I am currently Professor of Criminology in Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney where I have been working since February 2018. I lead the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub within Jumbunna. I have published widely on various matters concerned broadly with racism, human rights, and especially the violence of the criminal legal system and colonialism more generally. More specifically my work has been related to abolitionism, decolonialism, Indigenous legal issues, youth justice, policing, restorative justice, justice reinvestment, civil law matters, access to justice. Most of my publications are listed on this website, and some are directly accessible. You can also check my ORCID , SSRN and Google Scholar accounts.

A substantial part of my work has been working on the ground with First Nations communities and organisations.

Previously, I had professorial appointments at University of Sydney and UNSW Law Schools, and the Cairns Institute at James Cook University (JCU). Between 2014-2018 I was Professor of Criminology at UNSW, and prior to that (2010-2014), I was a Tropical Leader and Senior Fellow in the Cairns Institute and College of Business, Law and Governance at JCU. I currently maintain an Honorary Professorial position at UNSW.

I taught criminology at the University of Sydney Law School from 1990-2005 and was Director of the Institute of Criminology, University of Sydney from 1999-2005. I have held research positions with the Indigenous Law Centre (UNSW) and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Between 2000-2007 I was Chairperson of the NSW Juvenile Justice Advisory Council which advised the Minister on juvenile justice matters. I was also a member of the New South Wales Attorney-Generals’ Taskforce on Sexual Assault in Aboriginal Communities (2002-2006).

I have been a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA) since 2014. In 2021 I received the Distinguished Criminologist award from the ANZ Society of Criminology and appointed a Fellow of the Society (FANZSOC). My qualifications are BA (UNSW 1976) Dip Ed (UNSW 1977) MA (University of Sydney 1982) PhD (University of Sydney 2000).

I worked as a consultant researcher and writer with several Australian Royal Commissions and Inquiries including the Stolen Generations Inquiry and Bringing Them Home report, the National Inquiry into Racist Violence, and the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. I also have worked as a research consultant with the Australian Human Rights Commission, including the Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner and with key national Indigenous bodies including ATSIC and NAILSS/NATSILS.

I was a member of the expert Reference Group to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (2018). I have provided expert reports to the Australian Federal Court, the District Court (NSW) and Coroners Courts in the Northern Territory and NSW.