Internal Regulation: Overcoming the Disconnect between Corporate Objectives and Health, Safety, Environmental and Community Performance. This research will enable corporations to identify the points of greatest leverage over corporate and facility level health, safety, environmental and community (HSEC) performance and to develop strategies that successfully achieve their HSEC objectives. It will provide broader national benefits in (i) reducing workplace injury and environmental degradation at ....Internal Regulation: Overcoming the Disconnect between Corporate Objectives and Health, Safety, Environmental and Community Performance. This research will enable corporations to identify the points of greatest leverage over corporate and facility level health, safety, environmental and community (HSEC) performance and to develop strategies that successfully achieve their HSEC objectives. It will provide broader national benefits in (i) reducing workplace injury and environmental degradation at multiple facilities across Australia and (ii) increasing productivity and economic benefits (by doing so at reduced cost to companies). The study will also benefit the Australian and regional communities by identifying strategies that facilitate better community-company relations. Read moreRead less
Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of crimin ....Criminalisation of poverty and homelessness in Australia: A national study. The project aims to assess the policing and enforcement of public order crimes and related offences (e.g. obstruct/disobey police, breach of bail, and minor property offences) on individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. The project endeavours to collect and analyse qualitative data from across Australia on the lived experience of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, regarding the impact of criminal laws and police powers concerned with presence in, and movement around public places. It will particularly focus on the impact on women, children and Indigenous peoples. The outcomes will seek to reduce the criminalisation of homeless people, by identifying law and policy reform options, and comparing their cost with that of 'business as usual'.Read moreRead less
How Much is it Worth? Legal Discourses and Everyday Understandings of Families, Work and Property. This project will analyse the extent of congruence between the legal discourses and everyday understandings of the contributions made by partners in married and unmarried relationships that form the basis for property division when relationships end. Its claim to innovation lies in its interdisciplinary approach, positioning such understandings within their wider historical and cultural contexts. T ....How Much is it Worth? Legal Discourses and Everyday Understandings of Families, Work and Property. This project will analyse the extent of congruence between the legal discourses and everyday understandings of the contributions made by partners in married and unmarried relationships that form the basis for property division when relationships end. Its claim to innovation lies in its interdisciplinary approach, positioning such understandings within their wider historical and cultural contexts. The project's findings will inform the ongoing and divisive debates between the court, the media and consumers about the justice of such distributions in Australia, providing a basis for design of laws that better meet the needs of the diverse range of Australian families. Read moreRead less
Enhancing Community Knowledge and Engagement with Law at the End of Life. This project explores how and if members of the community understand and act upon their legal right to participate in decisions about medical treatment for themselves or for their loved ones at the end of life. Little is currently known about whether individuals know the law, or are able to exercise their legal rights to be involved in the process of making decisions about treatment. This research aims to enhance patient a ....Enhancing Community Knowledge and Engagement with Law at the End of Life. This project explores how and if members of the community understand and act upon their legal right to participate in decisions about medical treatment for themselves or for their loved ones at the end of life. Little is currently known about whether individuals know the law, or are able to exercise their legal rights to be involved in the process of making decisions about treatment. This research aims to enhance patient and family decision-making through a better understanding of legal rights, powers and duties and to improve the experiences of patients and families at the end of life.Read moreRead less
The limits of disclosure: private rights, public duties and the search for accountable governance. A reliance on technical considerations such as enhanced disclosure, literacy programs and attempts to bifurcate between sophisticated and unsophisticated investors has each proved sub-optimal in the search for greater, or more accurately, effective accountability both here in Australia and internationally. The acceptance by the corporate sector to process risk allocation, develop a mutually endors ....The limits of disclosure: private rights, public duties and the search for accountable governance. A reliance on technical considerations such as enhanced disclosure, literacy programs and attempts to bifurcate between sophisticated and unsophisticated investors has each proved sub-optimal in the search for greater, or more accurately, effective accountability both here in Australia and internationally. The acceptance by the corporate sector to process risk allocation, develop a mutually endorsed formal and informal regulatory framework, and agree on clear and transparent roles and responsibilities marks a significant step forward. It is both significant and innovative that the design and implementation of the proposed strategic plan will derive from an extended exercise in deliberative democracy.Read moreRead less
Optimising Digital Compliance Processes in the Financial Services Sector. This project aims to develop a new approach to optimise digital compliance processes in Australian financial services firms. Effective digital compliance is needed to reduce growing regulatory burden and improve compliance with increasingly complex laws. This project expects to deliver new ways to optimise digital compliance that drive innovation and reduce the societal risks of non-compliance for end-users. Expected outco ....Optimising Digital Compliance Processes in the Financial Services Sector. This project aims to develop a new approach to optimise digital compliance processes in Australian financial services firms. Effective digital compliance is needed to reduce growing regulatory burden and improve compliance with increasingly complex laws. This project expects to deliver new ways to optimise digital compliance that drive innovation and reduce the societal risks of non-compliance for end-users. Expected outcomes include industry guidance strategies and innovative digital tools that capture the complexity of digital compliance and inform practical solutions. This will provide significant cost reduction benefits for firms and ensure that new digital compliance processes promote the public interest goals of law and regulation. Read moreRead less
Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults lacking capacity: Enhancing medical decision-making through doctors' compliance with the law. This project will enhance medical decision-making about the provision of life-sustaining treatment to adults without decision-making capacity through improved compliance with the law. This will advance patients' autonomy and dignity, protect vulnerable adults whose lives may be wrongly ended because of inappropriate treatment decisions a ....Withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from adults lacking capacity: Enhancing medical decision-making through doctors' compliance with the law. This project will enhance medical decision-making about the provision of life-sustaining treatment to adults without decision-making capacity through improved compliance with the law. This will advance patients' autonomy and dignity, protect vulnerable adults whose lives may be wrongly ended because of inappropriate treatment decisions and avoid litigation for doctors and hospitals. The project also aims to improve the quality of the law by resolving legal ambiguity and proposing reforms. This will further enhance the quality of decision-making, and will reduce defensive medicine and the cost of complying with the law, leading to savings in health expenditure.Read moreRead less
Legal risk management of adverse health outcomes and injury in the fitness industry: developing evidence-informed regulation that improves safety. This project analyses Australian laws, policies and practices designed to manage legal risks and liabilities in the fitness industry, and assesses their effectiveness in preventing adverse health outcomes, injuries, and the legal liability associated with those risks.
Women and Legal Aid: Identifying Disadvantage. Gender bias in legal aid provision has been identified as a source of women's social inequality. Given restricted legal aid budgets, however, the focus of concerns about gender bias must become whether any particular groups of women are disadvantaged in access to legal aid. This project will determine the impact of current legal aid funding practices on rural and regional women, Indigenous women, and other groups of women, in order to identify unmet ....Women and Legal Aid: Identifying Disadvantage. Gender bias in legal aid provision has been identified as a source of women's social inequality. Given restricted legal aid budgets, however, the focus of concerns about gender bias must become whether any particular groups of women are disadvantaged in access to legal aid. This project will determine the impact of current legal aid funding practices on rural and regional women, Indigenous women, and other groups of women, in order to identify unmet needs, and assist in the better targeting of scarce resources. The results of the research will provide a valuable input into the future development of legal aid policy and services for the most disadvantaged women.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impa ....Indigenous Justice Reports: new narratives and practices in sentencing. This project engages a participatory action research model to assess the impact of Indigenous Justice Reports in criminal sentencing on sentence practices and outcomes for Indigenous women. It introduces Indigenous Reports for Indigenous women in Victorian Koori Courts and expands their availability in Queensland Murri Courts. Its comparative research approach identifies how place-based factors influence the process and impact of Indigenous Reports on sentencing. This project seeks to improve sentencing processes and outcomes for Indigenous defendants by providing courts with reports that address personal and community circumstances of Indigenous women, provide relevant sentencing options and are accompanied with appropriate supports.Read moreRead less