Dr Elvio Anthony Sinopoli

BIOGRAPHY

• Born in Adelaide, South Australia, and raised in Bagnara Calabra, province of Reggio Calabria, Italy, Dr Elvio Anthony Sinopoli holds academic qualifications across law, international studies, Italian studies, criminology, and cybercrime, and brings a distinctive interdisciplinary and international perspective to his teaching and research.
• In 2013, he completed his Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza (Integrated Bachelor–Master of Laws) at the Università degli Studi "Mediterranea" di Reggio Calabria (Italy), graduating with a thesis in comparative public law focused on the Australian constitutional system.
• After returning to Australia in 2013, Dr Sinopoli pursued further studies at Flinders University (South Australia), where he completed a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of International Studies (majoring in Italian language and culture) in 2018, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours First Class) in 2019 with a thesis exploring the lived experiences and identity formation of “new” Italian migrants in South Australia.
• In 2023, Dr Sinopoli was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Criminology and Law from Flinders University. His doctoral research, titled “Social Harm in the Australian Gig Economy: An Approach to Determine Accountability of Gig Companies and their Algorithms for Harming Gig Workers”, examined the impacts of algorithmic control, misclassification, and regulatory gaps through the theoretical lenses of zemiology, ultra-realism, and technology harm theory.
• Elvio recently completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, and International Law, delivered through a global partnership between the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the Centre of Security and Crime Sciences (University of Trento and University of Verona). His thesis, titled “Data Breach Investigations Down Under: Assessing Australia’s Guardianship in the Cyber Security Act 2024 (Cth) and its 2023–2030 Cyber Security Strategy”, examined Australia cybersecurity reforms through the lens of regulatory guardianship and breach response effectiveness.
• From 2019 to 2025, Dr Sinopoli has taught at Flinders University topics such as Cybercrime, International Law, Research Methods, Italian Organised Crime, Misinterpreting Crime Data, and International Criminal Justice. In mid-2025 he was appointed as Law Lecturer at UNISA.
• He currently leads a funded project on women’s experiences in the South Australian gig economy, supported by the Law Foundation of South Australia, and has contributed to the Independent Review of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 (Cth) for the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) with Flinders University.
• His research interests include platform labour regulation, algorithmic harm, migration, gendered violence, and state-corporate crime, actively publishing academic and non-academic papers in these fields.

QUALIFICATIONS

• United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), the University for Peace (UPEACE), and the Centre of Security and Crime Sciences (University of Trento and University of Verona) (Costa Rica-Italy), Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, and International Law (2023 - 2025)
• Flinders University, PhD in Criminology/Law (2020 - 2023)
• Flinders University, Bachelor of Arts Honours (Italian, First Class) (2017 - 2019)
• Flinders University, Bachelor of Laws combined with International Studies (2014 - 2018)
• Università degli Studi "Mediterranea" di Reggio Calabria (Italy), Bachelor's degree/Master's Degree in Law (Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza) (2006 - 2013)

HONOURS, AWARDS AND GRANTS

• The Law Foundation of South Australia (Grant) (November 2024-March 2026)
• Australian Government Research Training Scholarship Issued by the Australian Government (December 2019)
• The Italian Honours Prize Issued by the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences of Flinders University (May 2019)
• Chancellor’s Letter of Commendation Issued by Flinders University (August 2017)

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philsophy Flinders University

• Master of Laws University for Peace

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Flinders University

• Bachelor of Law and International Studies Flinders University

Work history

Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia      

04/2019 to 12/2022, 02/2024 – 05/2025 | Casual Professional

Lecturer in workshops for the topic LLAW1322 - International Law and Global Perspectives. Areas covered:

• sources of international law, state responsibility, immunities, sovereignty, territory, the use of force and peaceful settlement of international disputes

Lecturer and Marker for the topic CRIM1104 - (Mis)Interpreting Crime Data. Areas covered:

• Application and engagement with issues, concepts, and debates regarding research methods and the presentation of crime data
• Classification of various sources or representations of crime in official crime data/policy
• Interpretation, representation (even virtually) and application of key sources of crime data

Lecturer and Marker for the topic ITAL3215 - The Italian Mafia: Origin and Representations. Areas covered:

• The Four Mafia Groups (Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Camorra and Sacra Corona Unita)
• Antimafia initiatives and Antimafia personalities
• Women and Mafia
• Mafia and Criminal Justice
• Laws to tackle the Mafia around the world
• Mafia and Cybercrime
• Contemporary Mafia matters

Lecturer and Marker for the topic CRIM3302 - International Criminal Justice. Areas covered:

• Transnational Crimes
• Transnational Organised Crime
• Transnational Corporate Crime
• Global Social Control

Marker for the topic CRIM3020 Industry Project: Crime and Justice

Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia

05/2024 - current | Project Manager

• Project Manager for the Project on Lived Experiences of Harm faced by women in the Gig Economy in South Australia (2024-2026)
• Project Manager for the Independent Review of the Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Act 2022 (Cth) (2024)

Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia   

01/2023 to 12/2023 | Associate Lecturer

Topic Coordinator for the topic CRIM2206 – Analysing Cybercrime and Digital Risk. Areas covered:

• Internet and Cybercrime
• Theories in Cybercrime
• Hacking, Hacktivism, Cyberterrorism, Digital Piracy, Online Frauds, Hate Speech, Pornography and Child Sex Abuse Imagery, Cyberstalking
• Policing and Dataveillance in Cybercrime

Topic Coordinator for the topic CRIM2205 - Basic Criminological Research and Data. Areas covered:

• Conceptualising Research
• Qualitative and Quantitative Research and Samples
• Survey Design
• Research Ethics and Obtaining Informed Consent
• Interviewing and Focus Groups
• Case Study Research

Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia   

08/2020 to 12/2023 | Research assistant

Duties included:

• Drafting forms for approval from relevant Ethics Committees
• Editing websites
• Translating documents and forms from English to Italian
• Transcribing audio recordings into text form
• Drafting and editing online surveys for research purposes using Qualtrics
• Organising qualitative interviews for Chief Investigators