Reports

In response to a request from the Victorian Department of Justice made on behalf of the Standing Council on Law and Justice, we were invited to: 1. Conduct a literature review of existing research and studies that discuss the use of social media by empanelled jurors and in particular the purpose and effect of such use and describe this research and these studies. 2. Review any policy implemented in interstate or overseas (Commonwealth) jurisdictions that aims to address potential prejudice caused by a juror's access to and use of social media, and provide details regarding whether any policy has been successful.

The Griffith Climate Action Beacon (CAB) seeks to develop knowledge, leadership, capacity, and responses to enable effective and just action throughout society, with a focus on interdisciplinary research and cross-sectoral practice collaborations as catalysts for change. A key point of difference from other facilities is that the CAB’s interdisciplinary and partnership approach enables research disciplines and communities-of-practice to collaboratively define, research, implement, and evaluate solutions for climate action.

This research reports on the lived-living experience of people who use drugs involved in Queensland’s new Drug Diversion Program, enacted May 2024. The Program, which prioritises support and education rather than criminalisation, has demonstrated positive results in providing meaningful alternatives to the previous penalties for illicit substance possession. The participants interviewed expressed appreciation for the care-oriented approach, highlighting the value of support services that address the structural vulnerabilities of those facing stigma and barriers to healthcare access. The findings of this research have led to recommending the continuation and expansion of the Program, with further integration of peer voices and harm reduction education. Ongoing monitoring, increased accessibility to health services, and advocacy for policy shifts towards health-based approaches are crucial next steps to sustain and enhance the Program’s long-term success.

This report presents analysis of the purpose, vision and mission statements of arguably the world’s most sustainable companies. The focus on these companies was to see what could be learnt, particularly as they are aiming to be more purposeful in a general sense and thus will not view purpose as merely a way to make money, but rather their reason for being, with money being an outcome. Overall, 131 companies from across the globe were reviewed, the list of companies being formed from two sources: Corporate Knights annual list of the world’s most sustainable companies and GlobeScan’s sustainability leaders survey. The companies were of significant size (>USD1bn revenue), mostly publicly traded and operated across a range of industries. The analysis of these companies’ purpose, vision, and mission statements focused on whether they had a purpose statement that tackled what the world needs or not, a vision statement that perpetuated a world we might want to live in or not, or a mission statement that was about them alone or not. Following this categorisation, the companies were cross-referenced to the index of their market capitalisation over the last fourteen years (2010 to 2024). The results should make any C-suite or board member take notice and consider how purposeful, in a general sense, their organisation is.

This project was undertaken on the initiative of Media Diversity Australia, who had expressed concern about the levels of online harassment and abuse that many of their members were reporting. While it has become almost commonplace for journalists and media workers to expect some form of harmful or derogatory online commentary on their work and/or identities, this problem appeared to be exacerbated when the journalist or producer involved was from a minority community – particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), LGBTQIA+, or people living with a disability. The purpose of this project, then, was to investigate this issue with independent research, speak to a range of journalists and media workers from diverse backgrounds, and understand their experiences and recommendations for ways that their safety might be better protected.

Overall, our study found that many journalists and media workers from minority backgrounds were experiencing online harassment and abuse from members of the public, and that often, this behaviour was considered ‘part of the job’ in the modern, digital environment. While we found some employers were making good efforts to assist their employees from diverse backgrounds, too often issues such as industry complacency and in-built (systemic, institutional) racism and discrimination were impacting on organisations’ ability to properly protect diverse media workers. Our data also demonstrates that, sometimes, journalists from diverse backgrounds were operating in what they considered to be hostile work environments. Further, we found that while many were aware of both informal and formal reporting mechanisms, they found most comfort and support from friends, family and other diverse co-workers rather than from any of the supports that existed. The research suggests that while some were familiar with formal reporting mechanisms, many were not; and many also had little faith in the ability of formal mechanisms to achieve change. There was a strong sense that people from diverse backgrounds did not want to be identified as the ‘difficult’ person in their organisation and that acceptance, adaptation and sometimes silence were used as ways to navigate the environment, rather than formal complaints mechanisms.

The normalisation of online harassment and abuse was found to lead to significant workplace health and safety issues for some of the people we spoke to. A number were interviewed after they had left the industry—usually for public relations positions—because the ongoing pressure to create high-profile social media personas, and to increase public engagement with their work was exposing them to significant abuse that they felt they could no longer tolerate. Both Facebook and Twitter were identified as the platforms that generated the most problematic abuse – through bots, trolls, racists and a lack of systematic and structured action from these platforms to move beyond addressing individual comments and to develop protocols to exclude perpetrators in a more comprehensive way.

We will explain these key issues in more detail throughout this report, and in our Conclusions. What is clear is that this is a major issue for Australia’s media organisations to address immediately – to protect their journalists and other media workers from what sounds to us like an onslaught of online abuse – and to be aware that their workers from diverse backgrounds are often the target of the harmful and discriminatory abuse. This was compounded when several diversity issues were at play – many of our research participants who were also women were particularly targeted and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were also LGBTQIA+ were disproportionately targeted. Importantly, many stated that they were not being protected by the existing mechanisms of online social media platforms and so the continued requirement for journalists and media workers in some media organisations to have a high-profile social media presence is exposing them to significant risk.

Note that our Recommendations below do not suggest that all Australian media companies are failing their diverse workers all the time – indeed, some have taken the challenge on and are doing good work to try to address the issues. There’s no doubt, however, that the research evidence suggests this is still a significant problem; and that many journalists and media workers are struggling to find ways to combat and address online harassment and abuse, either formally or informally. Additionally, many do not feel their organisations are appropriately equipped – and in some cases, do not have the organisational culture, or the will – to address the issue properly.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the millennium development goals in 2015 (United Nations, 2015). They include a resolution to end poverty and hunger, build peaceful societies, empower women and girls and protect the planet. Achieving these goals necessitates a move away from direct funding within the donor community towards an approach of empowering and enabling communities to help themselves. The SDGs define global priorities for development up to the year 2030 and are pivotal for addressing the global economic, social and environmental challenges faced by the communities. They promote a wide range of actions in public and private sectors that can foster economic growth through new and innovative ways. [...]

The dominance of industrial extraction from natural forests is at odds with the science of the climate and biodiversity crises. The multiple ecosystem benefits of natural forests are undervalued because of the focus on the economic benefits derived from industrial timber and wood pulp extraction, mining, and agriculture. As a result, natural forest loss and damage are still increasing in many regions of the world, particularly in primary forests, which is unsustainable. Efforts to generate sustainable incomes from forests, through carbon finance and other payments for ecosystem services, have often had negative ecosystem impacts and have struggled to achieve social benefits. Conventional approaches to sustainable finance do not embed strong governance and effective planning that protect forest ecosystem integrity, as seen in recent reporting and analysis of carbon project failures. The Basket of Benefits approach offers a framework for assessing the full range of natural forest values. The approach supports just benefit sharing and forest protection, based on an understanding of ecosystem integrity and full recognition and valuation of their ecosystem services.

Disempowerment and power imbalances, such as those related to race, gender, disability or sexuality, can amplify the impacts of workplace sexual harassment. Despite this, little evidence exists to guide government and employers in preventing and addressing the specific harms of workplace sexual harassment for migrant and refugee women.

This report draws on survey responses from almost 1,400 migrant and refugee women across Australia. While the survey is not a representative sample, and cannot provide a comprehensive account of the experiences of all women from migrant and refugee backgrounds, it offers a unique snapshot of a sample of women from across Australia who were willing to share their experiences. It offers key insights to build a more nuanced understanding of the diversity of migrant and refugee women’s experiences and its findings can be used to inform policy and other measures that may best support migrant and refugee women into the future.

The report is organised into three parts: Domestic and Family Violence (DFV); Victimisation, Help-Seeking and Trust in Institutions; and Employment. Across DFV and Employment we consider 2019 (that is, prior to COVID-19) and the period from March 2020 until September– November 2020, when the survey was available.

The original focus of this survey was women’s safety, with a spotlight on domestic and family violence. However, given the disruption, impact and hardships caused by the global pandemic, the survey shifted to accommodate the rupture of 2020 and questions were included to examine life and safety before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the survey was not dedicated to identifying the depth and breadth of the repercussions of COVID-19, it captured key data on how stay-at-home directives and other policy measures related to the pandemic impacted women’s experiences of domestic and family violence, employment, and financial security. The survey findings provide a foundation for important knowledge regarding the experiences and needs of women across Australia’s diverse migrant and refugee communities as we look towards a post-COVID-19 future.

This progress report highlights the advancements made in the analysis of the Pacific Islands Export Survey data over the past decade. It highlights the unique insights derived from the comprehensive data and underscores the significant milestones achieved by Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia. Marking the 10-year anniversary, the longitudinal case study documents the pivotal role of PTI Australia in fostering export growth and economic development in the Pacific region.

In the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, revitalising the small-scale enterprise sector presents an opportunity for economic recovery and capacity building. Recognising the potential of technology as a transformative tool, the Griffith Asia Institute, with funding from the Foundation for Development Cooperation (FDC), has partnered with the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) to explore interventions aimed at fostering growth-oriented small-scale enterprises through digital technology. This project, in collaboration with the development banks of Samoa, Solomon Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), seeks to enhance small-scale enterprise access to finance, education, human capital, and enterprise support systems across the region.

This report presents the findings from the initial phase of the project, which involved data collection from Samoa, Solomon Islands, and FSM. Through interviews with local institutions and surveys of current and prospective small-scale entrepreneurs, the research highlighted how entrepreneurial behaviors impact the ability to overcome development constraints and identified existing support mechanisms. A key finding is that many small-scale enterprises function primarily as livelihoods, lacking formal business models or growth aspirations, which limits the potential impact of the support provided by financial institutions and development practitioners.

A survey of hospitality employees working in Australia, administered ‘amid-COVID-19’ across late 2021 and early 2022 yielded 383 usable responses. The survey sought to understand hospitality industry employee perceptions of their working experiences relative to the five Fairwork Principles: fair contracts, fair pay, fair conditions, fair representation, and fair management. The survey was also administered by international colleagues to hospitality workers in Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Greece, and New Zealand.

There is a need to develop greater understanding of the prevalence, nature and impact of SSV, including region-specific evidence. The purpose of this Summary Report is to provide a picture of SSV perpetration and victimisation, as reported by a sample of young people living in Australia. This is intended to fill a gap in current understandings of the prevalence and nature of SSV in Australia, and to inform improved policy and practice responses to this form of domestic and family violence.

We commend the Australian Government and the Department of Social Services for pursuing this important election commitment, and for showing the leadership needed to ensure that all Australians, including those with disability, can participate and enjoy the benefits of meaningful employment. Our response to the Options Paper has focused on an ecological-systems approach, where improvements in employment outcomes for people with disability (PWD) is argued to require an integrated, coordinated approach that reflects the needs and strengths of different stakeholders.

However, we argue that the Centre should focus on improving the capability and capacity of employment service providers as they are best positioned to have a direct impact on employment outcomes. To this end, a cooperative research centre model is proposed to bring together the different stakeholders and to provide an administrative structure for the proposed Centre.

This study focuses on issues of leadership and organisational ethics. It is based on 41 indepth interviews – three with chief officers and at least five with frontline officers in each of five case study forces from England and Wales. The aim of the research was to explore the impact that senior leadership was perceived to have on ethical police behaviour, particularly that of those officers and staff in frontline roles. Its key findings were as follows:

• Overall, the large majority of interviewees felt there had been a positive shift in the style of police leadership in recent years. There was a general sense leaders had moved away from an autocratic style to a more inclusive and open approach. Most current leaders in the five study forces were seen as consultative and good communicators.
• Interviewees found it difficult to disentangle the factors that constituted effective leadership in general from those that specifically promoted ethical behaviour. The belief that ethical behaviour was a ‘natural consequence’ of effective leadership was common.
• A range of opinions about leadership styles were evident in all study forces, though the importance of honesty, integrity, visibility, transparency, and consistent and clear messages were emphasised, and reportedly had a clear impact on morale.
• Evidence suggested that leaders were seen as both figureheads and role models for conduct. Setting values and standards, and communicating and enforcing those standards fairly, were also key themes raised in all interviews.
• With the exception of autocratic leadership (which was mainly used to describe former chief officers), most interviewees felt that different styles could promote ethical behaviour.
• Demonstration of transformational and participative leadership styles was seen as important, particularly by senior leaders. Visibility and communication were seen as key dimensions of leadership that offered opportunities to encourage organisational commitment, as a result of it increasing the credibility of leaders among staff and a belief in shared values and goals.
• Elements of transactional leadership were also thought important for staff behaviour and morale, particularly in terms of encouraging appropriate standards through the consistent and fair application of reward and sanction within the organisation.
• For many, successful leadership in fostering ethical behaviour was seen to come through flexibility and balance in leadership style. The nature of policing – with its high levels of discretion and specific vulnerabilities towards misconduct (e.g. contact with criminals) – reportedly meant leadership needed to be both transformational and transactional.
• Comments from the majority of chief officers and frontline staff supported the idea that a more open and democratic style of leadership secured a better commitment to organisational values and promoted ethical behaviour.
• While leadership was seen as important at all levels, first line supervisors were thought to have more of an influence than chief officers as they were the day-to-day role models for behaviour for most people. The provision of support to, and the empowerment of, frontline supervisors was, therefore, seen as particularly crucial.
• The research highlighted the need for senior leaders and supervisors to be more aware of, and self-reflective about, leadership styles and processes and the impact these can have on the ethical behaviour of staff. Notably, while performance expectations need to be set and aligned with wider force priority and integrity frameworks, there was a widespread view that a narrow performance focus could have negative consequences.

A special edition of Dubai Future Foundation's “The Global 50” annual report highlights 14 opportunities for youth and future generations, selected from the 2022, 2023, 2024 reports. This release aligns with the UN’s Summit of the Future, where leaders will address challenges and opportunities for a better today and a better tomorrow. [This report is republished with permission from the Dubai Future Foundation. The original report was published on September 18, 2024]

This report includes the results of the Housing Hub's second annual Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Provider Experience Survey. In total, 41 providers completed the survey. Between them, these providers were offering 1,452 places for tenants in their 779 New Build SDA dwellings, representing almost one-quarter of all New Build SDA dwellings (21.8%) and places (22.4%) in the market.

The report contains a detailed analysis of the survey results. It also includes a series of recommendations for the NDIA, to ensure its stewardship of the SDA market maximises positive outcomes for both participants and providers.

Key findings: The overall vacancy rates reported have been mostly steady over the past three years. Approximately one-quarter (25.5%) of the respondents’ New Build SDA places were vacant at the time of the survey, which is similar to the rate reported in the 2022 SDA Provider Experience Survey (24.3%) and only slightly smaller than the rate in 2021 (30.5%). The building configurations with the lowest vacancy rates were High Physical Support Apartments (14.0%), Fully Accessible Villas/Townhouses/Duplexes (20.0%) and Robust Villas/Townhouses/Duplexes (22.0%). One of the most challenging aspects of filling New Build SDA vacancies was the time the NDIA takes to make SDA decisions, which was rated as ‘extremely challenging’ by 62.5% providers (down from 76.2% in 2022 and 76.9% in 2021). Overall, there was little to no improvement in various challenges associated with finding tenants and filling vacancies since 2021.

The government expects that by 2025 up to 30,000 NDIS participants with ‘extreme functional impairment’ or ‘very high support needs’ will be receiving funding for Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA). Understanding the current and future supply of SDA housing is crucial for supporting the development of the SDA market.

This report is the fifth iteration of a national survey of SDA providers that aims to help inform stakeholders in the market.

This report includes the results of the Housing Hub's second annual SDA Provider Experience Survey. In total, 28 providers completed the survey. These providers have a total of 1,281 places for tenants in their 671 SDA dwellings. At the time of the survey, they had committed over $1.5 billion to build SDA, accounting for nearly half of the total value of the SDA market.

The report contains a detailed analysis of the survey results. It also includes a series of recommendations for the NDIA, to ensure its stewardship of the SDA market maximises positive outcomes for both participants and providers.