UTS Research Community on Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence

Dr Samantha Donnelly is a lecturer in the School of Interior Architecture, leading studios on sustainable and climate responsive practices for real-life projects that deliver social impact for vulnerable communities, in particular women and children leaving domestic and family violence. 

Her PhD thesis focuses on women’s refuges in NSW: how tailored design outcomes and trauma-informed design address safety and care-practice needs for women and children leaving violence.

Samantha’s most recent project involved a collaboration with Hobart Women’s Shelter and Core Collective Architects to develop trauma-informed interiors for therapy and activity spaces. The project included a session with UTS Interior Architecture students to visit the site and develop a series of schemes to present to the Shelter for feedback.

Thanks to a UTS Shopfront Research Fellowship, Samantha developed a Design Guide for Refuge Accommodation, based on interviews with twelve urban refuges in NSW. The Design Guide has enabled further research projects with a broader audience and has impacted State publications and the recent NSW Government release of funding for new refuge buildings. Samantha is currently working with several housing and domestic and family violence organisations on trauma-informed design outcomes to seek funding.

Extending on the women’s housing theme, Samantha produced a Design Guide for Older Women’s Housing with Schored Projects (Melbourne) – a post-occupancy evaluation of housing designed for women over 45 funded by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation which won a Gold for Research in the Good Design Award 2022.

Samantha is a member of the UTS Domestic Violence Research Network, previously a member of the UTS Domestic Violence Steering Committee with Dr Anne Summers, and has worked with the UTS Design Innovation Research Centre (DIRC) and UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC).

Mihajla Gavin is a Senior Lecturer at UTS Business School specialising in employment relations and human resource management. She earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) with First Class Honours and Doctor of Philosophy (Business) from the University of Sydney and is a recipient of the prestigious University Medal. Her PhD examined impacts of neoliberal education reform on teachers' working conditions and teacher union responses. She is also a former Senior Advisor at the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

Research Impact 

Mihajla’s research investigates fair and decent work in the changing world of work. She brings a strong interdisciplinary focus to her research with recent projects focused on teachers’ work, employee voice, and gender-based violence. She has over 50 publications across edited books, textbooks, journal articles and book chapters, including co-editor of the Research Handbook on Gender, Work and Employment Relations (Elgar) and Field Guide to Researching Employment and Industrial Relations (Elgar). Her work has appeared in leading journals in the fields of industrial relations, human resource management, and management such as British Journal of Industrial Relations, Work Employment and Society, Journal of Industrial Relations, Management Learning, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Journal of International Management, and Journal of Professions and Organization. Mihajla's research has had demonstrable impact via expert testimony, roundtables and submissions to government and independent inquiries, and partnerships with industry. In recognition of her engagement and impact, she was awarded UTS Business School's External Engagement Award.

Teaching Excellence

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and teaches in the areas of industrial relations and human resource management. She is also co-author of one of Australia's leading and long-running textbooks on human resource management for tertiary business students, Wiley's Human Resource Management, which is used widely across universities in Australia and internationally. Her teaching excellence has been recognised through receiving multiple awards, including UTS Business School's Teaching and Learning Award and a Vice-Chancellor's Commendation for innovative teaching and fostering social impact. 

In 2022, she led the design, coordination and delivery of a new core subject in the Bachelor of Business - Business and Social Impact (21214). This subject explores how businesses can integrate social impact into the way they work and encourages students to develop their agency as future business leaders to build a stronger and fairer society. With Prof. Kathy Walsh, she developed an innovative approach of teaching social responsibility by integrating lived experiences of social disadvantage to increase student empathy and inspire action towards social change. She is the former Faculty Coordinator for the U@Uni Academy, which paves the way for underrepresented groups of students to study at university through alternate, non-ATAR entry to UTS.

Leadership and Service

Mihajla has held a number of leadership roles at UTS and externally. She was President of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics in Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) in 2025 and was previously Vice-President and Secretary. At UTS, she has held the roles of Program Coordinator for the Human Resource Management Major in the Bachelor of Business, as well as Co-Chair of the UTS Business School Social Justice and Inclusion Committee. She is also Co-Convenor of the UTS Research Community on Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. She is currently Treasurer and an Executive Committee member of the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (IRSNSW), as well as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Industrial Relations 

Media and Invited Talks 

Mihajla’s research features regularly in major media including The Sydney Morning Herald, Seven News, The Conversation, ABC, The Australian, The Herald Sun, Women's Agenda, and 2SER radio, as well as practitioner-focused outlets including HRM Online, EducationHQ, and union journals. Selected recent media and presentations:

•    2026: Employers have a duty of care for domestic violence when working-from-home. But our laws are failing victims. Women's Agenda. 2 June. 

•    2026: You can't teach 'affective' empathy from a case study. Times Higher Education. 1 May.

•    2025: Invited Speaker, Domestic Violence NSW, Launch of Engaging Lived Experience and Expertise in Domestic Violence Policy Report, 14 October 2025.

•    2025: Invited Speaker, PSA/CPSU Women's Conference, 9 September 2025.

•    Domestic violence in the workplace: When the laws don’t work. The Interpreter, The Lowy Institute. 24 June 2025.

•    From Policy to Practice: DV in the Workplace. 2SER Think: Business Futures podcast. 23 April 2025.
•    Experts canvass reasons for low FDV leave uptake. Workplace Express. 10 February 2025.
•    Business partnerships tackling real-world problems for social impact. UTS LX. 16 January 2025.

•    2024: Invited Speaker, Sveriges Larare, (Swedish Teachers' Union), 26 August 2024.

•    2024: Invited Keynote, Ku-ring-gai Council International Women's Day Forum, 6 March 2024. 

•    'Double-edged sword': more technology not the solution to teacher workload crisis. EducationHQ. 26 September 2024. 
•    How effective are domestic violence advertising campaigns for preventing violence against women? The Conversation. 3 May 2024.
•    Tackle teachers’ workloads but leave lesson planning to the experts. The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 February 2024.
•    Will a four-day school week make teachers’ workload better or worse? Education Daily. 10 January 2024.
•    Workplace support for DV victims slow in coming. The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 January 2023.
•    Teachers sick of 'pointless' admin work, NSW inquiry hears. The Herald Sun. 16 August 2022.
•    ‘This is like banging our heads against the wall’: why a move to outsource lesson planning has NSW teachers hopping mad. The Conversation. 5 August 2022.

•    2022: Expert Witness, NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Teacher Shortages in New South Wales, 16 August 2022. 

•    2022: Invited Chair, Schools Funding Conference, Centre for Public Education Research, 18 February 2022.

Miranda Kaye is an Associate Professor whose area of expertise lies in family law. Her research is interdisciplinary, drawing on socio-legal research methods to investigate real world impacts of family law principles and procedures.

Miranda has a proven track-record in using qualitative research methods to make recommendations for improved access to justice. For example, with UTS colleagues Jane Wangmann and Tracey Booth, Miranda recently completed a study of the effects of self-representation in the Family Law Court in matters involving allegations of family violence. Funded by the Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) the research made a series of recommendations to improve the experiences and safety of self-represented litigants in such proceedings. The final report won an Australian Legal Research Award for a Non-Traditional Output in 2022.

Miranda also contributes to public policy and debate on family law issues. Her research on the proposal to merge the Family Law and Federal Courts was featured in the Conversation and on ABC radio’s The Signal. Miranda has also made multiple submissions to government inquiries, including a recent consultation by the Attorney-General’s Department on family law and property matters.

Miranda’s recent research has focused on binding financial agreements entered into prior to marriage or commencing a de facto relationship - colloquially known as prenuptial agreements. She is also investigating the issue of financial abuse as it relates to property division in the family courts as well as Hague Abduction matters involving domestic or family violence. Miranda attended and spoke at the HCCH Forum on Domestic Violence and the Hague Abduction Convention. A report of that Forum, written with Merle Weiner and Adrienne Barnett, has been published in the International Journal of Law Policy and the Family and can be read in full here.

Prior to joining the Law Faculty at UTS, Miranda studied law at Cambridge and Oxford and was a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney. She also brings to the faculty her experience in the public service (Law Commission of England and Wales) and as a practicing solicitor (family law in the United Kingdom).

Alice Klettner is an Associate Professor at the UTS Business School with expertise in corporate governance and its regulation. She studies the rules and systems that determine how companies are directed and controlled, systems that are vital for ensuring accountability, building trust and promoting sustainable value creation. She engages with policy-makers and corporate leaders across diverse business types, to understand and find solutions to real-world governance challenges, such as how to balance the differing interests of shareholders, employees, customers and suppliers. Her research explores ways to motivate and guide boards of directors in developing a clear corporate purpose and integrating social and environmental considerations into their decision-making processes.

With an earlier career as a solicitor, first at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London and then at a boutique firm in Sydney, Alice brings her legal background to bear in understanding the impact of regulatory changes on corporate governance dynamics and related organisational behaviour. She has tracked with interest the evolution of reporting frameworks to include issues such as gender diversity, modern slavery, climate and nature risks, exploring how the reporting cycle can alter management processes.

Her research is interdisciplinary, bridging the boundaries of law, management and finance with an underlying interest in human behaviour. Specific interests include: the role and responsibilities of boards of directors; regulation of corporate social responsibility; gender diversity in leadership; and business and human rights. Alice strives to maintain strong links with practice and has worked with a variety of government and industry partners to successfully explore governance issues, for example:
 

• Future-proofing the capabilities of company secretaries, with the Governance Institute Australia
• Models of stakeholder governance, with B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
• Sustainable finance systems, with Climate KIC Australia and the EU Commission
• Gender diversity in leadership, with the Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Agency
• Board performance evaluation, with the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors

Alice has a first class honours degree in Natural Sciences (physiology & psychology) from Jesus College, Cambridge University; a Masters in International Law from Sydney University; and her PhD examined the effectiveness of soft law in regulating corporate governance. Whilst completing her PhD, she was a researcher at the UTS Centre for Corporate Governance where her work led to the award of a UTS Chancellor's Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.

Alice has won awards for her innovative teaching of business law and ethics. She uses her research insights to teach and supervise higher degree research students in the areas of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility and responsible business practice.

Teamleader of the Faculty Research Engagement Manager (FREM). Also, FREM for the (forer) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) and Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research

Christine Lai is the Research Networks Coordinator at UTS, where she specialises in the strategic coordination and management of the university’s diverse research networks.  Her role involves coordinating networks at various stages of development, facilitating collaboration among academic and external stakeholders, and supporting initiatives that enhance research visibility, engagement, and impact. She facilitates collaboration among academic and external stakeholders, enhances visibility through digital platforms, and supports the planning and delivery of events, reports, and engagement activities. Her role is positioned at the intersection of research strategy and administrative coordination, enabling cross-institutional and interdisciplinary research initiatives to thrive.

She is committed to fostering inclusive, impactful research communities that contribute to the university’s broader research objectives and societal engagement.  Through her work, Christine supports the translation of academic insights into real-world applications, fostering connections that extend beyond the university and contribute to public benefit and policy development.

Celina McEwen is a Senior Researcher at the University of Technology Sydney’s Business School. She conducts research as part of the Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience (CCRR), and Change for Good at UTS. Celina has an interdisciplinary background with training and experience in social sciences, adult education and information science. She draws on theories, methods and processes from these disciplines to examine issues of social inequities and social justice in various aspects of work and life. She has worked in universities in France and Australia and has collaborated on more than 80 research projects across disciplines. She has contributed her expertise on the sociology and social anthropology of professional practice and education as well as on the design and implementation of qualitative and mixed methods. Some of her work includes the development of the concept of ‘deliberate professional’ with Franziska Trede, which resulted in the publication of the book "Educating the Deliberate Professional" with Springer in 2016; researching gender, diversity and inclusion at work with Prof Carl Rhodes and Prof Alison Pullen as part of the ARC Discovery Project (DP180100360, "Leadership Diversity Through Relational Intersectionality in Australia" (2018-2021); and examining the challenges of the aged care sector workforce as a member of the UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC). She is also a founding member of the UTS Research Community on Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

I am a Professor of Nursing and Deputy Head of School Teaching and Learning for the School of Nursing and Midwifery

As the Research Engagement Associate for the Faculty of Law and Research Engagement Manager for the Business School, Venus offers bespoke research upliftment and stakeholder engagement across the research ecosystem. This includes knowledge exchange and research translation activities by helping to identify and develop project outputs and outcomes, partnerships and funding opportunities unique to each faculty or researcher. The evaluation of research outcomes in supporting impact case - studies and nominations for prizes and awards also falls within the ambit of this support.

Venus' focus intersects across opportunities with government, international engagement, philanthropic relationships, the third sector, industry partnerships and donations. Her role uniquely helps to support the dissemination of research to help advance engagement and impact opportunities. She is an intermediary between the Central Research Office, the Faculty of Law and the Business School across these activities.  

Dr Jane Wangmann's research is primarily concerned with legal responses to domestic and family violence. Jane has particular expertise in understanding how law defines, understands and conceives of this harm.

Jane’s research is multi-disciplinary, drawing on socio-legal research methods and feminist legal theory to investigate the intersection of law and domestic violence and improved access to justice. For example, Jane (with UTS colleagues Professor Tracey Booth and Miranda Kaye) completed a research project on the impact and effect of self-representation in family law proceedings involving allegations of family violence. The project, funded by Australia's National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), made a number of important recommendations to improve the safety and experiences of those involved such proceedings. The report from this research was awarded the 2022 Non Traditional Research Output Award, Australian Legal Research Awards. More recently, Jane with collegaues Associate Professor Miranda Kaye and Kate Thomas were engaged by NSW Legal Aid to evaluate the Hearing Support Pilot Project which provided support to victim/survivors whose criminal or AVO proceeding was being defended in in the Local Court of NSW.

Jane’s expertise in this area is illustrated by her continuing contributions to public policy. For instance, Jane is currently a non-government sector expert appointed to the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team (2014- present), which is responsible for reviewing domestic violence related homicides in order to examine any gaps in the service delivery system and to make recommendations to enhance safety.

In her research, Jane draws on almost 30 years of experience in the field of domestic violence and the law. Jane has previously worked as a solicitor in a community legal centre, as a senior policy officer in the NSW Attorney General's Department (as it was then called) and at the Australian Law Reform Commission. Her deep commmunity based work is recognised for example in 2024 she was awarded, with Ashlee Donohue CEO of Mudgin-Gal, the UTS Law Faculty First Peoples Community Partnerships Award.

Photograph by Andy Roberts