University of Sydney Youth Justice Collaboration

Established in 2018, The Matilda Centre is a world-first multidisciplinary centre conducting research in substance use and mental health in order to improve the lives of those affected by comorbid substance use and mental disorders. 

The Brain and Mind Centre is a global leader in research and treatment. In particular, they focus on conditions that affect child development, youth mental health and brain ageing. Two of their key research areas include child neurodevelopment and mental health and youth mental health and technology.

The Research Centre for Children and Families was established in 2019 to facilitate a broad range of research addressing vulnerable children and families. The Centre aims to provide locally generated evidence regarding the effects of policy and service responses on vulnerable children and families. 

The Centre for Disability Research and Policy seeks to reduce the disadvantage experienced by people living with disability by improving the social and economic engagement, and general health and wellbeing of those experiencing disability through policy and practice. The centre utilises a collaborative approach with a variety of local and international organisations, governments and service providers. The Centre for Disability Research and Policy works in partnership with and employs people with lived experience of disability, in order to highlight the voices of those affected and achieve the most productive outcomes. 

Established in 2017, the Cyberpsychology Research Group represents Australia’s first formal research group examining the impact of consumer technologies (smartphones, video games, social networking, wearable technology, virtual reality and artificial technology) on human behaviour, cognition and attitudes. The Centre focuses on a variety of research areas, including: e-mental health and online counselling, social media, internet addiction, cyberbulling, virtual reality, and more. They aim to work with industry partners, NGO’s and government organisations to develop evidence based solutions that positively impact health outcomes and expand education and training in cyberpsychology and digital health. 

The Gambling Research and Treatment Clinic is a GAMBLEAWARE provider which seeks to prevent and minimise harm resulting from problem gambling. The Clinic provides free and confidential therapy and support to those experiencing gambling related difficulties. 

The Communication Disorders Treatment and Research Clinic (CDTRC) is a teaching and research facility that provides speech pathology to a wide range of clients including members of the public. 

The clinic's assessments and therapy are provided by qualified speech pathologists supervising speech pathology students undertaking clinical or fieldwork training. Supervised students are able to see adults and children with a range of communication difficulties including language disorders, speech disorders, voice problems, stuttering, and swallowing disorders. 

Some of the many youth justice-related projects currently running at the University of Sydney include:

• Postgraduate Occupational Therapy students are currently working with Youth Justice NSW Classification Officers to build on previous work developing resources to explain classification to young people.
• One Sydney Many People funding provided by the University of Sydney is supporting work focused on Closing the Gap Outcome 11 – reducing the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in youth detention.
• An oral history pilot project, led by Dr Jed Evans from the Discipline of English, involves long-term Youth Justice NSW custodial staff speaking about their experiences and insights. This pilot project is testing this approach to capturing stories from custodial staff about their experiences.
  

• Industry and Community Project Units bring together students from across various disciplines and faculties/schools, to look at applying innovation and creativity to solve real world issues. In semester 1, 2023, students looked at multicultural practice and outcomes in the Youth Justice System. In semester 2, 2023, students explored the possibilities for digital innovations in the custodial setting. Youth Justice NSW was the industry partner for this project. 
  
• Two Digital Innovation student groups worked on gamifying parts of a widely used youth justice rehabilitation program.
• Two students within the unit of study Projects in Exercise Physiology within the Discipline of Exercise and Sport Science in the Faculty of Medicine and Health integrated an Exercise Physiology service for young people at the Cobham Youth Justice Centre. The projects added a structured exercise delivery service in group and one-on-one dynamics that takes into account specialised needs with respect to engagement and safety.
• A group of postgraduate strategic design students worked on a digital transformation project brief for Youth Justice NSW.
  
• Two groups Law students worked on voluntary Law Reform Projects focused on legal issues of increasing use of digital technology in youth custody and harmonising youth justice legislation in NSW. 
• Pasifika Review - Professor Jioji Ravulo undertook a formal review of the Pasifika Program implemented by Cobham Youth Justice Centre. The program works alongside young people who identify as being from an Indigenous-Pacific heritage to further support a deeper insight and understanding of cultural strengths and perspectives that support individual and family identities alongside their wellbeing. This initiative strived to decrease unhelpful behaviours whilst focussing on pro-social engagement with education, vocational pursuits and employment.
• Master of Occupational Therapy students undertaking a Community Fieldwork Project Placement (OCCP5239) developed a series of visual aid resources (pdf, 2.3MB) for Justice New South Wales. The placement was supervised by Associate Professor Garner Clancey and supported by academic instructors at The University of Sydney.
• An Industry and Community Project Unit in semester 1 2023. This unit brought students from across various disciplines and faculties/schools, to look at multicultural practice and outcomes in the Youth Justice System. Youth Justice NSW was the industry partner for this project.
• Two postgraduate exercise physiology students conducted an analysis of the contribution exercise physiology can make to young people in detention. This project was supervised by Dr Tim Davies. 
• Acoustic recordings were taken in a number of youth justice settings. Led by Associate Professor Densil Cabrera from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, this small project looked at the acoustics of living areas of custodial units. 
• A working group consisting of University of Sydney and Youth Justice NSW staff explored the digital needs of the youth justice system. Digital Innovation students progressed this work in semester 1 2023. 
• Students from various University of Sydney faculties/school (including criminology, social work, media and communication, politics, etc.) have completed placements with Youth Justice NSW in recent years.

In addition to these student placements, students have worked on various voluntary or for credit projects. Some have included:

• Postgraduate strategic design students completed a project in semester 2 2022, which resulted in the 'A place to go' design guidance report (pdf, 10.7 MB).
• Digital Innovation students have worked on various youth justice projects. During semester 1 2021 a group developed virtual reality content depicting the day in the life of a youth officer working in a Youth Justice Centre (YJC). This involved filming in one centre and rendering the images in virtual reality. Students enrolled in the same unit worked on two YJNSW projects in semester 1 2022 focusing on a career pathways self-guided learning tool.
• USYD Law students volunteered for the Law Reform Support Project and worked on four YJNSW projects in semester 2 2021 (bail, terrorism/high risk offenders, traffic, and age of criminal responsibility). 
• A group of students volunteered in semester 1 2022 and extended the work on the bail/short-term remand project, including developing materials for use in police training on making bail decisions. 
• Students worked on two projects for the Children’s Court of NSW in semester 2 2022. Both projects related to sentencing of young people in Children’s Court.

Brenda Lin

PhD candidate, The University of Sydney Law School

Operationalisation of the Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) approach to rehabilitation in NSW Youth Justice Centres through the exploration of a staff induction training course.

Laura Metcalfe

PhD candidate, The University of Sydney Law School

The Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility in NSW: Examining the operation of doli incapax and implications of reform.

Luke Strong

PhD candidate, Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Restorative sound environments in adult and youth correctional facilities: Architectural considerations for the design of prisons.

Susan Morley

Master of Design candidate, Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning

Improving rehabilitation outcomes: Using gamification as an effective intervention approach for young offenders in NSW.

• Clancey, G., & Lulham, R. (Eds.). (2023). Youth crime, youth justice and children's courts in NSW. LexisNexis. ISBN: 9780409357059.
• Clancey, G., Evans, J., & Friedlander, L. (2023). Some long-term positive trends in youth detention in New South Wales (Australia). Safer Communities, 22(1), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/SC-06-2022-0023
• Ravulo, J. (2023). A Positive Youth Development approach to addressing sexual and gender diversity with Pasifika young people in Australia. In A. Kelly-Hanku, P. Aggleton, & A. Malcolm (Eds.), Sex and gender in the Pacific: Contemporary perspectives on sexuality, gender and health (pp. 53-65). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003142072-6
• Lulham, R. (2023). Does design matter? An environmental psychology study in youth detention. In D. Moran, Y. Jewkes, K.-L. Blount-Hill, & V. St. John (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of prison design (pp. 443-479). Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11972-9_16
• Bailey, S., Grummitt, L., Birrell, L., Kelly, E., Gardner, L. A., Champion, K. E., Chapman, C., Teesson, M., Barrett, E. L., & Newton, N. (2023). Young people's evaluation of an online mental health prevention program for secondary school students: A mixed-methods formative study. Mental Health & Prevention, 30, Article 200263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2023.200263
• Morse, A. K., Sercombe, J., Askovic, M., Fisher, A., Marel, C., Chatterton, M.-L., Kay-Lambkin, F., Barrett, E., Sunderland, M., Harvey, L., Peach, N., Teesson, M., & Mills K. L. (2023). Systematic review of the efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of stepped-care interventions for the prevention and treatment of problematic substance use. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 144, Article 108928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108928
• Schollar-Root, O., Cassar, J., Peach, N., Cobham, V. E., Milne, B., Barrett, E., Back, S. E., Bendall, S., Perrin, S., Brady, K., Ross, J., Teesson, M., Kihas, I., Dobinson, K. A., & Mills, K. L. (2022). Integrated trauma-focused psychotherapy for traumatic stress and substance use: Two adolescent case studies. Clinical Case Studies, 21(3), 192-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/15346501211046054
• Deans, E., Ravulo, J., Conroy, E., & Abdo, J. (2022). A qualitative study exploring young offenders' perspectives on alcohol and other drug health promotion. BMC Public Health, 22(1), Article 568. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12953-z
• Clancey, G., & Metcalfe, L. (2022). Inspections, reviews, inquiries and recommendations pertaining to youth justice centres in New South Wales between 2015 and 2021. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 34(3), 255-274. https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2022.2091207
• Grummitt, L., Barrett, E., Kelly, E. V., Stapinski, L., & Newton, N. (2022). Personality as a possible intervention target to prevent traumatic events in adolescence. Behavioral Sciences, 12(4), Article 90. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12040090

On 27 February 2024, the University of Sydney Law School hosted the book launch of Youth Crime, Youth Justice and Children's Courts in NSW, co-edited by Dr Garner Clancey, Sydney Law School, and Dr Rohan Lulham, University of Sydney. The book provides a comprehensive account of the complex arrangements impacting youth crime, youth justice and Children’s Courts in NSW.

On 25 October 2023, a free webinar was hosted by the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University and the Youth Justice Research Collaboration at the University of Sydney.

The webinar provided an opportunity for academics and professionals to detail and discuss the upholding of children’s rights and participation in the English and Australian Youth Justice Systems. The webinar provided opportunities for interactive discussions about the enablers and barriers to meaningful participation in youth justice systems.

View the webinar - 'Children's Rights and Participation in Youth Justice Systems: An International Perspective'.

In April 1998, the Young Offenders Act 1997 commenced in New South Wales. It provided a legislative basis for the diversion of young people from formal court proceedings and introduced, amongst other things, youth justice conferences.

On 3 May 2023, a panel discussion involving key actors in the development and initial implementation of the YOA reflected on this history and discussed the challenges of implementing the legislation and the benefits of diverting young people from more formal criminal justice interventions.

Associate Professor Garner Clancey facilitated the panel discussion which included:

• Jenny Bargen
• Louise Blazejowska
• Dr Jane Bolitho
• Richard Funston
• Acting Superintendent Joanne Schultz

View the webinar - 'Reflecting on 25 Years of the Young Offenders Act 1997 in NSW'.

A Youth Crime and Youth Justice Forum was held at the University of Sydney Law School on 24 November 2022.

Keynote speakers included:

• Judge Ellen Skinner, President of the NSW Children’s Court 
• Jackie Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research
• Mike Wheaton, Director of Policy and Practice, Youth Justice NSW 
• Kate Munro, Youth Action CEO

A webinar delivered by three research staff from the Matilda Centre to Youth Justice NSW, highlighting various projects relevant to youth justice. 

View the webinar - 'Addressing mental health and substance use in the youth justice setting'.

A webinar delivered by staff from the Department of Communities and Justice Youth Frontiers program and USYD's Research Centre for Children and Families. 

View the webinar - 'Using a core components approach in evidence review and service redesign in youth mentoring'.