Bright Futures National Symposium – Bright Futures

Day 1 – Thursday 7 August 2025

Please click on speakers’ names or session title to learn more.

08:00 - 08:45am

Arrival & Registration

08:45 - 09:15am

Welcome to Country

Uncle Lyndon Davis

09:15 - 09:30am

Introduction

Daniel Morcombe Foundation

Bruce and Denise Morcombe OAM

Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit

Dr Lara Christensen

09:30 - 10:15am

Keynote Address

Contexual Prevention – Australia

Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh

10:15 - 10:45am

Morning Tea

10:45 - 11:30am

Keynote Address

Contextual Prevention – UK

Prof. Carlene Firmin

11:30am - 12:45pm

Panel

Contextual Prevention

Chair: Prof. Dale Tolliday OAM

Panel: Prof. Carlene Firmin, Prof. Daryl Higgins, Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh

12:45 - 1:45pm

Lunch

Join Ali for a 30-minute breathwork practice. Two sessions available.

1:45 - 3:15pm

Panel

Safeguarding Schools

Chair: Kerryann Walsh

Panel: Assoc Prof. Lesley-Anne Ey, Gabrielle Hunt, Smeeta Singh, Dr Amanda Robertson

Panel

Safeguarding Neighbourhoods

Chair: Rowena Lawrie

Panel: Phil Doorgachurn, Carol Vale, Dr Chloe Keel, Camille Schloeffel

3:15 - 3:30pm

Afternoon Tea

3:30 - 4:55pm

Panel

Safeguarding Early Childhood Education & Care

Chair: Marie Stuart

Panel: Kayelene Kerr, Tim Hawes, Sara Evans, Rosie Lang

Panel

Safeguarding Out of Home Care Settings

Chair: Dr Robyn Miller

Panel: Cyra Fernandes, Dr Jacynta Krakouer, Dr Kenny Kor, Dr Gemma McKibbon

4:55 - 5:00pm

Close

Dr Lara Christensen

Close

Assoc. Prof. Nadine McKillop

5:30 - 6:00pm

Yoga Session

Join Ali for a relaxing 30-minute yoga session

6:30 - 10:30pm

Dinner

Entertainment

6:30pm – 7:15pm Wave Raiders

7:30pm – 8:45pm Jem Cassar-Daley & Band

Day 2 – Friday 8 August 2025

Please click on speakers’ names or session title to learn more.

08:00 - 08:30am

Arrival & Registration

08:30 - 08:35am

Acknowledgement of Country

Beth McNamara

08:35 - 09:00am

Keynote Address

Contextual Prevention Online

Prof. Jon Rouse APM

09:10 - 10:30am

Panel (CS1)

Safeguarding Devices and the Internet

Chair: Prof. Jon Rouse APM

Panel: Colm Gannon, Prof. Nicola Henry, Dr Sarah Napier, Dr Joel Scanlan

Promising Practice Showcase (CS2)

Now.See.Hear. Visual Assessment Tool

Name.Narrate.Navigate University of Newcastle

Environmental Audit Tool

UniSC Sexual Violence Research & Prevention Unit

Worried About Sex and Pornography Project

University of Melbourne and Jesuit Social Services

10:30 - 11:00am

Morning Tea

11:00am - 12:25pm

Youth Panel

How can we better safeguard spaces and places for young people?

Chair: Prof. Dr Jacqueline Kuruppu

Panel: Nooria, Jess, Darcy, Nikoletta

12:25 - 1:25pm

Lunch

Join Ali for a 30-minute breathwork practice. Two sessions available.

1:25 - 2:45pm

Panel

Enacting the national principles for child safe organisations

Chair: Assoc. Prof. Nadine McKillop Panel: Luke Twyford, Hetty Johnston AM, Adjunct Assoc. Prof. Matt Gardiner, Douglas Russell

Panel

Therapeutic Intervention with a Contextual Lens

Chair: Assoc. Prof. Danielle Harris Panel: Prof. Dale Tolliday OAM, Amanda Paton, Dr Deirdre Thompson, Dr James Ogilvie

2:55 - 3:30pm

Afternoon Tea (served at tables)

Reflections and Closing Speech

Bob Atkinson AO APM, Hon Michelle Rowland MP

Panel Chairs & Keynote Speakers

Professor Carlene Firmin MBE

Professor of Social Work, Durham University, United Kingdom

Keynote

Contextual Safeguarding UK

Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh

Snr. Lecturer Criminology & Justice, Co-Leader of SVRPU, UniSC

Keynote

Contextual Prevention Australia

Rowena Lawrie

Director and Founder of Yamurrah, a Collective made up of esteemed First Nations people

Panel Chair

Safeguarding Neighbourhoods

Professor Kerryann Walsh

Professor in Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Panel Chair

Safeguarding Schools

Dr Robyn Miller

Chief Executive Officer, MacKillop Family Services

Panel Chair

Safeguarding Out of Home Care Settings

Marie Stuart

Safeguarding Children Coordinator at Goodstart Early Learning

Panel Chair

Safeguarding Early Learning

Professor Jon Rouse APM

Professor, AILECS Lab, Monash University

Keynote

Contextual Prevention Online

Professor Dale Tolliday OAM

Senior Clinical Advisor, Sydney Children’s Hospital Network

Panel Chair

Contextual Prevention

Assoc. Prof. Nadine McKillop

Assoc. Prof. in Criminology & Co-Leader of SVRPU, UniSC

Panel Chair

Enacting the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations

Assoc. Prof. Danielle Arlanda Harris

Acting Director, Griffith Criminology Institute

Panel Chair

Therapeutic Intervention with a Contextual Lense

Dr Jacqueline Kuruppu

Research Fellow, La Trobe University

Panel Chair

How can we Better Safeguard Spaces and Places for Young People?

Resource Showcase

Visit the Resource Showcase throughout the Bright Futures Symposium to learn about a range of resources, services, and initiatives. Click on each logo above to learn more about what they offer.

Our Speakers

Rosie Armstrong Lang

CEO of Culturally Informed Practices Institute

Bob Atkinson AO APM

Co Chair DVF Prevention Council

Jackie Bateman

Senior Lead Harmful Sexual Behaviour Prevention at Jesuit Social Services

Dr Tamara Blakemore

Associate Professor & NNN Project Lead at University of Newcastle add to speakers

Dr Lara Christensen

Senior Lecturer & Co-Leader of SVRPU, UniSC

Phil Doorgachurn

Executive, Strategic Safeguarding Children Initiatives, ACF

Daniel Ebbin

Associate Lecturer and NNN Youth Practice Lead at University of Newcastle add to speakers

Sara Evans

National Lead, Safeguarding Children, Goodstart Early Learning

Assoc. Professor Lesley-anne Ey

Senior Researcher and Lecturer, University of South Australia (UniSA)

Cyra Fernandes

Practice Lead Consultant, ACF

Professor Carlene Firmin MBE

Professor of Social Work, Durham University, United Kingdom

Colm Gannon

Chief Executive Officer, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children – Australia

Adjunct Associate Professor, Matt Gardiner

Chair & CEO in health & social services

Assoc. Prof. Danielle Arlanda Harris

Acting Director, Griffith Criminology Institute

Tim Hawes

Service Manager, Violence Abuse and Neglect, Hunter New England Local Health District, NSW.

Professor Nicola Henry

Professor in the Social Equity Research Centre at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.

Professor Daryl Higgins

Professor, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Hetty Johnston AM

Founder of Safeguarding People Australia and previously Bravehearts Foundation Ltd.

Gabrielle Hunt

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Kayelene Kerr

Founder, Child Safety Educator, Advocate, Ambassador, eSafeKids

Dr Chloe Keel

Lecturer in Criminology, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

Dr Kenny Kor

Senior Lecturer, Social Work, UoW

Dr Jacynta Krakouer

Aboriginal Enterprise Fellow, Australian Centre for Child Protection, UniSC

Dr Jacqueline Kuruppu

Research Fellow, La Trobe University

Rowena Lawrie

Director and Founder of Yamurrah, a Collective made up of esteemed First Nations people

Dr Gemma McKibbin

Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne (UoM)

Assoc. Prof. Nadine McKillop

Assoc. Prof. in Criminology & Co-Leader of SVRPU, UniSC

Dr Robyn Miller

Chief Executive Officer, MacKillop Family Services

Dr Emily Moir

Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice at University of the Sunshine Coast

Georgia Naldrett

Stop It Now! Australia Manager

Dr Sarah Napier

Research Manager, OSEC Research Program, Australian Institute of Criminology

Dr James Ogilvie

Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University

Amanda Paton

Deputy Director, Practice, Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP), University of South Australia (UniSA)

Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh

Snr. Lecturer Criminology & Justice, Co-leader of SVRPU, UniSC

Dr Amanda Robertson

Safeguarding Lead at Halloran Morrissey Group and Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith University

Professor Jon Rouse APM

Professor, AiLECS Lab, Monash University

Michelle Rowland MP

Attorney-General

Douglas Russell

Senior Researcher at the Institute of Child Protection Studies at ACU

Dr Joel Scanlan

Senior Lecturer, University of Tasmania

Camille Schloeffel

Founder, The STOP Campaign

Smeeta Singh

National Program Director, Power to Kids, The MacKillop Institute

Marie Stuart

Safeguarding Children Coordinator at Goodstart Early Learning

Dr Deirdre Thompson

Director of Therapeutic and Support Services, Bravehearts

Luke Twyford

Chief Executive and Principal Commissioner, QFCC

Carol Vale

Chief Executive Officer, Murawin

Professor Kerryann Walsh

Professor in Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Contributors

The Daniel Morcombe Foundation’s first-ever national symposium, co-hosted with the Sexual Violence Research Prevention Unit (SVRPU, University of the Sunshine Coast) and supported by an expert advisory group of sector leaders including the University of Wollongong, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, Yamurrah, Restorative Yarns, National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, Australian Childhood Foundation and National Office for Child Safety.

The Daniel Morcombe Foundation would also like to thank the following organisations for their support of the Bright Futures Symposium.

Phil Doorgachurn

Executive, Strategic Safeguarding Children Initiatives, Australian Childhood Foundation

Phil Doorgachurn is a highly accomplished CEO, board director, and consultant, with over two decades of experience leading transformative initiatives in child safety, organisational culture, and systemic change. Passionate about safeguarding and the rights of children, Phil has dedicated his career to creating safer environments for children across diverse sectors, including sport, education, and business.

Phil’s journey is marked by a steadfast commitment to innovation and collaboration. He has worked with global organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA, and the Premier League, advising on strategies to enhance athlete welfare and safety. Notably, he pioneered the world’s first education program for welfare officers in sport and led the development of one of the English Premier League’s first wellbeing teams for elite athletes.

In Australia, Phil has been instrumental in shaping child safeguarding frameworks through roles such as CEO of YMCA Safeguarding and Advisor to the National Office for Child Safety. His leadership extends to consulting for organisations like England Cricket, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Victoria University and many more, where he has driven cultural shifts from reactive risk management to proactive safeguarding practices.

Phil is currently the Executive Director for On Us: Australian Business Coalition for Safeguarding Children, uniting Australian businesses to ensure their operations, products, and services prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children. His expertise in designing self-paced training programs, strategic frameworks, and stakeholder engagement initiatives has helped countless organisations create sustainable child-safe cultures.

Outside of his professional life, Phil remains grounded by his love for family and his cocker spaniel, Chula, who often accompanies him on beach walks and even virtual meetings. Phil’s work is driven by a deeply personal mission: to inspire systemic change and ensure every child grows up in a world where they feel safe, valued, and supported.

Sara Evans

National Lead, Safeguarding Children, Goodstart Early Learning

Sara is an accomplished early years professional with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Southern Queensland and remarkable two-decade-long journey in the education and care sector.

She embarked on her career as an early childhood educator, laying the foundation for her lifelong commitment to the safety and wellbeing of children and their families. Sara’s journey has been marked by a series of pivotal roles in the early learning sector, spanning corporate care, national operations, and operations excellence. Her dedication to the safety and wellbeing of children led her to become a Universal Protective Behaviours Practitioner.

Currently, Sara oversees the implementation of National Principles for Child Safe Organisations and state-based Child Safe Standards in 653 early learning centres across Australia. Her devotion to safeguarding children goes beyond her professional role, as she is actively engaged in research on protective behaviours in early learning contexts.

Sara’s core belief is that every child has the fundamental right to feel safe and be safe at all times. Her life’s work is a testament to this unwavering commitment.

Associate Professor Lesley-Anne Ey

Senior Researcher and Lecturer, University of South Australia (UniSA)

Associate Professor Lesley-anne Ey is a senior lecturer and researcher in Education Futures and the Australian Centre of Child protection (ACCP) at the University of South Australia.

Her research on harmful sexual behaviours has a heavy focus on primary and secondary prevention and considers educative prevention strategies and responses, workforce development and interagency collaborative responses.

Assoc. Prof. Ey sits on the National Clinical Reference Group for Harmful Sexual behaviour and the SA Harmful Sexual Behaviour Working Group. She an adviser and reviewer to the Department for Education SA, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and other organisations on policy and procedure, response guidelines, and training and curriculum materials relative to harmful sexual behaviour. She is currently working on five projects exploring education and system responses, teacher’s and parent’s experiences of children’s harmful sexual behaviour, state responses to harmful sexual behaviour, and child sexual exploitation. She is the lead author of ‘Problematic sexual behaviours in young children and pre-teens: An educative issue’, 2020.

Cyra Fernandes

Practice Lead Consultant, Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF)

Cyra Fernandes is a social worker and family therapist with extensive experience in working with children, young people and their families.

For the past nineteen years she has been working for the Australian Childhood Foundation both as a clinical therapist, team leader, Program Manager and has been responsible for managing the program for children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours. She co-authored an article with Dr Russell Pratt exploring the role of pornography in young people’s sexually abusive behaviour. She has also worked in the Northern Territory developing a therapeutic service for Aboriginal children and young people with Harmful Sexual Behaviour.

Cyra currently works for the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care and has been working in a detention facility providing therapeutic support to children and young people and their carers.

Colm Gannon

Chief Executive Officer, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children – Australia

Colm Gannon is a distinguished professional with over twenty years of experience in digital safety, child protection, cybercrime investigations, and software development.

In December 2024, he assumed the role of CEO at ICMEC Australia and brought extensive expertise to the organisation.

Previously, Colm served as a Detective with An Garda Síochána (Irish National Police), Principal Advisor with the Digital Safety Directorate in New Zealand, Founder of Pathfinder Labs, and Product Manager at Rigr AI (Ireland), specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. His career spans law enforcement and private industry, focusing on leveraging technology to address online harms and promote child safety.

Colm has been instrumental in shaping policies and strategies for child protection, privacy impact assessments, ethical AI implementations, and technological process reforms. He has led national and international investigations into online child exploitation, violent extremism, and harmful online communications, collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to combat these threats.

A skilled stakeholder manager, Colm has built strategic relationships across law enforcement, government, NGOs, academia, and private industry. He has represented New Zealand internationally, including as a subject matter expert for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, and has trained law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges for Europol.

Colm holds an MSc in Forensic Computing and Cybercrime Investigations from University College Dublin and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at La Trobe University. He has been actively involved with ICMEC since 2010 and contributes to the Financial Coalition to Combat Child Exploitation.

Adjunct Associate Professor, Matt Gardiner

Chair & CEO in health & social services

Matt’s career spans mental health, primary health, violence & sexual violence prevention, youth justice, child protection, counselling, and family law. He’s passionate about equity and human rights and is experienced guiding organisations through strategic transformation. Matt has a strong focus on impact, and a deep respect for frontline work, shaped by his own background as a practitioner.

He has led major initiatives such as Australia’s first Social Impact Bond, the first Australian Government Payment By Outcomes model, and implemented sector-leading impact measurement frameworks. He is co-founder of the Australian Centre for Child Rights, and was Ministerially appointed as an ‘expert advisor’ on the development of the Australian Government’s Blueprint for the Charity and non-for-profit sector.

Complimenting his role at ACOSS, Matt is CEO of Cancer Council Qld, Chair of QCOSS and Deputy Chair at Yourtown (powering Kids Helpline), and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Australian Catholic University.

Tim Hawes

Service Manager, Violence Abuse and Neglect, Hunter New England Local Health District, New South Wales.

Tim is the Service Manager with Violence Abuse & Neglect services in Hunter. Tim has worked as a psychologist and leader across a variety of clinical and leadership roles in Public Health and NGOs for the past 26 years.

This has included various roles with Sparks, a service now part of the Safe Wayz network that has worked with children under 10 who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour and their families since 1998.

Tim values the challenge, warmth, energy, and dynamic unpredictability that working alongside children, young people, adults and families who have experiences of trauma and developmental differences brings, and is often in awe of the hope and resilience that can emerge.

Professor Nicola Henry (PhD)

Professor in the Social Equity Research Centre at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University.

Nicola is a socio-legal scholar with over two decades of research experience in the sexual violence field.

Her research investigates the nature, prevalence and impacts of sexual violence, including legal and prevention responses in Australian and international contexts. Her current research focuses on technology-facilitated sexual violence and image-based sexual abuse.

Professor Daryl Higgins

Professor, Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University (ACU)

For 30 years, he has been researching child abuse prevalence, impacts, and prevention; public health approaches to protecting children; child-safe organisational strategies; and approaches to promoting child and family welfare.

He was a Chief Investigator on the first national study of the prevalence in Australia of child abuse and neglect, and its health outcomes – the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Hetty Johnston AM

Founder of Safeguarding People Australia and previously Bravehearts Foundation Ltd.

Hetty Johnston AM founded Bravehearts Foundation Ltd in 1997 after the sexual assault of her then young daughter and now continues on her journey to protect all vulnerable people as the founder of Safeguarding People Australia. In 2015, Hetty was recognised as Queensland’s Australian of the Year, in 2014 she was appointed with the Order of Australia, in both 2003 & 2004 she was awarded Australian Lawyers Alliance Civil Justice Awards among many more accolades.

Hetty is well known and respected as one of Australia’s leading advocates, reformists and consultants. Her courage and determination have helped bring about the cultural shift currently taking place in how Australia responds to child sexual abuse and more recently, the abuse and exploitation of all vulnerable people.

Gabrielle Hunt

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Catholic University (ACU)

Gabby is a registered psychologist and is undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy as part of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Gabby’s research focus is on the prevalence and prevention of child sexual abuse and sexual harassment, with a particular focus on faith-based settings. Her research and ongoing work is informed by her experience as a psychologist working with survivors of child sexual abuse as well as young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviours.

Kayelene Kerr

Founder, Child Safety Educator, Advocate, Ambassador, eSafeKids

Kayelene Kerr is one of Australia’s leading specialists in body safety, online safety, digital wellbeing and pornography literacy education.

As the founder of eSafeKids, Kayelene has been featured on Australian and international television broadcasts, radio programs and in print media.

Combining a Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies (Law, Psychology & Criminology) with 28 years of experience in law enforcement and specialist education, she translates research into easy-to-understand information, enriched with practical examples and strategies.

Kayelene believes protecting children from harm is a shared responsibility. She empowers parents, carers, educators and professionals with the knowledge and confidence to tackle challenging but essential conversations.

Kayelene is an Ambassador for the Valuing Children Initiative and is endorsed by the Australian eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider.

Dr Chloe Keel

Lecturer in Criminology, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

Dr Keel’s research focuses broadly on neighborhoods, perceptions of crime and experiences of victimization.

Her research has focused on experiences of migrants, refugees and gendered nature of safety.

Dr Kenny Kor

Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of Wollongong (UoW)

Kenny brings 18 years of social work practice experience into his research.

Prior to academia, Kenny worked at New Street Service in New South Wales, providing intensive and long-term counselling to young people in out-of-home care (OOHC) who displayed harmful sexual behaviour, and therapeutic support to OOHC agencies and carers.

Kenny’s research builds on this practice experience and aims to address three key challenges: (1) prevention and treatment young people’s harmful sexual behaviour; (2) development of therapeutic out-of-home care services; and (3) improvement of young people’s participation in health and social care research.

Dr Jacynta Krakouer

Aboriginal Enterprise Fellow, Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP), University of Sunshine Coast (UniSC)

Dr Jacynta Krakouer is a Mineng Noongar women originally from southern Western Australia who lives and workds on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm.

Jacynta’s expertise centres around child protection and out-of-home care practices, policies and systems, particularly for First Nations children, young people, families and communities. She is passionate about Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous-led research in these contexts.

Jacynta currently leads a program of research relating to child protection involvement in First Nations people’s lives during pregnancy and shortly after birth.

Dr Gemma McKibbin

Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne (UoM)

Dr Gemma McKibbin is Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Social Work at the University of Melbourne in the Violence Against Women and Children research team. Gemma has a background in gender studies and a PhD focused on the prevention of harmful sexual behaviour carried out by children and young people. Along with an interest in harmful sexual behaviour, Gemma’s research focuses on preventing child sexual exploitation and sexual violence in young people’s intimate relationships, as well as on adult perpetration-focused prevention.

She leads a number of child sexual abuse prevention and response action research projects, including Power to Kids with MacKillop Family Services and the Worried About Sex and Pornography Project (WASAPP) with Jesuit Social Services, as well as the Amplifying Voices of Victim-Survivors (AVA) project. Gemma specialises in trauma-informed, child-focused research interviews with vulnerable children and young people. She is passionate about supporting children and young people to have a voice to government, and is a member of the National Clinical Reference Group advising government about harmful sexual behaviour.

Georgia Naldrett

Stop It Now! Australia Manager

Georgia Naldrett is the Stop It Now! Australia Manager within The Men’s Project at Jesuit Social Services. Within this role she applies her psychological and practice knowledge of sexual offending and child protection to aid in the prevention of child sexual abuse. She oversees the Stop It Now! helpline, which works with individuals concerned about their own or someone else’s sexual thoughts or behaviours towards children; as well as the development of an online resource and helpline for young people concerned about their sexual thoughts or behaviours including pornography use (WASAPP – the Worried About Sex and Pornography Project). Georgia is passionate about research, advocacy, and multi-agency approaches, and is motivated to work collaboratively to ensure a holistic approach to keeping children safe.

Dr Sarah Napier

Research Manager, OSEC Research Program, Australian Institute of Criminology

Dr Sarah Napier is Research Manager of the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) Research Program at the Australian Institute of Criminology, where she conducts research into child sexual abuse material offending, live streaming of child sexual abuse and effectiveness of OSEC prevention programs.

Dr Napier holds a PhD in Criminology from the University of Sydney, which focused on OSEC offending. She has also conducted research into juvenile sexual offending, the effectiveness of public sex offender registries and sex offender treatment programs, domestic violence and drug use. Dr Napier is currently Chair of the Australian Federal Police’s Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Research Working Group.

Dr James Ogilvie

Lecturer, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University

Dr Ogilvie is a Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University, a Research Member of the Griffith Criminology Institute and a Research Associate with the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre.Dr Ogilvie has over 10 years experience as a practitioner delivering assessment and treatment services to young people who engaged in sexually harmful behaviours, including working alongside families and communities to prevent further harm.

Drawing on his clinical experience, Dr Ogilvie’s research has centred on understanding the developmental origins of sexually harmful behaviour in youth, with this research being supported by funding from the Australian Institute of Criminology, ANROWS, Westpac Bank, and the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse. His more recent research utilises large administrative datasets to examine the interplay between offending and mental illness across the lifespan.

Amanda Paton

Deputy Director, Practice, Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP), University of South Australia (UniSA)

Amanda is an executive leader and Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience working with child abuse and trauma.

She is the Deputy Director, Practice for the Australian Centre for Child Protection at the University of South Australia, and the Program Director for the Graduate Certificate in Childhood Trauma. She oversees the Solutions Project for Understanding and Responding to Harmful Sexual Behaviours and the Child Sexual Abuse Workforce Capacity Building projects for WA, including the research, development and implementation of evidence-based models and workforce development trainings for responding to child abuse, neglect, trauma and harmful sexual behaviours across the WA context.

She is also the Co-Chief Investigator leading the development of the National Clinical and Therapeutic Framework Responding to Children and Young People who have Displayed Harmful Sexual Behaviours and was Chief Investigator developing the National Minimum Practice Standards for Specialist and Community Support Services Responding to Child Sexual Abuse.

Amanda is Chair of the National Clinical Reference Group for Harmful Sexual Behaviours and is a member of the Care Plan Review Panel for WA Department of Communities.

Dr Amanda Robertson

Safeguarding Lead at Halloran Morrissey Group and Adjunct Research Fellow, Griffith University

Dr Robertson is an organisational safeguarding specialist and researcher with professional experience supporting schools to manage various aspects related to child protection, safeguarding, and risk management.

Her mixed-methods doctoral project focused on adult-perpetrated sexual abuse against adolescents in Australian schools, including consideration of women’s perpetration and gender bias. It examined the nature of the problem, its antecedents, and the ensuing institutional responses to ultimately recommend a series of prevention strategies for secondary educational settings. Dr Robertson’s interests broadly encompass child sexual abuse, organisational safeguarding, and sexual offending.

Douglas Russell

Senior Researcher at the Institute of Child Protection Studies at ACU

Douglas is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Child Protection Studies at Australian Catholic University, where he has worked for the past eight years.

With a background in education and psychology, and over 15 years of teaching experience across primary and tertiary settings, his work is grounded in a deep commitment to child wellbeing and safety. He is currently completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne, exploring adolescent cognitive development. Douglas led the Children and Young People’s Safety project at ICPS, which supported youth-serving organisations across Australia and internationally to use data to strengthen child safety. His research has been published in leading journals and informs policy and practice in the child abuse and safeguarding fields.

Dr Joel Scanlan

Senior Lecturer, University of Tasmania

Dr Scanlan is a researcher at the University of Tasmania where he specialised in the technical and social harms of the internet, with a particular focus on child exploitation prevention, cybersecurity and machine learning.His research involves collaborating in multiple-disciplinary teams from psychology and law, with a particular focus on harm prevention, involving work that has focused on both deterrent and therapeutic warning messages for internet users trying to access child abuse material.

Camille Schloeffel

Founder, The STOP Campaign

Camille Schloeffel is a survivor of child-on-child sexual violence. She is a social worker, activist and is currently doing a PhD in evaluating sexual violence prevention interventions.

Camille is passionate about supporting others to share their truths, building communities of care and leading collective action. In 2018, she founded The STOP Campaign, a student-led organisation addressing sexual violence at Australian universities, and has a Churchill Fellowship exploring ways activists and universities can work together to prevent sexual violence on campus.

Smeeta Singh

National Program Director, Power to Kids, The MacKillop Institute

With an MA in Education Policy, Smeeta is passionate about social justice and the impact of intergenerational outcomes on student transitions, engagement and achievement.

Nearing 20 years in the education sector, Smeeta has worked across a variety of roles that focus on empowering young people through education, including school improvement, teacher training and child wellbeing. Her research on widening access in Go8 and Rusell Group Universities has been published internationally.

Through senior leadership roles in the community and government sector, Smeeta has led the rollout of trauma-informed practice and systems-based change across schools, family violence and community services sectors. She brings a deep understanding of place-based implementation within national and state contexts, and experience harnessing the voice of communities and young people to inform meaningful change.

As National Program Director for Power to Kids, Smeeta is committed to strengthening prevention and responses to child sexual abuse. She is an avid advocate for safeguarding and empowering young people experiencing the highest levels of risk, complexity, and vulnerability.

Dr Deirdre Thompson

Director of Therapeutic and Support Services, Bravehearts

Dr Deirdre Thompson is Bravehearts’ Director of Therapeutic and Support Services (since 2014).Deirdre holds a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology, with over 30 years of experience both in the UK and Australia in both Forensic and Community Settings. Deirdre currently provides oversight to all Bravehearts client services, including Therapeutic Counselling for children and families impacted by child sexual abuse, Turning Corners Programs for young people engaging in harmful sexual behaviours, Redress Support Services, and our National Information and Support Service.

Deirdre was instrumental in developing and implementing the Bravehearts Turning Corners Program, a program aimed at providing early intervention and response to young people engaging in or at risk of engaging in harmful sexual behaviors, which was recognised in the Australian Institute of Criminology Awards in 2021 for its innovation and contribution for early intervention and prevention program. She is a member of the National Clinical Reference Group for Children Exhibiting Harmful Sexual Behaviours, which was established as part of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021 – 2030.

Luke Twyford

Chief Executive and Principal Commissioner, Queensland Family and Child Commission

Luke joined the QFCC as Chief Executive and Principal Commissioner in January 2022. He is an accomplished senior executive, with rich experience in the child and family sector.

Luke’s career spans more than 20 years across Commonwealth, New South Wales and Northern Territory governments in the areas of reform, research and evidence, integrity, audit, governance and complaints management. He has led critical reform of child protection systems and their legal frameworks. He also has extensive experience monitoring the performance of the systems designed to keep children safe and preserve family wellbeing.

Luke’s parents fostered a number of children throughout his childhood, with his own lived experience and those of his foster brothers and sisters profoundly shaping the perspectives and passion he brings to his work.