Our research partners and projects

The NSW Child Development Study is administered by the University of New South Wales and includes a partnership with the Department of Communities and Justice. It is a longitudinal population study of life-course risk and resilience for mental health and wellbeing among a cohort of 91,635 NSW children born between 2000 and 2006. It links administrative records from multiple NSW agencies spanning health, education, child protection and criminal justice, with cross-sectional assessments collected in early and middle childhood. Many papers have been produced from this study to inform policy and practice. Visit the NSW Child Development Study website for more information. Also view the FACSIAR Lunch and Learn webinars in February, April, and July 2022 presented by the NSW CDS researchers. The April webinar page has a list of the FACSIAR evidence to action notes that provide plain English translations of the findings from this study.

A summary of the key findings from the NSW Child Development Study can be found here.

Led by the University of New South Wales, this research aims to inform policy and practice that supports better health, development and social outcomes for NSW children, particularly disadvantaged children. Health and human services data have been linked for more than 2 million NSW children born since 2001 and their parents. This includes data from the health, child protection, education, justice and social housing sectors. The research will help us better understand the experience and outcomes for children involved with child protection services.

The study will examine how common child protection services involvement is during children's lives and the characteristics of children and families who are at risk of such involvement. This information is important for understanding who might benefit from prevention and early intervention services. The research will also look at the health, development and social outcomes of children involved with child protection services, including the impact of programs and services that may improve children's outcomes.

This qualitative, mixed methods PhD project research with the University of Sydney’s Law School aims to thematically analyse the reasoning of Children’s Court magistrates and appellate judges in cases applying the statutory test of ‘realistic possibility of restoration’. This research study aims to enhance knowledge of the Court’s expectations and minimum requirements regarding restoration, including its priority concerns and expectations for what parents need to achieve. The research involves thematic analyses from interviews with DCJ staff including caseworkers, Managers Casework and DCJ Legal, in addition to interviews with judicial officers and a study of 100 published and unpublished judgments in contested restoration cases. The project has the support of the current and former Presidents of the Children’s Court.

A major research project led by Southern Cross University and industry partner the Australian Childhood Foundation. Partner universities include Trinity College Dublin, Charles Sturt University and Australian Catholic University. The Australian Research Council and the Australian Childhood Foundation are funding this research over three years. The project aims to critically examine the relational practices that enable and constrain positive trusting relationships and social connections within and beyond the immediate residential care setting. This research will ask young people, workers, therapeutic specialists and managers in therapeutic residential care (Intensive Therapeutic Care; ITC or Intensive Therapeutic Care Significant Disability; ITC-SD) about the practices used to support young people to develop trusting relationships, what helps and what gets in the way. This is the first large-scale mixed-methods study in Australia on this topic.

This PhD research project with Charles Sturt University aims to capture the views of young people who are already in care to determine their perceptions and insights about their care experience. This research will utilise inductive research methodology to listen to and explore young people’s lived experience and constructed reality about the benefits and challenges of being a child/young person in care. Young people’s perspective will be sought about what can be done to improve the experiences of children and young people in out-of-home care

This mixed methods study is part of a larger Australian Research Council Linkage Project to determine:

1. why students in care experience significant absences from school, and
2. what can be done by schools, carers, the education system and out-of-home care system to improve their attendance.

Based on rights-based, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate approaches, this component of the project prioritises input from children and young people in out-of-home care through workshops, interviews and an online survey. Findings from this research will better inform us of the views of students in care about both barriers to and enablers for being at school. This matters because being at school is an essential prerequisite for students in out-of-home care to have equitable access to the benefits that school can offer for learning, wellbeing and future life opportunities.

The project is led by the University of Tasmania, in collaboration with three other universities and nine partner organisations.

Visit the research project website for further information and publications.

This mixed methods PhD research project, conducted in collaboration with Monash University, seeks to enhance the understanding of how psychologists, caseworkers, and behaviour support practitioners can deliver behaviour support services to children and young people in Out-of-Home Care (OOHC) in ways that are both trauma-informed and culturally responsive to the diverse needs of these children. The study involves an online survey and interviews with DCJ psychologists and caseworkers to explore the integration of trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices into the design and delivery of behaviour support plans. 

This PhD research through the University of Sydney aims to identify the cultural challenges experienced by Aboriginal identified child protection caseworkers working within the Department of Communities and Justice and build new knowledge about how staff can be supported in their role. This qualitative project uses a culturally appropriate method for understanding cultural specific practice and challenges by drawing from the expertise, the insights and experiences of Aboriginal-identified child protection workers directly to provide this analysis and review of the measures of support within the organization and system. This research project recognises self-determination of Aboriginal people as part of assessing the progress and delivery of changes to child protection services and practice for Aboriginal children, families and communities.

The soaring rates of Indigenous children living in out-of-home care requires an urgent response. This Aboriginal led research is being conducted through UNSW’s Social Policy Research Centre, and UTS’ Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, in partnership with Aboriginal organisations. It is the first of its kind to investigate the rates, outcomes and experiences of successful and sustainable restoration for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. The project intends to identify successful child restoration initiatives and produce an empirical roadmap for navigating service systems with the goal of restoration. The project expects to make a substantial contribution to this largely neglected research area that will benefit parents and families, communities, practitioners, policy makers and academics. This is a four-year study beginning in September 2021 and is funded through the Australian Research Council.

The researcher has recommended reading: Why are First Nations children still not coming home from out-of-home care? in The Conversation.

This PhD project with the Guunu-maana (Heal) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program, The George Institute for Global Health, aims to explore the meanings of home and desired housing outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social housing tenants living in urban New South Wales, particularly in South East Sydney. Findings from this research will assist in developing and piloting a tangible resource, such as an information booklet that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social housing tenants can use when navigating housing services. Visit The George Institute website for further information about this project.

This mixed-methods PhD research project with the University of Melbourne aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the “Walking in Blak Traks” cultural safety training program. "Walking in Blak Traks" is an Aboriginal-led training program, developed by DCJ Psychological and Specialist Services which seeks to enhance clinicians' cultural competency. It aims to improve clinicians' cultural responsiveness, self-efficacy and adoption of culturally safe practices. The current research involves surveys and focus groups with DCJ staff and clinicians who have completed the training to determine the trainings’ impact and effectiveness.

This mixed-methods PhD project, conducted in partnership with the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and the University of Wollongong, examines how child protection practitioners can more effectively integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural knowledge into everyday practice. The study focuses on supporting practitioners to strengthen the cultural, family, community, and Country connections of Aboriginal children and young people in statutory care.

Using Indigenous research methodologies and practice-based tools such as the SEWB Yarning Cards, the research explores practical ways to enhance cultural literacy, embed culturally responsive decision-making, and reinforce the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people.

Findings from the project will contribute to improved frontline practice, provide evidence-informed tools for culturally grounded work with Aboriginal families, and support ongoing efforts within the child protection system to uphold cultural safety, self-determination, and better outcomes for Aboriginal children.

Joining the Dots is a data-linkage study with the University of New South Wales of infants born in NSW and the ACT with a diagnosis of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) between 2001 and 2018. The study aims to determine the rates of death, hospital admissions and academic outcomes among this cohort. The findings will assist to identify the causes of disadvantage in families affected by perinatal substance dependency, addiction and abuse and will provide recommendations of how the Department of Communities and Justice can best support these families.

This quantitative research study in collaboration with the University of Wollongong will establish a new regional linked dataset for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) linking data from births, deaths, the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), health, education, ambulance, child protection and out-of-home care (OOHC) for children born in the region from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2012. The study aims to:

• Describe the 12-month prevalence of health service use for mental health, self-harm or suicide-related reasons in school aged children in the regional area
• Describe the contribution of childhood adversity to risk of health service use for mental health, self-harm or suicide-related reasons in school age children.
• Explore the contribution of health service use for mental health, self-harm or suicide-related reasons, and childhood adversity on attainment of educational outcomes across primary and high school.

For further information please refer to University of Wollongong – supporting student well-being

This quantitative data-linkage study from the University of New South Wales led by Professor Tony Butler aims to determine the association between psychosis and offending behaviour in a population-based data-linkage study in NSW. The study aims to:

1. Examine the associations between psychosis and history of childhood maltreatment (neglect/abuse), OOHC and offending.
2. Examine the association between housing assistance and offending in those with and without psychosis. 

This important research fills a gap in the research which examines the mediating factors of mental illness on offending behaviours, such as other psychiatric comorbidities, sociodemographic factors, and characteristics of systems of care

This quantitative data-linkage study from the University of New South Wales led by Professor Tony Butler aims to address gaps in the existing research concerning mortality risks in individuals who have been incarcerated. The study will use linked administrative data to examine the rates, causes, and timing of mortality among adult and juvenile people involved in the NSW criminal justice system (including both people who have been imprisoned and those subject to community supervision) between 2001-2023. Risk factors for all cause and case-specific mortality will be examined which includes a history of child protection concerns or OOHC.

It is expected the findings of this study will add to an existing evidence base for the continuation of numerous programs such as transitional support programs for people leaving prison and the expansion of opioid substitution therapy within prisons via Corrective Services NSW. In addition, the findings will provide a much-needed evidence base to inform programs and policies aimed at addressing the health and wellbeing of young people engaged with the youth justice system and people who engage with the criminal justice system in community settings

This quantitative data-linkage PhD project from the University of New South Wales aims to investigate the factors contributing to recidivism and desistance from reoffending in young people known to both child protection and youth justice and consider the factors that may contribute to outcomes (e.g., type of abuse experienced, placements, health needs).

Findings of this study will lead to the development of targeted and effective interventions aimed at improving the health, well-being, and justice outcomes of young people who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Access to justice includes the right to be heard and the right to participate in legal proceedings. This mixed-methods PhD research project with the University of Technology, Sydney aims to:

• determine the extent to which children and young people subject to secure care orders have access to justice;
• evaluate what impact the type/method of legal representation has on a child or young person’s access to justice;
• identify how the cultural needs of First Nation children and young people are honored in secure care proceedings;
• review the appropriateness of other judicial settings for the management of secure care, including the Children’s Court of NSW.