Justice Collaboration 

Monthly Update 

18th Edition, April 2026

Welcome to the Justice Collaboration’s April update!

The University of Sydney's Justice Collaboration aims to improve justice outcomes and to ultimately prevent crime.

The University of Sydney has numerous strengths in this area and has a track record of work across disciplines, faculties and research centres directly and indirectly relevant to justice systems and people in conflict with the law. 

In this edition we showcase recent publications and projects, some helpful resources and upcoming events!

The University of Sydney’s central campus sits on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and has campuses as well as teaching and research facilities situated on the ancestral lands of the Wangal, Deerubbin, Tharawal, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi, Bundjulong, Wiljali and Gereng Gureng peoples. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who have cared and continue to care for Country.

New Project: Ensuring young people are safe, well, and respectED

Dr Amy-Leigh Rowe and Dr Siobhan O’Dean from the Matilda Centre are leading an evaluation of a new evidence-based consent education program. The respectED program has been co-designed with young people, including those with lived experience, to ensure the content is relevant, authentic, and resonates with the realities they face. The program will be delivered in schools in years 9 and 10 (Stage 5) and aims to prevent relationship and sexual violence through empowering young people with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate relationships both online and offline.

A randomised control trial will be used to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. Expressions of interest are now open for schools to register for the respectED trial in 2026. Please get in touch or email the team at respectED.study@sydney.edu.au for more information.

Introducing the Human Services Hub - a new initiative for University of Sydney students 

The Human Services Hub is an initiative at the University of Sydney to provide students who might work in one of the many human services with an opportunity to hear from practitioners, learn skills, develop professional networks and to receive updates on relevant policy reforms. A series of free events will be open to University of Sydney students who might want to work in (but not limited to): child protection, criminal justice, disability support, alcohol and other drugs, mental health, social justice, and welfare systems/agencies.

Justice Collaboration Director Associate Professor Garner Clancey hosted the first Human Services Hub event last week. Students heard from Angus Chance, a child protection caseworker at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. Angus gave great insights into the child protection system, shared the skills needed for his role and answered students' questions about his work. 

The next Human Services Hub event will take place on Thursday 23 April and will focus on Community Corrections. In this event, students will hear from two experienced Community Corrections staff working with the NSW Drug Court. They will explain their roles and work, giving insight into potential roles and careers that students might pursue upon graduation. University of Sydney students can learn more about this event and reserve a spot here. 

Research Student Spotlight: Luke Strong 

Luke Strong is a PhD candidate at the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning.

Luke's research examines the relationship between acoustic design, occupied noise patterns and inmate behaviour in operational correctional environments in New South Wales. To date, more than 100 total days of noise logging has been completed across 10 maximum-security remand units in four correctional centres, alongside impulse response measurements to characterise the acoustic conditions of each space. The data will be used to better understand how acoustic design shapes noise exposure in correctional settings, and how sustained exposure may influence behaviour and overall wellbeing for both inmates and officers.

The project is being supervised by Associate Professor Densil Cabrera and Collaboration Member Dr Rohan Lulham.

Recent Research: Understanding families with multiple, complex, and unmet service needs in the NSW child protection system

Academics from across the University of Sydney recently published an article analysing the service needs of families in contact with the child protection system. Researchers used population-level, high-volume linked administrative data from the NSW Human Services Data Set to quantify the prevalence of children reported to child protection services who live in families with co-occurring domestic and family violence (DFV), substance misuse (SM), and mental health (MH) issues.

The sample comprised a retrospective cohort of 584,365 unique children with a first child protection Helpline record between 2004 and 2018. Out of 584,365 children, 33% had at least one Helpline concern of DFV. Of these, 81% recorded only DFV, 16.6% had DFV in combination with either SM or MH, and 2.4% recorded all three. For a large share of these children, there was evidence in other systems that their parents had those issues prior: up to 47% had a police report for DFV, 34% (37%) were treated in ambulatory care for (diagnosed with) MH, and 27% had a diagnosis of SM.

The authors conclude that information linked together from other service systems can help identify and create avenues for interventions to support the large share of families with multiple and complex service needs prior to child protection involvement.

The article, published in Child Protection and Practice, can be accessed here. 

New Research: Clinical Features of Children at Risk of Profound Autism

Academics from the Brain and Mind Centre and Westmead Hospital have conducted the first Australian study to examine the assessment of “profound autism” - a category coined in 2021 to describe autistic people who have little or no language (spoken, written, signed or via a communication device), who have an IQ of less than 50, and who require 24-hour supervision and support. 

The authors examined data from 513 autistic children assessed between 2019 and 2024. A quarter of children presenting with autism also met the profound criteria. These children were of younger age (Age = 1.79 years) at first concern and at diagnosis (Age = 3.93 years) than children in the not profound group. Almost half (49.6 percent) showed behaviours that were a safety risk, such as attempting to run away from carers, compared with one-third (31.2 percent) of other autistic children.

Importantly, the authors found the definition of “profound autism” doesn’t always line up with the official diagnostic levels which determine the level of support and NDIS funding children receive. 8 percent of children at risk of profound autism were classified as level 2, rather than level 3 (the highest level of support). Meanwhile, 17 percent of children classified as level 3 did not meet criteria for profound autism. This suggests that modifications will be needed if the criteria for “profound autism" is going to be used to inform funding decisions

The article, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, can be accessed here. More information on the research can be found here.

We are currently conducting a review of resources created by the University of Sydney that may be useful when working with young people. 

Over the next few newsletters we will highlight some great resources created across the University. These resources cover a broad range of areas including alcohol and other drug use, mental health, communication and parenting. We hope these resources will assist those working with young people at risk of engaging in criminal activity. 

Strong and Deadly Futures 

Created by the Matilda Centre, Strong & Deadly Futures is a culturally-inclusive and curriculum-aligned alcohol and drug prevention program designed specifically for secondary students. It is the first program of its kind to be co-developed with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Importantly, the program takes a strengths-based approach, embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and evidence-based strategies to empower all students, foster safe attitudes, enhance psychological wellbeing, and prevent alcohol and drug-related harm.

Fostering Lifelong Connections

Led by the Research Centre for Children and Families, Fostering Lifelong Connections was a 3-year project exploring how the out-of-home sector could better support relationships between children, their families and carers.

The project website houses resources and tools for caseworkers, carers and families. This website also contains a 7 module online training program for those working in the out-of-home sector. 

2026 Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference 

Griffith Criminology Institute and NSW BOCSAR are hosting the 2026 Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference (ARCJC), showcasing practical, policy-relevant research that bridges evidence to real-world criminal justice practice.

Join policymakers, academics, and stakeholders on 21-22 July 2026 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre for the theme Transforming Criminal Justice Systems: Bridging Research & Evidence-based Practice. Explore subthemes like: Evidence-based Policing, Indigenous Justice, Technology & Crime, Youth Justice and more.

Invited keynote speakers include: 

Professor Tom R. Tyler (Yale) 

Professor Susan Dennison (Transforming Corrections Centre)

Professor Kyllie Cripps (Monash Indigenous Studies)

Professor Stephane Shepherd (Deakin Forensic Psychology)

Professor Tamara Walsh (UQ Pro Bono Centre)

Dates: 21-22 July 2026

Location: Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre 

You can find out more about the conference here.

6th Australasian Youth Justice Conference 

The Australasian Youth Justice Administrators (AYJA) invite you to participate in the 6th Australasian Youth Justice conference.

Equitable and inclusive outcomes are achieved through understanding and responding to the unique strengths, challenges, and aspirations of diverse communities. This year’s theme recognises place-based, community-driven approaches and solutions to address overrepresentation and diversity in metropolitan, regional, and remote contexts that genuinely reflect lived experiences. This Conference will provide a platform to share what better outcomes look like for young people in the youth justice system, their families/whānau and communities wherever they are and whoever they may be.  

Two main sub-themes of this conference will be leading practice through culture and connection and weaving the voices of young people into evidence-informed practice.

Dates: 30th September - 2nd October 2026
Location: Murrundi - Murray River, SA.

You can register for the conference here. You can submit an abstract here.

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