DEINSTITUTIONALISED OR REINSTITUTIONALISED - DEVELOPMENTS IN THE NONPROFIT HUMAN-SERVICES SECTOR

Recent developments in the environment surrounding the nonprofit human sen,ices sector in Australia have been viewed with some concern, espe cially, given the role of the sector within the Australian welfare sta re. This paper reviews these developments, noting that some are less v isible than others, and that the process of change is more widespread than often perceived. By explicitly employing a theoretical framework derived from organisational theory the paper argues that the contempor ary experience of the sector; characterised as the existing institutio nal order of the field, is set to undergo substantial revision as it i s incorporated within an emerging new institutional order of the marke t and the state as marker.