Current Projects

New research report: Who cares? A fair share of work and care
New research report: Who cares? A fair share of work and care Natasha Cortis, Meagan Blaxland and Sara Charlesworth 2021 A new report Who cares? A

New research report: Women, Work, Care and COVID
New research report: Women, Work, Care and COVID Fiona Macdonald, Jenny Malone, and Sara Charlesworth 2021 The Women, Work, Care and COVID research report reveals how women

Report on Vulnerable Workers in Victoria
In June 2021, RMIT’s CPOW together with the Business and Human Rights Centre, jointly released a report that brought home the urgency of law reform and support for vulnerable workers.

Supporting careers of LGBTQIA+ students in Australian universities
Australians who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual and more (LGBTQIA+) face tremendous challenges in preparing careers through higher education.

Promoting Long-Term Employment of Autistic Individuals
Autistic adults tend to have poor employment outcomes and poor well-being, but these outcomes have mostly been treated separately. This project aims to investigate the links between sustainable employment and well-being of autistic adults.

Report: Scoping Study on Gender-Based Violence in Individualised Support & Care Services in Victoria
Sara Charlesworth, Fiona Macdonald and Jane Clarke, are undertaking this scoping project for Worksafe Victoria.

Australia Public Libraries and the support services for newly settled refugees
The aim of this study is to explore the role of Australian Public Libraries and their support services for newly settled refugees.

The Future of Regional Jobs: Report for Regional Australia Institute
The overarching project aims to identify and explain the significance of jobs, work and employment in sub-national regions over time in Australia.

Growing Southern Gippsland
The ‘Growing Southern Gippsland’ project is a collaboration between the Bass Coast Landcare Network, RMIT University, Federation University Australia, Bass Coast Shire Council and the South Gippsland Landcare Network through funding from the Victorian State Government and the Victorian Centre for Climate Change Innovation.

A day in the life of a care and support worker
This project used time diaries to investigate the working time of disability support workers providing home and community support.

CRIMT
CRIMT is an interdisciplinary and interuniversity research centre which focuses on the theoretical and practical challenges of institutional and organizational renewal in the areas of work and employment in the global era.

Imagining Age-Friendly “Communities within Communities”: International Promising Practices
Sara Charlesworth is an investigator on this Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded project.

Decent Work Good Care: International approaches to aged care
This project explores the links between job quality and care quality in the context of formal aged care provision in the distinct liberal welfare states

Unacceptable Forms of Work: Gender-Based Violence
The research focuses on gender-based violence in home care as an ‘unacceptable form of work’ and locates it with home care work conditions.

Paid work in cash-for-care: Australia in comparative perspective
This project is investigating the outcomes of cash-for-care reforms for care workers.
Past Projects

Country Fire Authority and New Engagement Approaches
Country Fire Authority and New Engagement Approaches The Country Fire Authority tried new engagement approaches in four localities across Victoria. The approaches were: arts-based, using

Community engagement by Chinese firms in Australia: Practices and benefits
Community engagement by Chinese firms in Australia: Practices and benefits This research project aims to investigate the temporal and spatial dimensions of care and support

CFA Community Fireguard Review: Improving Quality Control and Assurance
CFA Community Fireguard Review: Improving Quality Control and Assurance Project dates: 1 October 2009 to 31 August 2010 Key people Peter Fairbrother, Alison Hart and

A Framework to enable community resilience and engagement
A Framework to enable community resilience and engagement The project was commissioned by the Cardinia Shire Council to provide a framework and tools in order

A Day in the Life of a Care and Support Worker
A Day in the Life of a Care and Support Worker This research project aims to investigate the temporal and spatial dimensions of care and

The Glass Ceiling For Women: Assessing the State of Gender Equality and Career Progression in the Health Industry
This research aims to explore the factors contributing to gender equality and inequality in terms of pay and access to promotion.

Markets, migration and care in Australia
This project explores the emerging connections between care marketisation, employment regulation and migration and the impact on care workers, service users and care industries in Australia and NZ.

Informal Care, Social Protection and Gender: Policy Implications for Countries in the WHO Western Pacific Region
A scoping review on informal care, social protection and gender is drawing out policy implications for countries in the Western Pacific Region. Grant: WHO Western

Gender, Migration and the Work of Care: Comparative Perspectives
Gender, Migration and the Work of Care: Comparative Perspectives The project investigates how the reorganization of care is influencing care workers’ international migration, and how