Welcome to The Australian Institute for Social Inclusion and Wellbeing (TAISIW)

The Australian Institute of Social Inclusion and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle (TAISIW) is Australia's premier international research grouping that focuses explicitly on social inclusion and wellbeing as significant factors which impact on equity, social justice and citizenship. In Harriet Mayor Fulbright we are fortunate in having an Intellectual Patron who shares our vision of finding sustainable solutions for today's problems for the benefit of all society and nations.

The Institute is dedicated to advancing the understanding of inclusion and wellbeing, and applying new knowledge and methods to helping people, institutions and societies develop their full capabilities. Our researchers have a track record of making significant contributions in quality publications, policy advisory roles and research analysis. The Institute provides a supportive research environment and infrastructure that furnishes the development of world-class research in social inclusion and wellbeing.

We are a forward looking and dynamic group of researchers who participate in major collaborative research of international repute. The Institute brings together some of the world's leading researchers and policy makers in the interdisciplinary field of social inclusion and wellbeing. Leading researchers combine to develop strong teams of emerging talent in undertaking theoretical, empirical and policy driven research. Our focus is on research within a strategic framework where the social sciences and moral philosophy come together in endorsing a global public sphere based on the principle of parity of participation. At another level we explore the factors that build up as exclusionary regimes are elaborated and focus on the creative reaction of the socially excluded. Those excluded along lines of class, gender, ethnicity and age react in their own interest against their exclusion. New ideas and policy directions are formed as a product of this reaction and struggle. Our researchers have a track record of making significant contributions in quality publications, policy advisory roles and research analysis. The Institute provides a supportive research environment and infrastructure that furnishes the development of world-class research in social inclusion and wellbeing.

The burgeoning social inclusion agenda throughout Australia and advanced modern societies is increasingly conceived through the lens of wellbeing. Indicators and measurements of wellbeing are being extended beyond preferences and levels of satisfaction to incorporate the degree to which human beings can flourish together so as to lead a good life. Community wellbeing as place, location and fraternity are also coming to the fore in government policy formulations. In providing for an enriched policy agenda wellbeing is increasingly regarded as the primary indicator of quality of life in modern societies. There is much talk about a global shift from welfare to wellbeing regimes. Policy decisions at organisational, corporate and government levels are increasingly influenced by issues relating to wellbeing, moving beyond traditional concerns focused on material conditions based on economic data.