The Other Welfare State Non-Government Agencies and the Mixed Economy of Welfare in Australia

Abstract

This article considers the place of the non-government sector in Australia in the mixed economy of welfare. This sector - particularly faith-based organisations - has taken a shifting position in relation to the state, market and family in the provision of care. In Australia and New Zealand, strong state regulation of the labour market, combined with relative underdevelopment of formal welfare provision, contributes to a distinctive mixed economy of welfare. The article sketches the consequences for the independence of the faith-based sector, its fragmented and disorganised development and the relative absence of aspects such as philanthropy and mutual aid.