Understanding safety from family violence for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families involved in family court litigation
Primary Supervisor: Dr Anna Booth
Co-Supervisors: Dr Felicity Painter; Professor Jennifer McIntosh
Scholarship Amount
$36,000 per annum, for 3.5 years (full time).
Project Details
This prestigious scholarship has been made available with funding by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Industry Engagement, La Trobe University as part of the University’s contribution to an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded Discovery Project (DP260103244 – Enhancing Safety from Family Violence Through and Beyond Family Court Litigation). The ARC Discovery Program funds projects across many different disciplinary areas, empowering researchers in the science and technology fields, social sciences and humanities, to pursue bold ideas, foster collaboration, and generate knowledge that strengthens Australia’s prosperity, resilience and wellbeing.
Our funded Discovery Project (2026 – 2028) continues an established partnership between La Trobe University, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. It aims to map experiences of safety from domestic and family violence for parents involved in the family court system in Australia over four years post filing – the span of their court involvement and the months/years beyond it, when the gaze and oversight of the court process ceases.
The context for this project is our recent work in this space, funded by an ARC Linkage Project Grant (LP210100181). Family Violence Triage in Family Courts: Safety, Efficacy and Benefit, a one-year impact study of domestic and family violence screening and “Triage” processes in Lighthouse, an innovative triage approach implemented by the Courts to screen litigants for family violence risk, with a primary focus on improving safety outcomes for families involved in the family law system. We have a particular interest in personal, service, and systemic factors that enhance the safety of parents and their children.
Within the Discovery project, this PhD opportunity creates the chance to deepen enquiry into unique factors informing the sustained safety of First Nations parents and children through and beyond the court process.
Context: Key Research Questions/Aims of the wider ARC Discovery Project
- Mapping safety over four years
- Map safety trajectories across four years following entry to family court.
- Predicting safety across four years
- What family, cultural, personal, social and court management factors are associated with improved safety across four years (tracking parent/child victimisation and parent perpetration)?
- Do Triage processes predict improved safety over four years, during and following court?
- What family and court factors interact to improve safety for parents and children?
- Cohort data and case studies: To what do First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse parents attribute improved safety after initial high risk?
- Costs of safety and of risk
- What personal and service costs are associated with sustained safety relative to continued risk over time?
Learn more about the Stories of Family Safety Study Project
Topic, design, methods and expectations of this PhD program
La Trobe University will appoint a PhD candidate to examine Research Question 2d above, exploring for example:
- How do the factors that support and sustain safety for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse families differ in emphasis, type or otherwise?
- How do First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse mothers experience safety against a background of high risk?
- To what do First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse parents attribute improved safety after initial high risk at entry to court?
The PhD candidate will refine specific research questions and co-develop the corresponding suite of culturally informed analyses to address these questions. It is expected that this PhD (by publication) may involve three approaches to these questions:
- Documenting global Family Court practices with Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people that enhance cultural and physical safety throughout litigation processes.
- Examining already collected data (n = 214) on the initial safety profiles of First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse parents on entry to court, relative to non-Indigenous parents.
- Through a yarning approach, engage safely with our existing cohort of First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse parents, to understand their experiences of improved safety after a high-risk determination on entry to court. Specifically, this aspect of the work seeks to enable the telling of unfolding stories of safety, over time, in forms of conversation that yield deeper insights into the place of community and country, family and service systems, including feared statutory systems, in the journey of personal safety through litigated dispute resolution. Other approaches to narrative approaches, such as drawings and art work, are encouraged.
Research Supervisors and Cultural Consultants
The PhD candidate will be mentored in early career research at the Bouverie Centre, La Trobe University and will be supported in learning both theoretical approaches to domestic and family violence and respective culturally appropriate and tailored research methods.
Cultural support and consultation will be provided by Bouverie’s First Nations team leader, Alison Elliott, and links with the Family Courts’ Indigenous Advisor at the Melbourne Registry will be encouraged.
Dr Anna Booth, Dr Felicity Painter, and Professor Jennifer McIntosh will provide research methodology expertise to co-lead analyses and assist in writing up results for this program of research.
Eligibility Considerations
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who meet other eligibility requirements for PhD candidature are encouraged to apply. In the absence of a First Nations or Culturally and Linguistically Diverse candidate, applications will also be considered from students whose work aligns with the project goals, in the support of Indigenous and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Australian families.
Available to domestic applicants only.
Learn more about the application process here
Contact name and email
If you require further information about the scholarship, please contact:
Dr Anna Booth: a.booth@latrobe.edu.au
