National Child Protection Week 7 – 13 September 2025
At the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, we believe that every child in every community needs a fair go and that begins with making their safety a national priority.
In 2025, we proudly support National Child Protection Week and its powerful theme:
Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action.
This year’s message recognises that while open, honest conversations are essential, true progress happens when we move beyond words and take real steps to create safer environments for children.
We know that safety doesn’t happen by chance. It happens when communities, educators, families, and systems work together and ACT to protect, support, and empower children and young people.
This year’s theme calls on all of us to go further, to do more than just talk about safety. Whether it’s starting a conversation at home, delivering a lesson in the classroom, or advocating for change in your community, every action, big or small, makes a difference. That’s where our educational resources come in.
Resources for Parents and Carers / Resources for teachers / Workplace Resources
Designed as both a tribute and an educational resource, Don’t Waste It! speaks directly to teens aged 13 to 15, helping them understand personal safety in real-world situations.
Interactive Resource / Resources for teachers / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 0 to 6. Jelly is on a quest to understand how to stay safe. Read along as Jelly explores how to listen to body clues and Recognise, React, Report!
ABCSL / Interactive Resource / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 8 to 12, the theme will focus on enthusiastic consent including how to give and receive it, and how to identify grooming and coercive behaviours.
ABCSL / Interactive Resource / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 4 to 7, the theme will focus on enthusiastic consent including how to give and receive it, and how to identify grooming and coercive behaviours.
Online Safety / School & ELC Resources
eSafety: Challenges and Choices is an interactive, choose your own style adventure animation for children aged 6 to 8 about online safety and grooming that helps develop skills to stay safe
online.
ABCSL / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 8 to 12, the theme will focus on a focus on boundaries and body parts, using age-appropriate, evidence based personal safety education strategies.
ABCSL / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 4 to 7, the theme will focus on a focus on boundaries and body parts, using age-appropriate, evidence based personal safety education strategies.
ABCSL / School & ELC Resources
For children aged 4 to 7, the lesson will focus on help seeking strategies.
Short Safety Video / Online Safety / Resources for Parents and Carers
Television commercial - Awareness campaign aimed at young people aged 13-15 years, parents and caregivers about the warning signs of online grooming.
Interactive Resource / Resources for Parents and Carers / School & ELC Resources
The Boomer Challenge gives children aged 8 to 12 the skills to recognise potentially unsafe and risky online situations, and to make decisions and problem solve in the online world.
Jackie Bateman
Jackie is an experienced leader of people and practice, with extensive experience as a senior leader, practitioner, consultant, and trainer. Her career spans both the UK and Australia, where she has specialised in leading teams that deliver harmful sexual behaviour, sexual assault, and family violence programs. Jackie has also worked directly with children and young people who have engaged harmful sexual behaviour, applying strengths-based models and approaches. Currently, Jackie is the Senior Lead Harmful Sexual Behaviour Prevention at Jesuit Social Services, leading on the Worried About Sex and Pornography project (WASAPP)
Jackie sits on the Board for Sexual Assault Victoria.
In addition, Jackie has co-authored two books:
Working with Children and Young People Whose Behaviour is Sexually Concerning or Harmful. Enabling professionals to become confident at assessing risk and developing safety plans (Book) Kingsley Publishers, Feb 2015 (with J Milner).
Working with Children and Teenagers using Solution Focused Approaches. Enabling children to overcome challenges and achieve their potential, (Book) Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011(with J Milner).
Georgia Naldrett
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.
Mr Robert (Bob) Atkinson AO APM
Bob Atkinson had a 44-year career with the Queensland Police Service, serving the last 12 years (2000 to 2012) as Commissioner. Bob’s significant achievements include overseeing responses to Cyclone Larry in 2006 and the 2010-11 Queensland flood and cyclone disasters, reductions in crime and the road toll, enforcing welfare support, advocating for multiculturalism, and increasing Police Liaison Officer positions including the first Sudanese and Muslim positions.
In 2013, he was appointed as one of 6 Commissioners for the 5-year Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Following that he was the Chair of the Queensland Government’s Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce for its 5-year term.
Bob’s contribution has continued in advisory roles for youth justice issues.
In 2023 he was appointed as one of 2 Assistant Commissioners to the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.
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.
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.
Adjunct Associate Professor, Matt Gardiner
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.
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.
Marie Stuart
Safeguarding Children Coordinator at Goodstart Early Learning
Marie Stuart is the Child Safeguarding Coordinator for Goodstart Early Learning in Queensland. With a robust background in early childhood teaching and psychology, Marie furthered her education in early childhood and family therapy.
Her career in Early Childhood Intervention began in 1983, where she contributed to the Macquarie University Down Syndrome Early Intervention Research Programme as a postgraduate teacher. Marie transitioned to working in long day care centres as an inclusion worker and taught early childhood education. Her postgraduate studies in family therapy paved the way for her to work with young children as a therapist and manage a Child Protection and Domestic Violence therapy service.
Marie has also provided consultancy to early childhood programs, taught in adult education facilities, and has been a speaker at various conferences. Marie has published and contributed to the development of an international strategy for the abolition of physical and humiliating punishment. She has also been involved in the development of early childhood and parenting programs and policy in Australian offshore settings.
For the past nine years, Marie has served as the Social Inclusion Coordinator for Goodstart in Queensland, where she has been instrumental in promoting inclusive practices. Her extensive experience and dedication have now led her to her current role as the Safeguarding Coordinator, where she continues to advocate for the safety and well-being of children
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 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.
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.
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.
Associate Professor Danielle Arlanda Harris
Acting Director, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University
Deputy Head of School (research), School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University
Danielle has more than 20 years’ experience working in the US, the UK, and Australia primarily in the area of research, treatment, and prevention of child sexual abuse. She worked for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation (UK) at a residential facility for men convicted of sexual offenses. For the next 15 years she worked in Maryland, Maine, Washington, Massachusetts and California as an academic and expert witness.
She has collaborated with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Massachusetts Treatment Center for Sexually Dangerous Persons, and the California Sex Offender Management Board. She received a prestigious grant from the Guggenheim Foundation to fund her ground-breaking mixed methods empirical study of desistance from sexual offending (which included interviews with nearly 100 men convicted of sexual offences).
Prof. Dale Tolliday OAM
Senior Clinical Advisor, Children and Young People’s Sexual Safety Program, the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN).
Dale Tolliday is NSW Health Senior Clinical Advisor Sexual and Violent Behaviour and Senior Clinical Advisor Children and Young People’s Sexual Safety Program (CYPSS) at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Australia.
CYPSS incorporates ‘New Street Services’ and the ‘Safe Wayz Program’ which are state-wide services in NSW for children and young people aged 0-18 years who have displayed problematic or harmful sexual behaviours. Dale is an Honorary Professor of Practice with the Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong.
Dale’s work with people who have sexually harmed others spans over 35 years. Prior to this, Dale worked in a variety of child, adolescent and family mental health settings. Dale’s professional training is in Social Work and Law. In 2014 Dale was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of his work in this field. He has a particular interest in training and professional standards for people working with those who have sexually harmed children.
Dale is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers and a founding member and past President of the Australia and New Zealand Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abuse (ANZATSA). Dale also consults widely with individuals and organisations regarding prevention and responding to harmful sexual behavior by children, adolescents and adults
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.
Prof. Jon Rouse APM
Professor, AiLECS Lab, Monash University
Jon dedicated 39 years to the Queensland Police Service, specialising in child protection from 1996. In 2001, he joined Task Force Argos, where he pioneered Australia’s first proactive operations against internet child sex offenders.
He led high-impact national and international investigations and trained law enforcement worldwide. In 2019, Jon joined the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, establishing the covert online, victim identification and training teams and he chaired INTERPOL’s Covert Internet Investigations Group until 2023.
Jon received six Commissioners’ Certificates, multiple commendations and the Champion for Children Award from the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Named Queensland Australian of the Year, he also holds the Queensland Police Medal, National Service Medal, Exemplary Conduct Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, National Police Medal, and Australian Police Medal. He is an ambassador to Act for Kids, Bravehearts and the Carly Ryan Foundation and is on the Board of Directors for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation and is Chairman of the Board of Directors at ICMEC Australia. Currently Jon is a Professor at AiLECS Lab at Monash University and as a Professor at ChildLight Hub at the University of New South Wales.
Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh
Senior Lecturer & Co-Leader of SVRPU, UniSC
Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh is an established national leader in sexual violence and abuse prevention. Her academic career builds on a 28-year professional history working with youth and adults who have committed sexual offences, victims of child sexual abuse, and in community level prevention.
Her scholarly work is concerned with how we can best prevent sexual violence and abuse, challenging conventional thinking and proposing alternative evidence-informed approaches to prevention policy and practice. Her conceptual contributions have championed ‘just’, contextual, place-based, and community engaged prevention models, and the importance of secondary prevention of sexual violence and abuse, with the most at-risk populations, including in remote First Nations communities. Her research and clinical practice have also focused on improving treatment for First Nations youth and adults who engage in harmful sexual behaviour.
Dr Rayment-McHugh is Co-Leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit and a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, within the School of Law and Society. She is also a member of the Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Susan is a criminologist and registered psychologist and is Associate Editor of the UK-based Journal of Sexual Aggression. She has a PhD in Criminology and a Masters Degree in Psychology (Forensic).
Dr Rayment-McHugh’s research has been recognised through awards including the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology David Biles Correctional Research Award (2020). She has built successful collaborations with leading national and international experts in this field and has extensive government and industry networks. She is widely recognised for her expertise, receiving many requests for expert advice and consultation, and numerous speaking invitations.
Prior to moving to an academic role, Dr Rayment-McHugh held leadership positions at Griffith University’s Griffith Youth Forensic Service, focused on assessing and treating youth sentenced for serious or violent sexual offences, and at the Neighbourhoods Project, a community based contextual prevention initiative in Far North Queensland.
Associate Professor Nadine McKillop
Associate Professor in Criminology & Co-Leader of Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit, University of Sunshine Coast (UniSC)
Nadine McKillop, PhD is Associate Professor in Criminology and Justice and Co-Leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Also a psychologist, Nadine worked within criminal justice and not-for-profit organisations prior to entering academia. With two decades of research, practice and teaching expertise in criminology and psychology, Associate Professor McKillop brings with her a suite of skills in the design, facilitation, and evaluation of offending and community prevention programs. Her international research profile demonstrates expertise in understanding and preventing the onset of sexual violence and abuse, and the assessment and treatment of youth and adults who have committed sexual offences to reduce the extent and impacts of sexual violence and abuse in the community. She is the current Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Sexual Aggression: An international, interdisciplinary forum for research, theory and practice.
Rowena Lawrie
Director, Yamurrah
Rowena, is the Director and Founder of Yamurrah, a Collective made up of @ 30 esteemed First Nations people, culturally and professionally diverse.
The Yamurrah Collective comprises nurses, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, teachers, trauma specialists and academics, each specialising in unique fields such as professional development, therapy, project management, leadership, research and evaluation. With close to three decades of illustrious experience as a clinical social worker, Rowena’s journey is marked by a commitment to addressing complex and collective systemic trauma and injustices. Her professional background in social work, law, complemented by a profound nerdiness and studies in neuroscience, shapes her holistic approach to her work.
Currently pursuing her PhD at Sydney University, Rowena’s dedication to academia and research underscores her unwavering passion for social justice and systemic transformation. She grew up and resides on sacred Darkinjung Country, and is a descendant of Wakka Wakka and Wiradjuri nations, and her matriarchal lines extending to North Leichhardt River, Gulf of Carpentaria. As a devoted mother, daughter, sister, Aunty, cousin and friend, and enthusiast of hiking, dance, arts and theatre, Rowena finds inspiration in Country, connection and various forms of creative expressions.
Recipient of the esteemed 2023 Aboriginal Social Worker of the Year award from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Rowena’s tireless advocacy and unwavering dedication to advancing trauma-informed care and social justice exemplify her impactful contributions to the field.
Dr Jacqueline Kuruppu
Research Fellow, La Trobe University
Dr Jacqueline Kuruppu is Research Fellow in the Reducing Gender-Based Violence Network at La Trobe University.
She was awarded her PhD in 2024, in which she explored the response to child abuse and neglect in primary care settings. Jacqueline is currently working on the Partners in Prevention project which aims to evaluate nine sexual violence prevention programs. Jacqueline is passionate about increasing the visibility of children and young people in research so that they have a voice in improving services for their health and wellbeing.
Professor Andrea de Silva
Director, Knowledge Generation, Research and Evaluation, The National Centre for Action of Child Sexual Abuse
Andrea is the Director of Knowledge Generation, Research and Evaluation at the National Centre.
Andrea has over 25 years of experience working across diverse areas of public health, prevention, social justice and inequalities. She is skilled at researching, co-designing and evaluating solutions to complex social problems informed by lived experience, data, evidence and practice-based knowledge. Andrea has led research teams in top tier universities and previously held roles as Research Director in public sector and NFP organisations.
Andrea is also an expert in intersectionality and shines a light on marginalisation, discrimination, and cultural and racial diversity. She has published over 150 research articles and reports, presented internationally, and is an adjunct Professor at both Monash University and QUT.
Prof. Carlene Firmin MBE
Professor of Social Work at Durham University, and professorial convener of their Sociology Department’s research group on Communities and Social Justice.
Carlene has researched young people’s experiences of community and group-based violence since 2008 and has advocated for comprehensive approaches that keep them safe in public places, schools, and peer groups.
Carlene coined the term Contextual Safeguarding in 2014 to describe a vision for improving safeguarding responses to young people at risk of harm beyond their family homes. She has overseen a research program to convert this vision into a conceptual and practice framework, in order to reform safeguarding responses and policy frameworks concerned with extra-familial harm in the UK and internationally.
Carlene is co-convener of a special interest group on Social Work and Adolescents for the European Social Work Research Association; she is a Global Ashoka Fellow, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Associate Editor of Child Abuse Review, a member of the Ofsted Insights and Evidence (Social Care) External Reference Group, and also a member of the Churchill Fellowship Advisory Council. She has written in the national newspaper, the Guardian, since 2010, and is widely published in the area of child welfare including through four books and over 50 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and reports.
In 2011 Carlene became the youngest black woman to receive an MBE for her seminal work on gang-affected young women in the UK.
Dr Lara Christensen
Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice & Co-Leader of Sexual Violence Research & Prevention Unit, University of Sunshine Coast (UniSC)
Dr Lara Christensen is Co-Leader of the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit (SVRPU) and a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Holding a PhD in Psychology, she is an international leader in research on female-perpetrated sexual offending, with a focus on technology-facilitated sexual violence. Also, a highly regarded educator, her team has been recognised nationally for their excellence and innovation in teaching, along with other awards, including the Vice Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award. She is a Committee Member of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Sexual Aggression.
Rosie Armstrong Lang
Chief Executive Officer of Culturally Informed Practices Institute
Rosie Armstrong Lang is a Gamilaroi cultural woman from Boggabilla and grew up on Toomelah mission on the NSW/ QLD border. Dhiniwin (Emu) is her tribal totem. She’s a proud mother of three sons and one daughter. Rosie is also the CEO of culturally informed practices institute and has worked in a trauma space with victims and survivors all of her working life.
Rosie established her healing business which focuses on healing intergenerational trauma using cultural practices, that she describes as Winningali Ways. This is about decolonising healing, stripping away modernism and taking it back to culture, working with what we have worked with since time began. Rosie believes that when we “put culture at the forefront of healing, culture as the foundation will always create safe space for healing”.
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.
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.
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.
Professor Kerryann Walsh
Professor in Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Kerryann was the foundation early childhood teacher at Act for Kids predecessor, The Abused Child Trust through the 1990s, sparking a career long interest in child maltreatment.
Kerryann is an Adjunct Professor in Education at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) where she collaborates with research teams worldwide in generating evidence for prevention of violence against children, and strengthening workforce capacity for prevention, early intervention, and response.
Kerryann was an Academic Advisor to Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2015-2017) and led the research behind the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. For the eSafety Commissioner, Kerryann designed the Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education and she recently completed a project for the World Health Organisation Violence Prevention Unit on what works to prevent online violence against children. She has developed resources for recognising and responding to child sexual abuse for the Raising Children Network.
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.
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.
Tim Hawes
Service Manager, Violence Abuse and Neglect (VAN), Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD), New South Wales.
Tim is the Service Manager with Violence Abuse & Neglect services 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rebekah Kilpatrick PSM
Special Advisor to the National Office for Child Safety, Attorney-General’s Department (Cth)
Rebekah Kilpatrick (she/her) grew up on Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna Country in South Australia and now resides on Ngunnawal Country in Canberra where she is currently the Special Advisor to the National Office for Child Safety (National Office) in the Attorney-General’s Department.
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 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.
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.
Carol Vale is a Dunghutti entrepreneur, businesswoman, CEO, empathetic and visionary leader, and co-founder of Murawin.Carol’s passion, determination and commitment have driven her impressive 40-year career as a specialist in intercultural consultation, facilitation, and participatory engagement.
Carol specialises in working with clients across a range of industries to enhance their organisational capacity through social research, community consultations, stakeholder engagement and evaluation services. She provides practical tools and professional services to her clients that are culturally sensitive and outcome focused and reflect her experience (including three decades in the public sector), history and culture.
Carol has worked in senior management in Aboriginal Affairs, education, housing, disabilities, and child protection.
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.
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.
Dr Robyn Miller is a social worker and family therapist with over 40 years’ experience in the community sector, government and child protection.
She was a senior clinician and teacher for fourteen years at the Bouverie Family Therapy Centre, La Trobe University, and part of an innovative team working with families who had experienced trauma and sexual abuse. Robyn has practised in the public and private sectors as a therapist, clinical supervisor, consultant and lecturer and was a member of the Victorian Child Death Review Committee for ten years. From 2006-15 she provided professional leadership as the Chief Practitioner within the Department of Human Services in Victoria, and later worked as a consultant with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Robyn is currently the CEO of MacKillop Family Services, one of the largest providers of specialist services to vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and their families nationally.
