The quality of prisons for Indigenous persons in custody: determining how prison impacts on culture, community life and recidivism. International experience with Indigenous prisoners suggests prison need not be the void it presently is for too many traditional Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Through working in partnership with prisoners from primarily remote communities and two State jurisdictions, a nationally applicable measure of Indigenous prison quality will be developed. For the ....The quality of prisons for Indigenous persons in custody: determining how prison impacts on culture, community life and recidivism. International experience with Indigenous prisoners suggests prison need not be the void it presently is for too many traditional Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Through working in partnership with prisoners from primarily remote communities and two State jurisdictions, a nationally applicable measure of Indigenous prison quality will be developed. For the first time, this research will provide insight into how Australian Indigenous culture and spirituality relates to prison quality and how prison can be more effectively applied in crime reduction. The ultimate national benefit is a contribution to better health and safety in remote Indigenous communities through custodial reform and reduced criminal justice costs through lower recidivism.Read moreRead less
A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship betwee ....A Future Beyond the Wall: Improving Post-release Employment Outcomes for People Leaving Prison. Engaging in meaningful work has been shown to reduce re-offending by ex-prisoners, but few prison releasees internationally or in Australia gain employment, and successful pathways to employment for this group are poorly researched and understood. This study aims to gather and analyse, for the first time, comparative data from Australian jurisdictions and employment agencies on the relationship between in-prison and post-prison vocational education and employment programs, employment and recidivism. It aims to identify effective elements, strategies, program and policy directions in offender training and employment. This is a unique partnership amongst key academics in the field, peak national bodies, correctional and employment organisations.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sex-offenders in Australia: Assessing risk for practice and policy. A key priority of Australian governments is to improve community safety through reducing the risk of sex offenders re-offending after release from prison. This project will assess the validity of tools used to predict the risk of sexual offender recidivism and identify alternate risk assessment tools for Indigenous and non-Indigenous sex offenders.
Informing intervention responses to violent offenders through data linkage. The project aims to capitalise on new data access capacity to improve knowledge on violent offender pathways and criminogenic needs, such as acquired brain injury, to reduce offending and re-offending. Violence is a major social and health issue nationally and internationally. While there has been substantial investment in treatment/prevention campaigns, rates of violence remain high. Using diverse linked administrative ....Informing intervention responses to violent offenders through data linkage. The project aims to capitalise on new data access capacity to improve knowledge on violent offender pathways and criminogenic needs, such as acquired brain injury, to reduce offending and re-offending. Violence is a major social and health issue nationally and internationally. While there has been substantial investment in treatment/prevention campaigns, rates of violence remain high. Using diverse linked administrative data, we will identify key risk factors and times in trajectories, as well as effective treatment/justice responses. Expected benefits include evidence-based recommendations and engagement with policymakers targeting recidivism, offender screening, treatment, and coordinated violence prevention policy and practice.Read moreRead less
Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively target ....Vulnerable families: A study of the impact of parental offending and incarceration on children's developmental outcomes. The limited evidence available suggests that parental incarceration severely compromises the development and well-being of children and increases the risk of delinquency. The financial and personal costs to the community of individuals embarking on an offending career are substantial. Significant cost-savings and prevention of victimisation could result from effectively targeting this high-risk population. This research will identify where and when scarce government resources should be targeted. Appropriately timed programs can deliver a range of long-term benefits for children, families and communities. The research will also investigate the reintegration of prisoners into their families, with the aim of reducing prisoner recidivism.Read moreRead less
Ecosystem restoration of bauxite-processing residue sand disposal areas in Western Australia: Important biogeochemical processes and effective fertilisation strategies. Alumina production is one of Australia's most important mining activities. Residue from bauxite-processing must be managed appropriately to minimise detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment. The location of Alcoa's WA Refineries in environmentally- and community- sensitive areas necessitates a detailed understanding of ....Ecosystem restoration of bauxite-processing residue sand disposal areas in Western Australia: Important biogeochemical processes and effective fertilisation strategies. Alumina production is one of Australia's most important mining activities. Residue from bauxite-processing must be managed appropriately to minimise detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment. The location of Alcoa's WA Refineries in environmentally- and community- sensitive areas necessitates a detailed understanding of residue disposal area (RDA) management. Currently little is known about the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon in the residue sand despite its importance for sustainable rehabilitation practice. Findings from this project are critical for developing improved fertilisation strategies and protocols for ecosystem restoration of RDAs, which will be applicable both in Australia and overseas. Read moreRead less
Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining ....Optimising seed sourcing for effective ecological restoration. This project aims to address the sourcing of native seed for ecological restoration under global change. The great demand for native seed to deliver ecological restoration provides a clear need and responsibility to use this seed as efficiently as possible. This project expects to develop detailed new knowledge that links plant and environmental genomics, plant physiology, seed and soil biology in embedded experiments at post-mining rehabilitation sites. Expected outcomes include clear industry guidelines that refine seed sourcing strategies for ecological restoration for current and future climates. This should provide significant benefits for improved ecological restoration outcomes when using native seed today and into the future.Read moreRead less
Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich so ....Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich soils, northwest Queensland, for their capabilities and revegetation potential when grown in mine wastes of the Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn mine. Outcomes will include practical, innovative methods of mine site rehabilitation that are low-cost and environmentally-friendly.Read moreRead less
Enhancing native seed performance for minesite restoration and biodiversity conservation. The knowledge and practical outcomes generated from this project will facilitate more effective restoration of degraded native ecosystems through the return of a wider range of key understorey plant taxa and more efficient use of seed supplies. Availability of a broader suite of species will increase biodiversity, improve ecosystem resilience to change, and help in the conservation and recovery of nationall ....Enhancing native seed performance for minesite restoration and biodiversity conservation. The knowledge and practical outcomes generated from this project will facilitate more effective restoration of degraded native ecosystems through the return of a wider range of key understorey plant taxa and more efficient use of seed supplies. Availability of a broader suite of species will increase biodiversity, improve ecosystem resilience to change, and help in the conservation and recovery of nationally threatened taxa. By increasing the range of species with horticultural potential available for commercial propagation, it will also reduce the harvest of wild flowers. More efficient production and use of seed stocks will reduce the pressure on limited seed resources from seed harvesting.Read moreRead less
Development of cryopreservation for high value provenance collections of recalcitrant plant species used in post-mining restoration. This project will develop new and innovative ways to store highly valued native plant germplasm at ultra cold temperatures (-196 °C, in liquid nitrogen) as a means to ensure that elite genotypes used in minesite restoration and critically endangered species are not lost forever to extinction. This project will be the first of its type in Australia utilising a multi ....Development of cryopreservation for high value provenance collections of recalcitrant plant species used in post-mining restoration. This project will develop new and innovative ways to store highly valued native plant germplasm at ultra cold temperatures (-196 °C, in liquid nitrogen) as a means to ensure that elite genotypes used in minesite restoration and critically endangered species are not lost forever to extinction. This project will be the first of its type in Australia utilising a multidisciplinary approach to answer key storage questions and will provide significant national benefits to conservation programs and landcare groups, providing these with additional resources to ensure the long-term survival of native plant germplasm collections. Read moreRead less