Living Down the Past: Criminal Record Checks and Access to Employment for Ex-offenders. This project will introduce increased certainty as to the rights and obligations of Australian employers and employees in the use of criminal records checks. It will have significant economic and social benefits for Australia, by helping to reduce the inappropriate exclusion of ex-offenders from employment; improving the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through facilitating their employment opportunities and lo ....Living Down the Past: Criminal Record Checks and Access to Employment for Ex-offenders. This project will introduce increased certainty as to the rights and obligations of Australian employers and employees in the use of criminal records checks. It will have significant economic and social benefits for Australia, by helping to reduce the inappropriate exclusion of ex-offenders from employment; improving the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through facilitating their employment opportunities and lowering rates of recidivism. Other outcomes will be to maximise Australia's labour supply and support efforts to prioritise social inclusion on the national agenda. The project will assist Australia to meet its international obligations and address human rights principles in relation to employment.Read moreRead less
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
Beyond Compliance - Safety, Health and Environmental Regulation in the Mining Sector, An Empirical Analysis. Through empirical research on the mining sector, this study will enrich our understanding of the motivators of corporate safety, health and environmental performance. It will explain how regulation, social licence pressures, economic constraints and internal management style, affect outcomes and cause some, but not others, to go 'beyond compliance'. Its significance will be to explain and ....Beyond Compliance - Safety, Health and Environmental Regulation in the Mining Sector, An Empirical Analysis. Through empirical research on the mining sector, this study will enrich our understanding of the motivators of corporate safety, health and environmental performance. It will explain how regulation, social licence pressures, economic constraints and internal management style, affect outcomes and cause some, but not others, to go 'beyond compliance'. Its significance will be to explain and model the pathways to better corporate safety, health and environmental performance and thereby advance regulatory theory and contribute to effective policy design. By facilitating and rewarding industry for going beyond compliance it will enable better policy outcomes at less cost.Read moreRead less
Meta-regulation and the Regulation of Law. Meta-regulation means the regulation of regulation (eg state regulation of corporate risk management systems). Meta-regulation is a response to complexity in managing relations between systems of governance, society and economy. Ten case studies will analyse the way ?regulators? (broadly defined) observe how real-world systems work and steer them indirectly by understanding internal systems. The project will develop a theory of meta-regulation that acco ....Meta-regulation and the Regulation of Law. Meta-regulation means the regulation of regulation (eg state regulation of corporate risk management systems). Meta-regulation is a response to complexity in managing relations between systems of governance, society and economy. Ten case studies will analyse the way ?regulators? (broadly defined) observe how real-world systems work and steer them indirectly by understanding internal systems. The project will develop a theory of meta-regulation that accounts for recent shifts in Australian governance. It will generate a meta-regulatory theory of law. Understanding meta-regulation may enhance regulatory effectiveness, social and procedural justice while advancing the international competitiveness of Australian regulationRead moreRead less
‘Traction’ or ‘Turbulence’ in Japanese Regulatory Style? - An Empirical Analysis of Japanese Commercial Law Reform since the 1990s. A massive program of law reform is fundamentally reconfiguring Japan's commercial law regime. But where will this reform lead? Many commentators predict the law's 'traction' to either a 'Japanese-style' system of informal governance or an 'American-style' system of transparent ex-post regulation. In contrast, this project hypothesises a more 'turbulent' process of l ....‘Traction’ or ‘Turbulence’ in Japanese Regulatory Style? - An Empirical Analysis of Japanese Commercial Law Reform since the 1990s. A massive program of law reform is fundamentally reconfiguring Japan's commercial law regime. But where will this reform lead? Many commentators predict the law's 'traction' to either a 'Japanese-style' system of informal governance or an 'American-style' system of transparent ex-post regulation. In contrast, this project hypothesises a more 'turbulent' process of law reform - one that is complex, conflicting, unpredictable and ongoing. Empirically testing this hypothesis against Japan's wave of commercial law reforms since the 1990s, this project aims to develop a model of legal and regulatory change in Japan. This model is of strategic importance for Australian policy-makers, business-leaders and legal advisors seeking to understand and respond to Japan's changing business and legal environment.Read moreRead less
Lessons from Asian Peacebuilding. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror. Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in societies such as Afghanistan. These national and regional diagnoses will enhance the quality of Australia's contribu ....Lessons from Asian Peacebuilding. War causes not only human suffering; it threatens the health and education of generations of children, sets back regional economies and encourages warlords to become transnational criminals who traffic in drugs, people, money laundering, guns and terror. Fresh insights will be obtained from the successes and failures of attempts to build peace in societies such as Afghanistan. These national and regional diagnoses will enhance the quality of Australia's contribution to security and stability in our part of the globe and increase national capacity to contribute to global peace strategies.Read moreRead less
Post-separation parenting and financial settlements: the long-term financial impacts of shared care. This proposal's focus on financial and parenting arrangements over time is both important and timely given increasing focus on shared post-separation parenting in Australia and internationally. By considering the impact of changes in shared care over time on financial decisions made at separation (especially property division), this proposal will establish how to embody in financial arrangements ....Post-separation parenting and financial settlements: the long-term financial impacts of shared care. This proposal's focus on financial and parenting arrangements over time is both important and timely given increasing focus on shared post-separation parenting in Australia and internationally. By considering the impact of changes in shared care over time on financial decisions made at separation (especially property division), this proposal will establish how to embody in financial arrangements the long-term changes associated with shared parenting. This will enable us to empower separating couples, their advisers and courts to make financial settlements which reduce the potentially adverse financial and social impacts of post-separation financial arrangements on children, carers, and our social security system.Read moreRead less
Enhancing Reproductive Opportunity in Australia: Reconsidering Consent, Altruism and the Legal Status of Embryos in ART Processes. This project meets the national research priority of a healthy start to life by enhancing reproductive opportunity while safeguarding the rights and interests of all involved in reproduction with donor gametes. This research will create significant national benefits in the form of an up to date, practical and coherent platform for the reform of all aspects of embryo ....Enhancing Reproductive Opportunity in Australia: Reconsidering Consent, Altruism and the Legal Status of Embryos in ART Processes. This project meets the national research priority of a healthy start to life by enhancing reproductive opportunity while safeguarding the rights and interests of all involved in reproduction with donor gametes. This research will create significant national benefits in the form of an up to date, practical and coherent platform for the reform of all aspects of embryo and gamete donation and embryo disputes. We propose a pro-active consultative model that centres the needs and experiences of gamete and embryo donors and recipients. Our research will inform current and future modes of regulation of gamete and embryo donation and dispute resolution, including legislation, ethics guidelines and codes of practice.Read moreRead less
A Consumer Bankruptcy Project - an interdisciplinary empiric inquiry into determinants and impacts of bankruptcy upon Australian debtors. The research will enhance the wellbeing of Australian society by obtaining a better understanding of the profile of bankrupt debtors, the reasons for personal default and the impact of the regulatory framework upon all stakeholders. It will draw parallels with US trends and apply an interdisciplinary empiric method to Australian personal insolvency data. The r ....A Consumer Bankruptcy Project - an interdisciplinary empiric inquiry into determinants and impacts of bankruptcy upon Australian debtors. The research will enhance the wellbeing of Australian society by obtaining a better understanding of the profile of bankrupt debtors, the reasons for personal default and the impact of the regulatory framework upon all stakeholders. It will draw parallels with US trends and apply an interdisciplinary empiric method to Australian personal insolvency data. The research will lead to an informed debate around critical wider issues such as financial literacy, managing money and self-funded retirement that impact upon the physical and material health of all Australians. The project promotes the reduction of financial distress and dependence in assisting efforts to shift the risk of economic burden of an ageing population from the Commonwealth.Read moreRead less
The Experiences of Parents and Children After Family Court Decisions About Relocation. This research will contribute to the improvement of decision-making about children in the family law system. It will enable an assessment of judicial decisions about whether a parent can relocate with children. It will make a unique contribution by gathering information from children and their parents about the effects of these decisions. The analysis will help parents, law-makers and judges to make better d ....The Experiences of Parents and Children After Family Court Decisions About Relocation. This research will contribute to the improvement of decision-making about children in the family law system. It will enable an assessment of judicial decisions about whether a parent can relocate with children. It will make a unique contribution by gathering information from children and their parents about the effects of these decisions. The analysis will help parents, law-makers and judges to make better decisions in this important and controversial area. This will have benefits for the happiness, health and prosperity of children and their parents. Better decision-making will also reduce the costs to government of family breakdown. Read moreRead less