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The National Child Protection Clearinghouse is a specialist information, advisory and research unit focused on the prevention of child abuse and neglect, and funded by the Australian Government's Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA). The distribution network for the Clearinghouse includes every child protection worker in Australia, along with others in the health, justice, non-government, community and education sectors.
The National Child Protection Clearinghouse's Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter is published bi-annually in February and August and is available in print or electronically at www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/newsletters/newsletters.html
The goal of the Child Abuse Prevention Newsletter is to promote the exchange of information and ideas and encourage scholarly debate of child maltreatment and child protection research, policy and practice issues.
Appropriate topics for contributions include:
Contributions must be submitted four months in advance of publication to allow for review, revision, typesetting and printing timelines.
Contributions range from short reviews of books, conferences, workshops and projects to more substantial articles on issues related child protection and child abuse prevention.
Please note the Commonwealth of Australia holds copyright to all articles published in Institute publications (see separate Copyright conditions document at http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/copyright.html).
Submissions should conform to the style prescribed in the Australian Style manual: For authors, editors and printers (6th edition, 2002). The Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition, 2001) provides useful guidance for particular issues such as the representation of statistical information.
Australian legal, parliamentary and governmental terminology should conform to the Australian Style manual: For authors, editors and printers (6th edition, 2002). Spelling should conform to the Macquarie Dictionary (Revised 3rd Edition, 2004).
Both in-text referencing and reference lists should conform to the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. For more information on the APA style, go to apastyle.org
We prefer clearly written, plain-language, accessible articles of interest to the broad range of clearinghouse clients and subscribers to our publications.
Every Newsletter comprises at least one major contribution (up to 3,000 words). The average length of contributions is 1,000-1,500 words, but may be as short as 300-500 words. If you would like to submit a major contribution, or if you are unsure about the appropriateness of a piece, contact the Manager at the National Child Protection Clearinghouse prior to submission.
The title of the article, should reflecting the scope of its contents and should be as concise and informative as possible. The title should be followed by name(s) of author(s) including first name, middle initial (if applicable), and last name; primary position, title, and/or affiliation; name of institution(s) and/or department(s), if any, to which the work should be attributed; disclaimers, if any; name, address, email and telephone number of contact for primary author.
The author information should be followed by a short, paragraph-length abstract, featuring the main aims and highlights of the paper (Maximum 120 words).
The text should generally be divided into sections with descriptive headings and subheadings.
Graphs and tables should be numbered consecutively and each given a brief title. Each graph or table should be cited in the text in consecutive order. This should be indicated by a comment such as 'Insert Table 1 here' or 'Insert Figure 2 near here'.
The graphs, tables and figures should be placed at the end of the document in consecutive order. Graphs, tables and figures should be used only when necessary to clarify important points but not to duplicate information in the text. They should be used sparingly and must be succinct, uncomplicated and accessible. Any jargon such as research or statistical terminology should have an asterisk or some other notation placed at the bottom of the graph or table with a brief explanation or definition provided.
The data for graphs, tables or figures should be provided in an excel spreadsheet. Illustrations, photographs and diagrams should be submitted electronically in JPEG, TIF or EPS format.
All submissions are to be presented in 12-point Arial font, double-spaced and left justified. Other than these, submissions should contain minimal formatting.
Please email contributions in a Microsoft Word document to ncpc@aifs.gov.au or post to the National Child Protection Clearinghouse, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Level 20, 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000 (Electronic provision of material is preferred where possible). For further information contact Dr Leah Bromfield, Manager, National Child Protection Clearinghouse, phone (03) 9214 7888, fax (03) 9214 7839, email leah.bromfield@aifs.gov.au.
Acceptance of all material is subject to a review process. Consideration will be given to whether articles are relevant, clearly written, and accessible. Consideration will also be given to the following criteria: timeliness of article; significance of the topic; factual accuracy; clear presentation and logical organisation of material; conclusions substantiated by convincing analytical argument; argument supported by references; quality and balance of the argument or information presented; and balance and relevance of any policy implications drawn.