Author guidelines for the National Child Protection Clearinghouse
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, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA). 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 and is available in print or electronically at www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/newsletters/newsletters.html
Goal of the newsletter and contents
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:
- child maltreatment and child protection research, policy and practice
- education and training issues
- program profiles
- notices about upcoming conferences, workshops, events
- book reviews, pointers to new publications, online papers, resources
- links, websites, and so on.
Contributions must be submitted four months in advance of publication to allow for review, revision, typesetting and printing timelines.
Types of contributions
Contributions range from short reviews of books, conferences, workshops and projects to more substantial articles on issues related child protection and child abuse prevention.
Instructions for authors
Length
Every Newsletter includes 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.
Abstract
Submissions over 1,000 words should include a short, paragraph-length abstract, featuring the main aims and highlights of the paper (maximum 120 words).
AIFS style
Submitted articles should conform to the Institute's house style. The Institute uses the referencing style described in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition, 2001), but otherwise generally follows the style recommended by the Australian Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edition, 2002). Spelling should conform to the Macquarie Dictionary.
Specific details about the AIFS house style and examples of usage, spelling, referencing and other important information for authors are available in the Australian Institute of Family Studies Style Guide (PDF 257 KB).
Delivering the article
Email contributions are accepted as a Microsoft Word or RTF document, please contact the Clearinghouse, or post to the National Child Protection Clearinghouse, Level 20, 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Electronic provision of material is preferred where possible. For further information, contact the Clearinghouse: phone (03) 9214 7888, fax (03) 9214 7839
Review process
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.
Upon acceptance of a submission, the author(s) will be required to complete a Copyright agreement form.