Editorial

Abstract

Welcome to the final edition of Children Australia for 2016. For this edition, I am pleased to be guest co-editor along with regular editors Jennifer Lehmann and Rachael Sanders. Living in rural and remote Australia can bring a high level of satisfaction and many rewards, including a strong caring community, rich, longstanding social relationships, outdoor lifestyle, happy childhood memories and psychological, cultural, spiritual and economic connections to country. Rural living and working can also bring unique challenges including harsh climatic conditions and crises, a tyranny of distance, isolation, family hardships, limited services and infrastructure, reduced education and employment opportunities; and increased risk of mental health issues, family violence and child safety concerns. The demands of providing remote area health, welfare and other professional services include high visibility and trying to ‘fit in’, managing confidentiality, and dual and inter-relationships. These and other geographical and environmental challenges lead to low workforce retention rates that, in turn, leave significant gaps in service provision for children, families and communities, including Aboriginal communities (Jervis-Tracey et al., 2016; Lehmann, 2015; Robinson, Mares, & Arney, 2016).