08 April 2024
ACCP staff members were honoured to be acknowledged as nominees and awardees of UniSA Justice & Society's 2023 Staff Champion Awards this month. The Awards recognise UniSA Justice & Society Academic Unit staff who have made significant achievements in their roles while exemplifying the University and Academic Unit's core values and attributes. Their achievements were celebrated at a ceremony on Friday 5 April.
ACCP nominees included:
Prof Leah Bromfield: Established Academic – Leadership (awardee)
Dr Jacynta Krakouer: Early Career Academic – Impact (awardee)
Amanda Paton: Professional Staff – Leadership (nominee)
Jenny Macpherson: Professional Staff – Continuous Improvement (nominee)
Pictured L-R: Prof Jill Dorrian, Dean of Research, UniSA Justice & Society and ACCP Board Chair; Prof Leah Bromfield; Dr Jacynta Krakouer; Jenny Macpherson
Winner: Prof Leah Bromfield
Prof Leah Bromfield, Director of the Australian Centre for Child Protection and UniSA's Chair of Child Protection, was recognised as a leader who routinely and overtly anchors her inspiring leadership and mentoring in value-based decision making. In receiving the award, Leah was particularly recognised for her leadership in the field of child abuse and neglect. In 2023, she completed her role as Commissioner in the Commission of Inquiry into Tasmanian Government Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings, with the final report containing 191 recommendations being handed down. In the same year, Leah was appointed as the Chair of the South Australian Child Protection Expert Group, and charged with establishing a 20 year vision for transforming the South Australian child protection system. Through her leadership within the University of South Australia, the ACCP has continued to make great strides, including reaching into new jurisdictions across Australia, the growth of our clinical expertise capabilities to deliver workforce development, and decolonisation being embedded as a core value across our work and approaches. Despite her significant commitments across the sector, Leah always makes time and demonstrates care for the ACCP staff and student team, and UniSA colleagues more broadly.
Winner: Dr Jacynta Krakouer
Dr Jacynta Krakouer is UniSA Justice & Society's inaugural Enterprise Fellow and an ACCP member. Jacynta is a Mineng Noongar woman who, in the time since completing her PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2022, has already established herself with a formidable CV with a breadth of achievements, solidifying her as a leader of impact in addressing issues relating to the wellbeing and connection to culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples including children and young people in out-of-home care, mothers experiencing child protection interventions in the perinatal period, and inequalities in the child protection system.
Jacynta leads the SAFeST Start Coalition, bringing together researchers, professionals, and lived experience advisors across Australia to find solutions to keeping Aboriginal children and families safe and together from the start during the perinatal period.
Jacynta's expertise has been sought at both Commonwealth and state levels, driving policy solutions across a range of areas including the Commission for Children and Young People Victoria’s review into the Cultural Safety Child Safe Standards and the South Australian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People's and Queensland Family and Child Commission’s reviews into compliance with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. She has also been an invited expert witness to four public inquiries including the Disability Royal Commission, Yoorrook Justice Commission Child Protection Inquiry, South Australian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People's Child Protection Inquiry, and a Coronial Inquest into the tragic death of an Aboriginal child in out-of-home care.
Jacynta’s role in UniSA Justice & Society and our Centre is truly one of leadership in addressing the important issues of Aboriginal inequalities and working towards solutions to tackle the over-representation of Aboriginal children and families involved in the child protection system. Her commitment to impactful communication and sharing her knowledge, expertise, and guidance while providing warmth and generosity of spirit and ensuring the wellbeing of colleagues and students is truly valued and an inspiration for us all.
