Journal profile · SOCIAL ISSUES
Australian Journal of Social Issues
ISSN 0157-6321 · eISSN 1839-4655 · Wiley-Blackwell
Australian Journal of Social Issues: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.76; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,300; median 236 days to acceptance (90 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 38% (journal website); 106 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Australian Journal of Social Issues is published by Wiley-Blackwell and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism, Social Policy and Reform Studies and Homelessness and Social Issues, together about 24% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Australian Journal Of Social Issues (AJSI), published by the Australian Social Policy Association, is a leading interdisciplinary forum for commentary and debate on significant social policy and social justice issues that have relevance to Australia. We welcome contributions that:
· undertake rigorous, high-quality reviews of Australian and international evidence on topical social issues,
· critically analyse conceptual problems and provide directions for solutions,
· present empirical studies, and
· debate policy alternatives. Articles may focus directly on Australia; locate Australian social issues, policy, and practice within an international context; involve cross-national comparative studies that demonstrate relevance to Australia; or consider issues in other countries that are of interest to an Australian audience and help to advance Australian policy and/or scholarship. In this regard, the AJSI is dedicated to providing a forum for deliberation and debate on future directions for social policy within Australia, as well as beyond. The AJSI is editorially independent of the Australian Social Policy Association and the universities to which editors and contributors are affiliated.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): SOCIAL ISSUES
Editor-in-chief Jacynta KrakouerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 2, Australia 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Housing, Finance, and NeoliberalismEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences7.6%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions7.6%
- Education Systems and PolicySocial Sciences6.9%
- Healthcare innovation and challengesSocial Sciences6.8%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions6.7%
- Community Development and Social ImpactEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.2%
- Indigenous Health, Education, and RightsSocial Sciences5.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.76LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.62LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- h-index
- 59OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 555OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.9OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.18%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 93LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 98Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 280,519Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,212 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 52 | 43 | 14 |
| 2025 | 106 | 92 | 178 |
| 2024 | 80 | 72 | 261 |
| 2023 | 64 | 56 | 384 |
| 2022 | 53 | 40 | 472 |
| 2021 | 54 | 20 | 618 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
236 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 170 days – 299 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (90 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 259 days
- Sample
- 90 articles with submission and acceptance dates (169 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 38%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 38%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 27 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 27 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 236 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 29 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,300 / EUR 2,760 / GBP 2,220 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- forum sectionThe journal also invites shorter submissions up to 5,000 words that review and analyse current policy debates, theory and practice. These will appear in a Forum…main text ≤ 5,000 words
- research articleAJSI accepts research article submissions up to 8,000 words, including abstract, tables, notes and references. The journal also invites shorter submissions up t…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- reviewAJSI accepts research article submissions up to 8,000 words, including abstract, tables, notes and references. The journal also invites shorter submissions up t…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Shadow Infrastructures of Labour: A Case Study of Generative AI Use in Victorian Child Protection Practice
Joel Robert McGregor, Linus Tan, Caleb Lloyd, Abigail Sheed,
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author Contributions
CRediT author contributions mandated. Model summary
For all articles, the journal mandates the CRediT (Contribution Roles Taxonomy), for more information please see Author Services.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potent…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data sharing encouraged but not mandatory. Model summary
The journal encourages data sharing wherever possible, unless this is prevented by ethical, privacy or confidentiality matters.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 6. COPYRIGHT, LICENCING AND OPEN ACCESS
Accepted papers will be passed to Wiley’s production team for publication. The author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Wiley’s Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be asked to complete an electronic license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 6. COPYRIGHT, LICENCING AND OPEN ACCESS
ORCID iD required for submitting author. Model summary
Accepted papers will be passed to Wiley’s production team for publication. The author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Wiley’s Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be asked to complete an electronic license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review policy; anonymised manuscript with separate title page. Model summary
Important: the journal operates a double-blind peer review policy. Please anonymise your manuscript and prepare a separate title page containing author details.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0157-6321
- Electronic ISSN
- 1839-4655
- Society / sponsor
- Australian Social Policy Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 61, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Australian Journal of Social Issues
What CAS zone is Australian Journal of Social Issues in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Australian Journal of Social Issues is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Social Issues. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Australian Journal of Social Issues?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.76; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 59.
How long does peer review take at Australian Journal of Social Issues?
Based on the dates recorded on 90 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 236 days (interquartile range 170–299 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 38% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Australian Journal of Social Issues?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Australian Journal of Social Issues based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (2) and Australia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Australian Journal of Social Issues?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Australian Journal of Social Issues is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Australian Journal of Social Issues open access, and what is the APC?
Australian Journal of Social Issues is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,300.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .