Recognition after Uluru: what next for First Nations? This project aims to examine the extent to which Australia’s system of government appropriately serves and represents the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Such improvements offer the potential to enhance programs in areas such as health and education, including the Closing the Gap initiative. Drawing on public law principles as well as comparative and international legal material, the project will develop a model of ....Recognition after Uluru: what next for First Nations? This project aims to examine the extent to which Australia’s system of government appropriately serves and represents the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Such improvements offer the potential to enhance programs in areas such as health and education, including the Closing the Gap initiative. Drawing on public law principles as well as comparative and international legal material, the project will develop a model of governance against which the Australian system can be assessed. An audit will then be conducted of how that system operates in comparison to this model, before drawing conclusions and identifying potential reforms. The outcome of this project will be original scholarship of domestic and international significance that will inform academic and policy debate during and beyond the proposed referendum to recognise Indigenous peoples in the Constitution.Read moreRead less
Indigenous knowledge, law, society and the state. Law reform initiatives seek to foster ways of including Indigenous knowledge to resolve matters that come before the law more effectively, as well as redress social disadvantage. This project assesses existing programs in the courts and builds institutional capacity providing for more positive engagement with Indigenous knowledges on law and society.
PFAS transport through landfill clay liners enhanced with proteins. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of environmentally persistent, man-made chemicals found likely to be carcinogenic in humans. Due to their non-stick, water and stain repellences, PFAS have long been used in everyday products (food wrappers, carpets, furniture etc.) which end up in landfills. As it is currently unknown how PFAS move through the various components of landfill barriers, their fate and transpor ....PFAS transport through landfill clay liners enhanced with proteins. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of environmentally persistent, man-made chemicals found likely to be carcinogenic in humans. Due to their non-stick, water and stain repellences, PFAS have long been used in everyday products (food wrappers, carpets, furniture etc.) which end up in landfills. As it is currently unknown how PFAS move through the various components of landfill barriers, their fate and transport has become a priority for the regulators of Australia’s landfill sites according to the Australian 2018 PFAS National Environmental Management Plan. This research will determine PFAS transport through common clay barriers enhanced with proteins which have been shown to be an excellent sorbent for PFAS.Read moreRead less
What Aboriginal cosmology means for women and gender public policy. The project aims to examine the nature of Aboriginal or Yolngu cosmology and its meaning for and effect on public policy for women and gender. In the Northeast Arnhem region of Elcho Island at Gawa, the project will identify the Djurrwirr Yalu guiding principles used to enhance the levels of governance and other systems applied to their community, culture, traditional ecological environmental knowledge and skill sets. The antici ....What Aboriginal cosmology means for women and gender public policy. The project aims to examine the nature of Aboriginal or Yolngu cosmology and its meaning for and effect on public policy for women and gender. In the Northeast Arnhem region of Elcho Island at Gawa, the project will identify the Djurrwirr Yalu guiding principles used to enhance the levels of governance and other systems applied to their community, culture, traditional ecological environmental knowledge and skill sets. The anticipated benefits include supporting and retaining established Yolngu Australian researchers in traditional ecological environmental knowledge, and improving Yolngu wellbeing and quality of life.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the learning potential of incarcerated and low SES young people. This project aims to address the gap between incarcerated young people's (10-17 years) education and their future education, training and employment opportunities. Indigenous and low SES people young people face a lower quality of life in the areas of education, health and employment, and are at risk of both offending and re-offending because of low educational outcomes and life expectations. This project aims to focus on ....Unlocking the learning potential of incarcerated and low SES young people. This project aims to address the gap between incarcerated young people's (10-17 years) education and their future education, training and employment opportunities. Indigenous and low SES people young people face a lower quality of life in the areas of education, health and employment, and are at risk of both offending and re-offending because of low educational outcomes and life expectations. This project aims to focus on improving incarcerated Indigenous and low SES young people's mathematics education outcomes to reduce this risk and thereby improve these individual's potential to improve their quality of life.Read moreRead less
Re-Focussing Qualitative Research. This project involves an in-depth investigation into the use of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) in Aboriginal health services research. FGDs are a common way of gathering qualitative data in Aboriginal health services research, however, there have been no studies as to whether they are appropriate research tools in such contexts. The aim of this project is to generate the knowledge to inform the accountable, culturally appropriate, ethically sound and methodolog ....Re-Focussing Qualitative Research. This project involves an in-depth investigation into the use of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) in Aboriginal health services research. FGDs are a common way of gathering qualitative data in Aboriginal health services research, however, there have been no studies as to whether they are appropriate research tools in such contexts. The aim of this project is to generate the knowledge to inform the accountable, culturally appropriate, ethically sound and methodologically rigorous use of FGDs in qualitative Aboriginal health service research.Read moreRead less
A Deadly Solution:Towards an Indigenous-led bush food industry. Native bushfood and ornamental plants are a significant part of Indigenous biocultural heritage, yet few products are marketed by Indigenous businesses. This research aims to enable Indigenous businesses from bushfoods and native ornamental plants endemic to the Custodial Lands of four Traditional Owner partners. The Project will investigate new technologies for horticultural and food products, product traceability, and transparent ....A Deadly Solution:Towards an Indigenous-led bush food industry. Native bushfood and ornamental plants are a significant part of Indigenous biocultural heritage, yet few products are marketed by Indigenous businesses. This research aims to enable Indigenous businesses from bushfoods and native ornamental plants endemic to the Custodial Lands of four Traditional Owner partners. The Project will investigate new technologies for horticultural and food products, product traceability, and transparent and secure information flows. The expected project outcomes are: bushfood and ornamental plants developed for innovative value chains and business tools. Key expected benefits are: sustainable, profitable Indigenous industries, and revitalisation of Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous biocultural heritage. Read moreRead less
Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored thr ....Bringing Indigenous voices into judicial decision-making. This project aims to show how judgments can be written so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's voices and histories. This project will extend methodologies created by international scholars for correcting the absence of women’s voices, and produce the missing Indigenous judgment in twenty decisions of Australian superior courts. The gulf between judge-made law and the lived experience of Indigenous litigants will also be explored through an in-depth examination of four test case exemplars. This project’s benefits include building a new relationship between Australian judges and Indigenous people and contributing to Australia's jurisprudence on Indigenous people and the law.Read moreRead less
#thismymob: Digital land rights and reconnecting Indigenous communities. This project aims to investigate how social technology can connect Indigenous communities and enhance wellbeing; design culturally appropriate and sensitive technologies that afford a safe refuge for Indigenous peoples and their communities. This project will design and evaluate a mobile app to implement a national-scale, Indigenous-led technology development project and develop a national technology research and developmen ....#thismymob: Digital land rights and reconnecting Indigenous communities. This project aims to investigate how social technology can connect Indigenous communities and enhance wellbeing; design culturally appropriate and sensitive technologies that afford a safe refuge for Indigenous peoples and their communities. This project will design and evaluate a mobile app to implement a national-scale, Indigenous-led technology development project and develop a national technology research and development framework and post-secondary Indigenous software engineering curricula. The project expects to benefit Indigenous developers, entrepreneurs and start-ups to develop, operate and own technology.Read moreRead less
Improving the Well-Being of Low Socioeconomic Status Students at University. This project aims to investigate a new approach to improving the mental well-being of university students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. University students have a high risk of experiencing mental health problems, and students from low SES backgrounds have a particularly high risk. This project aims to investigate university-relevant Facebook groups as a method of improving the mental well-being of low ....Improving the Well-Being of Low Socioeconomic Status Students at University. This project aims to investigate a new approach to improving the mental well-being of university students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. University students have a high risk of experiencing mental health problems, and students from low SES backgrounds have a particularly high risk. This project aims to investigate university-relevant Facebook groups as a method of improving the mental well-being of low SES students by improving their online social integration at university. Expected outcomes and benefits include a scalable, low-cost approach to reducing an SES inequality that costs Australia billions of dollars each year.Read moreRead less