. Ample national and international comparative data indicate low labour force participation rates (just over 50%) and double the unemployment rates for persons without disabilities. This report examines an emerging small business employment model that... Read article

Minimising skills wastage
Skilled migration is a key element in Australia’s strategy to address major human capital issues and imperatives. However, underutilisation of professional migrant skills remains a critical problem. This report identifies the barriers skilled migrants face and investigates the link between workforce... Read article

Unlocking the potential for working closer to home
Unlocking the Potential for Working Closer to Home, examines the barriers to, and opportunities for, increasing the number of people able to work closer to their home in both metropolitan Perth and regional Western Australia. It is known that working... Read article

The Impact of Airbnb on WA’s Tourism Industry
This BCEC Feature report looks at the rapid growth of the sharing economy, including Airbnb, in recent years and how it has challenged traditional economies in many countries around the globe. With more than 1.5 million listings in more than 190... Read article

After the Siren
This BCEC Feature report aims to build on the narrative of Indigenous peoples’ participation in football at a grass-roots level, and the associated individual and community level outcomes. It is based on analyses of data from the 2014-2015 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander... Read article

Western Australia’s International Education Sector: Performance and Prospects
Australia has been a leader in international education for many years, and it is now the country’s principal services export and our third largest export industry overall. It has been identified in any government and other studies as an industry... Read article

Community Wellbeing From the Ground Up
At some point in our lives, we have asked ourselves one or all of these questions. What matters most in life? What makes life worth living? What makes you happy? What makes you feel good? What makes you flourish? Wellbeing can mean many... Read article

Energy Poverty in Western Australia
Energy poverty is a prevalent and growing issue affecting the wellbeing of millions of households across the globe. Access to affordable energy services is frequently seen as a pre-requisite for economic growth in developing countries and has been associated with improvements to health and social mobility in more... Read article

Autism in the Workplace
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition that represents a category of developmental disorders characterised by impairments in social reciprocity, communication and unusual or repetitive behaviour. In Australia there are approximately 157,000 adults with ASD within the working age population of 15 to 64 year olds. This... Read article

WA Wine Exports: Building an Economic Future with China
Australian wine production has had a fair share of ups and downs in the past 10 years. More recently, overproduction, the high value of the dollar, and global competition from rapidly improving New World wine producers has strained the industry. Revenue has declined. Exports have softened. An... Read article
