08 November 2024
University of South Australia child protection expert Professor Leah Bromfield, who has devoted her life to establishing practical, evidence-based solutions to child abuse and neglect, has been named the 2025 Australian of the Year for South Australia.
Professor Bromfield, Director and Chair of Child Protection at UniSA’s Australian Centre for Child Protection (ACCP), received the award from the SA Premier Peter Malinauskas at the Adelaide Convention Centre last night.
Judges described the 46-year-old as “one of the most trusted researchers in her field,” noting her advocacy for Australia’s first National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children in 2007.
Prof Bromfield’s calls for transformation and radical redesign have led to world-first insights and contributed to significant changes in the understanding of, and responses to, child abuse and neglect.
She is leading the development of a new child protection vision for SA, exploring unconventional approaches to break the cycle of abuse.
Accepting the award, Prof Bromfield paid tribute to the thousands of people working in Australia’s child protection sector.
“The work is hard and not very glamorous, but it is critical for our young people,” she says.
“I go to work every day knowing that I’m part of making a difference, that we’re doing the research and developing policy and resources to actually change practice on the ground.
“Our decisions and actions are making it better for kids, families and practitioners, including the frontline workers who are doing their best to help children and families in need.”
Prof Bromfield described the current child protection system as “a blunt instrument.”
“We’ve got a system where, if you’re worried about child abuse or neglect, the first place you go is child protection, which is horrible for families. Imagine if we told people to go to A&E before a GP if they had any health concerns? We need to make some fundamental changes in our processes.”
The ACCP Director told last night’s audience that she had always been driven by a sense of social justice.
“At university I discovered research and found that you could affect the lives of so many people in a positive way.
“When it comes to child protection, there is so much opportunity to effect change. The need is immense. 60% of Australians have experienced at least some form of abuse or neglect and while we do have successes, we are hampered by the current system, which is not working. We need radical transformation.
“However, academics and government can’t do this work alone. We need public support. There is so much appetite to do things differently, but to achieve that, our community needs to come on board.
“To improve outcomes, we need to make the sector smaller, not bigger, and that means we have all got to play a part.”
Prof Bromfield’s award coincides with ACCP’s 20th birthday last month, marking two decades of helping to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect.
She will join winners from each state and territory for a national reception in Canberra with the Prime Minister.
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Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
Researcher contact: Professor Leah Bromfield E: leah.bromfield@unisa.edu.au
