About us
Who we are
The Mental Health and Disability Law Research Centre brings together researchers, people with lived experience of mental health issues, disabled people, and community and government partners, to improve law, policy and practice.
Based within La Trobe Law School, we are building a nationally and internationally recognised centre for research on disability, mental health and law.
Our mission
Our mission is to advance fairer, more inclusive and rights-respecting law, policy and practice concerning disability and mental health.
We produce rigorous, interdisciplinary research that contributes to academic knowledge while creating practical change for communities, services and governments. We work collaboratively with people with lived experience, advocacy organisations, practitioners and policymakers to ensure our research is grounded in real-world concerns and informed by diverse perspectives.
Our research addresses major social and legal challenges, including reducing coercion in mental health systems, improving access to justice, examining digital technologies in care, and developing more inclusive approaches to law.
Our impact
Our research informs public policy, supports law reform, strengthens services and contributes to fairer and more inclusive systems in Australia and internationally.
Through long-term partnerships with advocacy organisations, governments, service providers and community groups, we help shape policy, service design and professional practice. Past projects by our researchers have included collaborations with State and Territory Legal Aid commissions, the Justice and Equity Centre, Mind Australia, Neami National, Wellways, and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, resulting in policy submissions, community resources, and research outputs grounded in collaborative, community-engaged research.