Social justice is central to driving transformational policy change that benefits people and planet, and is an essential component for ensuring inclusive and equitable outcomes on key eco-social and economic issues. With a focus on equity and human rights, research in this programme finds solutions to problems of disempowerment, social marginalisation and exclusion by investigating the complex social processes, laws, institutions and practices that can improve policy-making practices and outcomes in the future - especially for disadvantaged or marginalised groups
What we do
Food justice and climate action:
- understanding the social and political dimensions of food insecurity and climate vulnerability using document analysis, stakeholder mapping, participatory policy analysis and participatory future scenarios.
Homelessness, poverty and welfare policy:
policy and programme analysis through understanding lived experiences, in combination with population-level data (e.g. surveys) and project evaluation.
Rights-based sustainable development and SDGs:
- overcoming disciplinary/sectoral siloes in sustainable development by synthesising insights, data and policies across social, economic and environmental spheres.
Civil society, social change and governance:
working with civil society, government and industry stakeholders to improve participatory decision-making, multi-stakeholder collaboration and co-created outcomes.
Participatory mixed methods:
research-co-design, interviews, focus groups, workshops, thematic analysis, community-led PAR, yarning circles.
Innovative translation methods:
- engaging public audiences with creative translation methods such as illustration, video, blogs and podcasts.
We are interested in working with you.
To commission research or find out more about this theme, please contact Theme Lead: Dr Kiah Smith.
Current Projects
- The Forgotten Children, Ten Years On (ARC Linkage Project)
- Coastal Horticulture in Northeastern Australia (ARC Discovery Project)
- St Vincent de Paul evidence research partnership (2023-2026)
- Activating employment futures through work integration social enterprise (ARC Linkage Project administered through The University of Melbourne)
Past Projects
- Advancing equitable and non-discriminatory access to health services for First Nations peoples: A multidisciplinary Queensland Human Rights Act case study
- Conditional Welfare: A Comparative case study of Income Management Policies
- Seamless Journeys to Work for Young Adults with Disabilities (ARC LInkage Project)
- A Just Climate Transition: Developing a social justice framework for a just climate transition in rural Victoria (ARC Linkage Project administered by the University of New South Wales)
- Photovoice and Service User Driven Transformations (Anglicare Southern Queensland)
- An evaluation of the Keeping Families Together (KFT) project that provides supportive housing for families experiencing vulnerabilities.
- A ten year empirical review of tenancies at Common Ground Queensland.
- Reconceptualising Indigenous education through a discourse of excellence
- Investigating the role and performance of civil society organisations in achieving the SDGs in Germany and Australia
- Investigating how community food networks address inequalities in food access by advancing understandings of food justice and governance