Justice Collaboration 

Monthly Update 

22nd Edition, August 2026

Welcome to the Justice Collaboration’s August 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 new publications and projects, postgraduate theses from the archives, helpful resources and upcoming events!

New Publication: “A ripple effect of suffering” Children and young people’s experiences of parental immigration detention and deportation

A recent report co-written by Collaboration affiliate Dr Michelle Peterie in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission explores the impacts of parental immigration detention and importation on children and families. To date, little research has been undertaken into these impacts. Building on the now well-established evidence of direct harm on people who are detained, this report interrogates some of the indirect impacts of Australia’s immigration detention and deportation system. This report draws on findings from a qualitative study undertaken by the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies at The University of Sydney. It tells the stories of children and young people growing up in the shadow of Australia’s immigration detention and deportation systems. Between March 2024 and April 2026, 104 in-depth interviews were conducted with children (7–17yrs), young people (18-25yrs), and members of their immediate families and support systems. To enable children to share their perspectives safely, child participants were given the option of using arts-based methods in their interviews. This involved children drawing pictures about different aspects of their lives and experiences and telling us about these drawings. 105 online survey responses were also collected from children, young people and family members who preferred to participate in the study anonymously. To safeguard child participants’ safety, involvement in this online component of the study was limited to people who were at least 16 years old.

The overarching finding of this study is that children and young people are often acutely and adversely
impacted when a parent or caregiver is detained or deported. The authors argue that urgent action is needed to disrupt the current trajectory towards intergenerational harm.

You can find out more about the project here. You can read the final report here.

Project update: Design & Justice Catchup 

The Design & Justice group is an initiative of the Civic and Social Design Research Group and the Sydney Design Accelerator at the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, and the Justice Collaboration. Led by Collaboration member Dr Rohan Lulham, Dr Enya Moore and PhD candidate Rosary Coloma, the group seeks to bring together designers, practitioners and researchers interested in the purposes, practices and politics of designing change within and of the criminal justice system. The intention of the group is to create a collaborative space to share insights, experiences and practices. This includes considering the multiple perspectives on design and justice, raising and respectfully navigating tensions.

Following a successful full day symposium in late 2025, a Design & Justice group catchup was held in July 2026. The primary focus was an open discussion, with people from within and beyond the University of Sydney sharing developments and issues that were happening in their design and/or research practice. Participants also discussed getting design research artefacts (for example, journey maps and process maps) to be used by stakeholders and not sit on the shelf. Participants undertook some initial framing of the Design & Justice group including its purpose, positioning and values. Another full day gathering will be held in late 2026.

New Publication: Are there a lot of rules at home? Revisiting youth justice risk assessments as a racist technology of government

A recent article written by Collaboration member Dr Lobna Yassine examines the use of youth justice risk assessment tools. The assessment of ‘risk’ using standardized tools has become commonplace in social work roles across most human service organizations internationally. Despite the critiques of risk assessment tools as sustaining the status quo and disguising social oppressions, they continue to be applied by social workers (and youth justice staff) to marginalized populations. This article presents the findings from a systematic analysis of the juvenile justice risk assessment tool, the Youth Level of Service Inventory-Australian Adapted version, used in NSW, Australia. Drawing on concepts from critical race scholarship and governmentality studies, this analysis found that constructions of the tool as ‘neutral’ and ‘scientific’ function to produce specific types of subjects and conceal the racist and classist discourses that underlie risk assessment tools. This article contributes to social work knowledge in the field of youth justice, as well as social work more broadly, as it encourages a serious reconsideration of the taken-for-granted discourses that operate within standardized assessment tools and promotes ways to make space for alternative and socially just practices.

The article, published in The British Journal of Social Work, can be accessed for free here. 

Project update: RespectED 

The respectED program is a universal (designed to suit all students regardless of risk), school-based dating and relationship violence (‘DRV’) prevention initiative targeting Australian students in Years 9 and 10 (aged approximately 14-16 years). The program  is grounded in behaviour change theory—including Social Cognitive theory, Narrative Transportation theory, Information-Motivation-Behavioural-Skills model and Social Identity Model of Change. Co-designed with young people, teachers, and a multidisciplinary team of national and international experts, including people with lived experience of DRV, the program combines teacher-led classroom activities (focussed on skill building) with interactive cartoon storyboards (delivering relatable peer-led prevention messaging). 

A two-arm cluster randomised controlled trial will be conducted among Year 9 and 10 students at secondary schools across Australia. Schools will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (receive the respectED program) or the active control group (receive their regular health education). Students in both groups will be asked to complete three online self-report surveys over a 6-month period (baseline, post-intervention [~5-weeks post-baseline], and 6-months post-baseline) about their attitudes, knowledge and behaviours relating to adolescent dating and relationship violence. Students and teachers in the intervention group will also complete a brief evaluation of the respectED program.

You can read more about the study's protocol here.

In the media: AI-powered glasses improve everyday life for disability sector amid privacy concerns

Collaboration affiliate Dr Milly Stilinovic was recently featured in ABC Illawarra coverage about the use of AI-powered smart glasses. Dr Stilinovic discussed the proliferation of the technology and the associated harms on Illawarra Mornings with Nick Rheinberger. You can read the article here and listen to the radio broadcast here.

New Publication: Heat Exposure and Hospital Admissions for Mental Health Disorders in a Changing Climate

A new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre analysing  around 720,000 hospital presentations of people aged 0–24 in NSW has found that hotter than normal winter days are linked to a significant rise in acute mental health disorders, with further scenario modelling suggesting a significant rise in heat-attributable admissions by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.

The study showed that increased risk was observed in both cold and warm seasons, but high temperatures in winter were associated with increased hospital admissions for mental health disorders among children and young adults, with rises in presentations for schizophrenia, eating disorders, and deliberate self-harm only observed in cold seasons. Overall, heat accounted for over eight percent of admissions in cold seasons and almost three percent in warmer seasons. The risks during cold seasons were more pronounced for female patients and young adults. Using hospital presentation data, the study also conducted scenario modelling, predicting that by the last decade of this century, heat-attributable admissions could rise by six percent under low emission scenarios, almost eight percent under medium emission scenarios, and almost 21 percent under high emissions. The findings highlight the urgent need to prioritise mental health outcomes in climate adaptation and public health strategies.

The article, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, can be accessed for free here. You can read more about the project here.

New Publication: The Health and Economic Benefits of Youth Mental Health System Reform: Exploring the Optimal Mix of Interventions and Service Capacity Through Simulation Modeling

A new article co-authored by Collaboration affiliate Associate Professor Jo-An Occhipinti explored the use of formalized priority-setting frameworks and sophisticated modeling tools to guide mental health investment decisions. Constrained optimization analysis was used within a system dynamics modeling framework to systematically test the cost effectiveness of seven scenarios varying existing mental health services capacity growth, new interventions targeted at youths, and budget constraints on the amount of investment funds available for new interventions. Incremental net monetary benefit was the outcome selected to be optimized. Both healthcare and societal perspectives were adopted, and costs were in 2020 to 2021 Australian dollars. Allowing existing services to expand beyond their long-run average growth rates and implementing 5 of the interventions resulted in the following outcomes accumulated over 11 years compared with business as usual: 16 139 quality-adjusted life-years gained, 294 (13%) suicide deaths avoided, 41 663 (30%) mental-health related emergency department presentations avoided, and 5869 (17%) self-harm hospitalizations avoided. Combined with an investment of AUD$36.6 million in new interventions, total cost savings (societal perspective) were AUD$731.3 million, and incremental net monetary benefit (ie, overall economic value, societal perspective) was AUD$2.07 billion.

The article, published in Value in Health, can be accessed for free here.

Many postgraduate theses developed at the University of Sydney over the years may be of interest to those working in criminal justice. We highlight some of these freely available theses here. 

The enduring impact of childhood maltreatment on grey matter development - Casey Paquola (2018)

Childhood maltreatment doubles an individual’s risk of developing a psychiatric disorder, yet the neurobiological nature of the enduring impact of childhood maltreatment remains elusive. This thesis explores the long-term effect of childhood maltreatment on grey matter. The primary aims of this thesis are to discern the spatial extent, temporal profile and physiological breadth of the developmental impact of childhood maltreatment amongst young people with emerging mental disorder. Chapters III-V contain three original studies, involving a cohort of 123 young people, aged 14-26, with emerging mental illness. This thesis bridges a gap between cross-sectional child and adult studies by longitudinally mapping the developmental trajectory of the hippocampus and amygdala following childhood maltreatment. It provides the first direct evidence that childhood maltreatment stunts hippocampal development into young adulthood. Atypical neurodevelopment following childhood maltreatment may cause psychiatric disorder, as posited by neurodevelopmental theories of psychopathology. The present thesis characterised the biological phenotype of childhood maltreatment-related psychiatric illness. Understanding this phenotype will aid precision psychiatry and help overcome high levels of treatment resistance amongst individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment.

Casey Paquola’s thesis can be accessed for free here.

Testaments of transformation: The victim impact statement process in NSW as experienced by victims of crime and victim service professionals - Fiona Tait (2014)

This study, featuring one of the largest, broad-based samples of primary and family victims of crime (VOC) interviewed in-depth regarding the victim impact statement (VIS) process, aimed to address current gaps in VIS knowledge to include whether some sectors of the VOC community are better, or more poorly served by VIS process and why. Drawn from data collected from 66 VOC and 35 victim service professionals in NSW between 2010 and 2011, it further sought to uncover the exact therapeutic benefits of VIS and present a comprehensive picture of the NSW VIS process as experienced by VOC. Providing insight into difficulties and challenges that VOC negotiate when considering making a VIS, it presents a firsthand understanding of the nature, challenges and risks of the VIS writing experience and novel data on the impact of legal processes such as VIS editing, and types of assistance VOC use and require. Findings show the core therapeutic value of VIS is robust, standing alone, even where levels of anger or psychological trauma remain unaffected, and despite VOC dissatisfaction with other elements of their criminal justice experience or sentence handed down. However, findings also show that the nature of the crime, relationship with the offender, gender, literacy, culture, minority status and self-worth can individually or collectively impact VOC access and engagement with VIS process. The decision to make, write and present a VIS in court is complex; highly sensitive to exterior mechanisms, legal processes and relational forces; and emotionally, and for some, psychologically challenging. Provision of VIS information and support is variable, with high levels of editing and inconsistencies in editing rationale reported, suggesting some confusion regarding the intended purpose of VIS within sentencing proceedings. In response, the study provides recommendations regarding VIS process, specifically designed resource tools and further research.

Fiona Tait’s thesis can be accessed for free here.

Here we highlight some professional development opportunities and training resources. We hope these resources will assist those working with people at risk of engaging in criminal activity. 

Healthcare Education E-Learning

Created by the Centre for Disability Studies, this $25 training module is designed to equip participants with the knowledge about preventative healthcare for people with intellectual disability. Topics include health inequalities, common health issues, routine screening and interventions, and diagnostic overshadowing.

Through this 45-minute online module participants will learn to identify and understand the importance of proactive healthcare measures and ensure that the healthcare needs of people with intellectual disability are being addressed.

Sydney Institute of Criminology - 2026-2027 Criminal Law CPD Series

Keep up with the latest developments in criminal law and legal practice with the 2026/27 Criminal Law CPD Series, an engaging program featuring eight recorded webinars led by experts from the University of Sydney and the legal profession.

The webinars share practical knowledge and experience, as well as the latest developments to enhance your expertise while meeting CPD requirements.

Rhythm and Blues - sleep disturbance in youth mental health

Open to University of Sydney students and staff, the third Human Services Hub event will focus on sleep disturbances and showcase research by two Brain and Mind Centre research staff. Sleep issues are common for clients in various human service settings. This seminar will be relevant to students who will work in child protection, mental health, criminal justice, alcohol and other drug, and various other settings.

Speakers:

Dr Min Chong is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Brain and Mind Centre. During her PhD, she focused on technology-enhanced approaches to personalised mental healthcare and how young people engage with digital tools in care. In her current postdoctoral role, her work has expanded to examine the role of circadian rhythms in shaping mental health outcomes. In this talk, Min will reflect on the shifts and turning points in her journey as an early-career researcher.

Dr Jake Crouse is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre. For the last five years, Jake has led a program of clinical research investigating how sleep and circadian rhythms (body clocks) shape the mental health of people living with mood disorders and how they might be targeted to more effectively treat these conditions. In this talk, Jake will speak about the public health and societal impacts of sleep and circadian disturbances and will provide a narrative about his personal journey as a research scientist.

Details: 

Thursday, 23 September, 2026

Time: 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Venue: Law Lounge, Level 1, Law Annex, Sydney Law School

Registration: Free, but registration is required.

Students and staff can find out more about the event and register here.

Careers in Criminal Justice and Human Services

We invite University of Sydney students and staff to the fourth Human Services Hub event, where a panel of criminal justice and human services practitioners share their journeys.

This careers event will include a panel with three outstanding criminal justice and human services practitioners. They will share stories from their careers, how they got started, what roles opened up to them once they had a 'foot in the door', what advice they would give to make the most of your degree and how to plan for employment.

Speakers include:

Dr Evelyne Tadros is CEO of the Mental Health Coordinating Council and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW. She holds a Doctorate of Health Science and a Master’s in Child and Adolescent Health from the University of Sydney, and serves as a Board Director with St Vincent de Paul Society NSW and the Electricity & Water Ombudsman. Despite the titles, it’s her two teenage boys who reliably keep her grounded.

Sarah Ellis is a justice-sector specialist with a Master’s degree in Criminological Research and a career spanning youth justice, child safeguarding, corrective services, and policing across the UK and Australia. A Winston Churchill Fellow who investigated bullying and harassment in juvenile custody, she is driven by a lifelong commitment to improving outcomes for young people and those navigating the justice system.

Sindy Wang is a data analyst at the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Her work focuses on Closing the Gap, domestic violence and youth justice. She graduated with first class honours from the University of Sydney in 2021 and her criminology career began at the Sydney Institute of Criminology.

Collaboration Director Associate Professor Garner Clancey will facilitate this panel discussion.

Details: 

Tuesday 13 October, 2026

Time: 5-6.32pm

Venue: Law Foyer, Level 2, New Law Building (F10)

Registration: Free, but registration is required.

Students and staff can find out more about the event and register 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.

ANZOC Conference 2026: Justice reimagined: Bold ideas, real impact.

The Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC) 2026 Conference will be held in Adelaide, Kaurna Land, on 1-3 December 2026, hosted by Flinders University.

Held in South Australia for only the third time, the ANZSOC 2026 theme Justice Reimagined: Bold Ideas, Real Impact is designed to inspire new ways of looking at crime and justice.

ANZSOC 2026 will also feature pre-conference workshops on 30th November for 1) post-graduates; 2) industry policy makers and practitioners; and include a range of social events. The conference will be held by the beach in beautiful Glenelg.

Dates: 1-3 December 2026
Location: Stamford Grand Glenelg Beach, Adelaide, SA

Early Bird Registration is now open. You can find out more about the conference and register here.

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