Stage I of the research project was conducted over a 3-month period between May and July 2005. It involved discussions with participants in 13 focus groups throughout New South Wales and Victoria, including:

      • 10 groups of service users (agency clients) who were considered to have a high risk of exposure to exclusion and deprivation; and 

      • 3 groups of service providers (agency staff) working within organisations that provide services to people experiencing disadvantage and deprivation.

Of these 13 groups, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Mission Australia and Anglicare each contributed 3 client groups and 1 staff group.

We are currently in the process of conducting Stage II of the project, which consists of a random national postal survey of 6,000 adults that explores community understandings of, and attitudes to different dimensions of social exclusion and deprivation. A streamlined version of the survey will be administered directly to around 900 welfare service clients at the point at which they access industry partner agency services to assess whether and how their understandings of exclusion and deprivation differ from those of the general population.