Our Team
The Australian Centre for Child Protection has a committed and
highly esteemed team of staff and PhD students, encompassing a wide
range of professional backgrounds including education, Indigenous
studies, communications, nursing, paediatrics, psychology and social
work. Our diverse disciplinary backgrounds and extensive collective
experience in research, policy development and direct service
delivery provide the breadth and depth required to fulfil our
mission and achieve our goals.
Our staff are actively engaged with peak bodies of non-government agencies and with State and Commonwealth ministerial advisory bodies, and we are regularly invited to participate in major inquiries and reviews of child protection policy and practice across Australia. This provides the opportunity to help close the gap between research and action.
Team Members include
We also include in our team, our National Advisory Council and our partners both nationally and internationally.
Our National Advisory Council
The Australian Centre for Child Protection is honoured to have a National Advisory Council of eminent Australians representing a range of disciplines and bringing a wealth of experience.
Chaired by the Honourable Justice Robyn Layton, members of the Advisory Council include:
- Professor Pal Ahluwalia (Pro Vice Chancellor, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia),
- Commissioner Gillian Calvert (NSW Commission for Children and Young People),
- Professor Mick Dodson AM (Director of the Institute for Indigenous Australia, Australian National University),
- Professor Sue Richardson (Director of the National Institute of Labour Studies, Flinders University),
- Ms Muriel Bamblett, (Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency Co-op Ltd) and
- Professor Graham Vimpani, AM (Clinical Chair, Kaleidoscope in Greater Newcastle, Hunter Children's Health Network, Head of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Newcastle).
Our partners
The Centre has formed strong partnerships with Commonwealth,
State and Territory Governments, peak non-government organisations,
national professional accreditation bodies, educational and research
institutions, and community organisations concerned with preventing
and responding to child abuse and neglect.
Our key partners include the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Families Australia, the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.
We advocate for relevant policy and program change and provide advice to government and non government organisations in relation to child welfare issues. Examples of our recent policy advice to Governments include:
- The Northern Territory Government on its proposed child protection legislation.
- The South Australian Government on its whole of government child protection strategy.
- The Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand on its child protection legislative review.
- The Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse in the Northern Territory (the Little Children are Sacred report).
- The Tasmanian Government on its Review of Child Protection Services in Tasmania.
- The Wood Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in New South Wales.
- The Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health on the implementation of the Nurse Family Partnership program.
- The Department of Family, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs on the development of a National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children.
- The Department of Child Safety in Queensland on its research and policy directions.