Preventing the financial abuse of older people by a family member: Designing and evaluating older-person-centred models of family mediation. The financial abuse of older people is a significant social problem that is likely to intensify as Australia's ageing population continues to rise exponentially over the next twenty years. This project engages a broad range of stakeholders, including older people and their families, in the process of developing specialised models of family mediation to redu ....Preventing the financial abuse of older people by a family member: Designing and evaluating older-person-centred models of family mediation. The financial abuse of older people is a significant social problem that is likely to intensify as Australia's ageing population continues to rise exponentially over the next twenty years. This project engages a broad range of stakeholders, including older people and their families, in the process of developing specialised models of family mediation to reduce the incidence and severity of financial abuse within a framework that promotes social sustainability and family cohesion. The outcomes of the project, therefore, will have a direct and positive impact on policy and practice in the social and economic care of older people.Read moreRead less
Post-separation co-parenting apps: Can they help families avoid conflict? This project aims to examine the role and effectiveness of smartphone apps in supporting families to respond to the many challenges of post-separation co-parenting. In an increasingly digital landscape where poor app choices can have serious consequences for families, this knowledge is urgently needed by parents and family law practitioners. This project expects to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and ....Post-separation co-parenting apps: Can they help families avoid conflict? This project aims to examine the role and effectiveness of smartphone apps in supporting families to respond to the many challenges of post-separation co-parenting. In an increasingly digital landscape where poor app choices can have serious consequences for families, this knowledge is urgently needed by parents and family law practitioners. This project expects to deliver a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and risks of digital divorce apps. Expected outcomes include the first web-based decision-making tool to help separated parents make important decisions about managing post-separation communication. This should provide significant benefits, including a reduced risk of parental conflict and better outcomes for children.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
Improving court processing of protection applications for young children in the Children's Court of Victoria. The project applies collaborative expertise to improve "healthy starts" (National Research Priority Goal) for vulnerable children with child protection applications in their first 3 years. They need the courts to decide on means of protection and stability. For rural as well as urban areas, the project will identify factors that support or delay provision of stable environments for child ....Improving court processing of protection applications for young children in the Children's Court of Victoria. The project applies collaborative expertise to improve "healthy starts" (National Research Priority Goal) for vulnerable children with child protection applications in their first 3 years. They need the courts to decide on means of protection and stability. For rural as well as urban areas, the project will identify factors that support or delay provision of stable environments for children needing security in their early years. The project provides an evidence base for analyses and case flow management. By analysing court processes, it contributes data on protection cases that are lacking in Australia. This will be a lasting system for the Children's Court that can be generalised to other age groups and jurisdictions. Read moreRead less
Family Lawyers and Child-Focused Dispute Resolution: Managing Inter-Professional Relationships in the Family Law System. This multi-disciplinary project involving law, psychology, and social work, will shed light on the facilitators and inhibitors of effective collaboration between legal and social science professionals in the family law system. It will do this by exploring the knowledge base, attitudes, norms, and beliefs that underpin practice for both groups, as well as contextual factors aff ....Family Lawyers and Child-Focused Dispute Resolution: Managing Inter-Professional Relationships in the Family Law System. This multi-disciplinary project involving law, psychology, and social work, will shed light on the facilitators and inhibitors of effective collaboration between legal and social science professionals in the family law system. It will do this by exploring the knowledge base, attitudes, norms, and beliefs that underpin practice for both groups, as well as contextual factors affecting collaboration. The study is a response to government proposals to increase reliance on non-legal dispute management methods and mediation professionals to resolve post-separation parenting disputes. It aims to inform the design of better integrated professional services for separated parents in the family law system.Read moreRead less
The Efficacy of Family Mediation where Family Violence is Present. The family mediation model of dispute resolution offers separated couples a cheaper, more empowering method to resolve property and child custody matters. Current government policy encourages family mediation even where a history of violence exists, yet little is known about the safety and effectiveness of this approach. Family violence is experienced by over 20% of the adult female population with far reaching effects on emotion ....The Efficacy of Family Mediation where Family Violence is Present. The family mediation model of dispute resolution offers separated couples a cheaper, more empowering method to resolve property and child custody matters. Current government policy encourages family mediation even where a history of violence exists, yet little is known about the safety and effectiveness of this approach. Family violence is experienced by over 20% of the adult female population with far reaching effects on emotional and health status, family stability and child development. There is thus a critical need to determine the safety and wellbeing outcomes of current practice to inform policy development in handling difficult family violence cases. Read moreRead less