Professor Leah Bromfield

Director: Australian Centre for Child Protection and Chair of Child Protection UniSA Justice & Society

City East Campus (UH3-02A)
tel +61 8 830 22924

email Leah.Bromfield@unisa.edu.au

Available for media comment
Research Degree Supervisor

About me

Child Protection
Cumulative Harm
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Professor Leah Bromfield is one of Australia's foremost child protection researchers and is Co-Director at the Australian Centre for Child Protection.

She is a well-regarded research expert in issues affecting child protection systems, chronic maltreatment and cumulative harm, and has worked closely with state, national and international governments on establishing and implementing child welfare reforms, including the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children.

Professor Bromfield was the Professorial Fellow to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, established by the Australian government and lead its extensive research program.

She won the 2017 Telstra Business Women's... Read more

UniSA Justice & Society

UniSA Justice & Society innovates for change and addresses areas of critical social need through world-class research, teaching and learning.

Other UniSA associations

Australian Centre for Child Protection

Tweets by @UniversitySA

Research

Research focus

Social Work
Psychology
Public Health and Health Services
Policy and Administration
Applied Economics

Highlights

Child protection, including intake and assessment, national and international comparisons, and multiply referred families

Child abuse and neglect, including prevalence and incidence, chronic maltreatment and cumulative harm, and maltreatment definitions

Multiple and complex problems and child abuse and neglect

Research dissemination,knowledge translation and exchange, implementation science

Public health approaches and child protection systems design

Research

Projects

Excludes commercial-in-confidence projects.

Enhancing responses to Children with Harmful Sexual Behaviours and Advocacy, Support and Therapeutic Treatment for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in the Western Australian Service Context, WA Dept of Communities, 28/06/2021 - 31/12/2023
SA Dept of Human Services Scholarship, SA Dept of Human Services, 01/07/2019 - 31/12/2023
Parkerville – Responding Effectively to Child Sexual Abuse Research Program, Parkerville Children and Youth Care Inc., 01/03/2018 - 07/05/2023
Prototyping of the evidence-informed co-designed therapeutic approach for Noongar children with abuse and neglect related trauma with Aboriginal healing practitioners , Breakthrough Mental Health Foundation/UniSA ¿ Seed Funding, 01/02/2022 - 28/02/2023
SCHEDULE 5 OFFICIAL ORDER 90013947 - IMS Part A, Cwth Dept of Social Services, 16/12/2021 - 28/02/2023
Cumulative Harm: The Outcomes, Risk and protective Factors Associated with Chronic Maltreatment, SA Dept for Education and Children's Services, 01/01/2014 - 31/12/2019
EIRD Perpetrator Desktop Evaluation and Information, SA Dept of Premier & Cabinet, 28/03/2018 - 30/06/2018
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Child Advocacy Centres, Parkerville Children and Youth Care Inc., 03/01/2014 - 31/05/2018
Harmful Sexual Behaviours Consultancy and Research Services, Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia, 03/10/2017 - 15/12/2017
Research support for the NSW Ombudsmans Review of the Joint Investigation Response Team, New South Wales Ombudsman, 07/10/2016 - 31/01/2017
CaPS Planning and Implementation Project (FAC Panel), Cwth Dept of Social Services, 15/06/2015 - 30/11/2016
Outcomes Measurement Project (FAC Panel), Cwth Dept of Social Services, 15/06/2015 - 30/11/2016
Neglect Literature Review, NSW Dept of Family & Community Services, 25/09/2016 - 20/11/2016
Fathers, Family Violence and Intervention Challenges, ARC - Linkage Project, 01/07/2013 - 30/06/2016
Fathers, Family Violence and Intervention Challenges (Industry Partner), The University of Melbourne, 01/01/2016 - 30/06/2016
Post-doctoral research fellow for the signs of safety-child protection framework, Government of Western Australia, 23/11/2012 - 30/01/2016

Research

Outputs

Research outputs for the last seven years are shown below. To see earlier years visit ORCID, ResearcherID or Scopus

Open access indicates that an output is open access.

Books

Year	Output
2012	Bromfield, LM, Sutherland, K & Parker, R 2012, Families with multiple and complex needs: Best interests case practice model specialist practice resource, Victorian Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia. Open access

Chapters

Year	Output
2020	Herbert, JL, Bromfield, L, Arney, F & Blakemore, T 2020, 'Impacts of institutional child sexual abuse: what we have learned from research and the Royal Commission into institutional response to child sexual abuse private sessions', in I Bryce & W Petherick (eds), Child Sexual Abuse: Forensic Issues in Evidence, Impact, and Management, Academic Press, UK, ch. 11, pp. 221-240.
2015	Arney, F, Bromfield, L & McDougall, S 2015, 'Research in child protection: an Australian perspective', in L Waterhouse & J McGhee (eds), Challenging child protection: New directions in safeguarding children, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, UK, ch. 8, pp. 100-109.
2015	Bromfield, L 2015, 'The role of mandatory reporting in preventative child welfare reforms: an uneasy fit?', in B Mathews & D C Bross (eds), Mandatory reporting laws and the identification of severe child abuse and neglect, Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, ch. 22, pp. 467-490.
2014	Bromfield, L, Arney, F & Higgins, D 2014, 'Contemporary issues in child protection intake, referral and family support', in A Hayes & D Higgins (eds), Families, policy and the law: selected essays on contemporary issues for Australia, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne, ch. 13, pp. 121-129. Open access
2012	Arney, FM, Bromfield, LM, Lewig, KA, Michaux, A, Antcliff, G & Mildon, R 2012, 'Facilitating evidence-informed practice: participatory knowledge translation and exchange', in K Dill & W Shera (eds), Implementing evidence-informed practice: international perspectives, Canadian Scholars' Press, Toronto, Canada, ch. 12, pp. 173 - 189.
2010	Arney, F, Lewig, K, Bromfield, L & Holzer, P 2010, 'Using evidence-informed practice to support vulnerable families', in F Arney & D Scott (eds), Working with vulnerable families, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, ch. 12, pp. 247-274.

Journal Articles

Year	Output
2022	Moore, T, Bourke-Taylor, HM, Greenland, N, McDougall, S, Robinson, L, Brown, T & Bromfield, L 2022, 'Young carers and educational engagement: quantitative analysis of bursary applications in Australia', Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. e1625-e1638. 2
2021	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, LM 2021, 'A quasi-experimental study of the Multi-Agency Investigation & Support Team (MIST): a collaborative response to child sexual abuse', Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 111, article no. 104827, pp. 1-15. 4
2020	Flaherty, R & Bromfield, L 2020, 'Pregnant women involved with statutory child protection services: the impact of difficult-to-reach on recruiting a non-biased sample', Social Work and Social Sciences Review: An Internal Journal of Applied Research, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 42-63. Open access
2020	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, L 2020, 'Worker perceptions of the multi-agency investigation & support team (MIST): a process evaluation of a cross-agency response to severe child abuse', Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 638-658. Open access 2 2 4
2020	Mathews, B, Bromfield, L & Walsh, K 2020, 'Comparing reports of child sexual and physical abuse using child welfare agency data in two jurisdictions with different mandatory reporting laws', Social Sciences, vol. 9, no. 5, article no. 75, pp. 1-22. Open access 5 2 3
2019	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, L 2019, 'Better together? A review of evidence for multi-disciplinary teams responding to physical and sexual child abuse', Trauma, Violence and Abuse: A Review Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 228-15. Open access 24 19 6
2019	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, LM 2019, 'Multi-disciplinary teams responding to child abuse: common features and assumptions', Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 106, article no. 104467, pp. 1-11. Open access 5 3 4
2018	Cox, R, Skouteris, H, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M, McCabe, M, Watson, B, Fredrickson, J, Jones, AD, Omerogullari, S, Stanton, K, Bromfield, L & Hardy, LL 2018, 'A qualitative exploration of coordinators' and carers' perceptions of the healthy eating, active living (HEAL) programme in residential care', Child Abuse Review, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 122-136. 12 8
2018	Herbert, JL, Walsh, W & Bromfield, L 2018, 'A national survey of characteristics of child advocacy centers in the United States: do the flagship models match those in broader practice?', Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 76, pp. 583-595. Open access 13 10 6
2017	Cox, R, Skouteris, H, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M, Watson, B, Jones, AD, Omerogullari, S, Stanton, K, Bromfield, L & Hardy, L 2017, 'The healthy eating, active living (HEAL) study: outcomes, lessons learnt and future recommendations', Child Abuse Review, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 196-214. 10 9 13
2017	Mathews, B, Bromfield, LM, Walsh, K, Cheng, Q & Norman, RE 2017, 'Reports of child sexual abuse of boys and girls: longitudinal trends over a 20-year period in Victoria, Australia', Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 66, pp. 9-22. 17 13 5
2016	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, L 2016, 'Evidence for the efficacy of the Child Advocacy Center model: A systematic review', Trauma, Violence and Abuse: A Review Journal, v. 17, no. 3, pp. 341-357. Open access 31 10 4
2015	Salveron, M, Bromfield, L, Kirika, C, Simmons, J, Murphy, T & Turnell, A 2015, 'Changing the way we do child protection': The implementation of Signs of Safety® within the Western Australia Department for Child Protection and Family Support', Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 48, pp. 126-139. 19 16 7
2015	Spratt, T, Nett, J, Bromfield, LM, Hietamäki, J, Kindler, H & Ponnert, L 2015, 'Child protection in Europe: development of an international cross-comparison model to inform national policies and practices', British Journal of Social Work, vol. 2014, pp. 1-18. Open access 22 18 30
2013	Parkinson, SA & Bromfield, L 2013, 'Recruiting young adults to child maltreatment research through Facebook: A feasibility study', Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 37, no. 9, pp. 716-720. 11 9
2013	Salveron, M, Finan, S & Bromfield, L 2013, ''Why wait?': Engaging with children and young people in child protection research to inform practice', Developing Practice, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 24-34.
2012	Guthridge, SL, Ryan, P, Condon, JR, Bromfield, LM, Moss, JR & Lynch, JW 2012, 'Trends in reports of child maltreatment in the Northern Territory, 1999-2010', Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 197, no. 11/12, pp. 637-641. Open access 7 5 3
2011	Bromfield, L 2011, 'Minimising cumulative harm for vulnerable children: does the green paper reflect international best practice?', vol. no. , pp. 1-4.
2011	Price-Robertson, R & Bromfield, L 2011, 'Risk assessment in child protection', NCPC Resource sheet, pp. 1-6.
2010	Bromfield-Smith, LM & Horsfall, B 2010, 'Child abuse and neglect statistics', vol. no. , pp. 1-6.
2010	Bromfield-Smith, LM, Lamont, A, Parker, R & Horsfall, B 2010, 'Issues for the safety and wellbeing of children in families with multiple and complex problems', NCPC Issues/Child Abuse Prevention Issues.
2010	Edwards, B & Bromfield-Smith, LM 2010, 'Neighbourhood influences on young children's emotional and behavioral problems', Family Matters, vol. 84, pp. 7-19. Open access 17
2010	Horsfall, B, Bromfield-Smith, LM & McDonald, M 2010, 'Are social marketing campaigns effective in preventing child abuse and neglect?', NCPC Issues/Child Abuse Prevention Issues, vol. 32, pp. 1-28.
2010	Humphreys, C, Holzer, P, Scott, DA, Arney, F, Bromfield, L, Higgins, D & Lewig, K 2010, 'The planets aligned: is child protection policy reform good luck or good management?', Australian Social Work, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 145-163. 9 7
2010	Lewig, K, Scott, D, Holzer, P, Arney, F, Humphreys, C & Bromfield, L 2010, 'The role of research in child protection policy reform: a case study of South Australia', Evidence and Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 461-482. 4 2
2010	Price-Robertson, R, Bromfield-Smith, LM & Vassallo, S 2010, 'Prevalence Matters: estimating the extent of child maltreatment in Australia', Developing Practice, vol. 26, pp. 12-20.
2010	Price-Robertson, R, Smart, D & Bromfield-Smith, LM 2010, 'Family is for life - Connections between childhood family experiences and wellbeing in early adulthood', Family Matters, vol. 85, pp. 7-17. Open access
2009	Arney, FM, Bromfield-Smith, L, Lewig, KA & Holzer, P 2009, 'Integrating strategies for delivering evidence-informed practice', Evidence and Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 179-191. 12
2009	Edwards, B & Bromfield-Smith, LM 2009, 'Neighborhood influences on young children's conduct problems and pro-social behaviour: Evidence from an Australian national sample', Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 317-324. 56 57
2009	Lamont, A & Bromfield-Smith, LM 2009, 'Parental intellectual disability and child protection: Key issues', NCPC Issues/Child Abuse Prevention Issues, no. 31, pp. 1-20.
2008	Bromfield-Smith, L & Arney, FM 2008, 'Developing a road map for research: Identifying the priorities for a national child protection research agenda', NCPC Issues/Child Abuse Prevention Issues, vol. 28, pp. 1-14.
2008	Bromfield-Smith, LM & Osborn, A 2008, 'Australian Research Investigating Residential and Specialised Models of Care: A Systematic Review ', Developing Practice, no. 20, pp. 23-32.
2008	Gillingham, P & Bromfield-Smith, LM 2008, 'Child protection, risk assessment and blame ideology ', Children Australia, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 18-24. Open access

Reports

Year	Output
2022	Herbert, J, Octoman, O & Bromfield-Smith, L 2022, Review of data and outcomes for the Permanency Support Program (PSP): data roadmap, University of South Australia, Australia. Open access
2022	Herbert, J, Paton, A, Bromfield, L & O'Donnell, M 2022, Parkerville therapeutic treatment model client outcome review, Pursuit of Excellence In Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect In Western Australia, Australia.
2022	Paton, A, Bromfield-Smith, L, Moore, T, Ey, L-A, Burgess, S, Cox, S & Herbert, J 2022, Framework for understanding and guiding responses to harmful sexual behaviours in children and young people, Department of Communities, Australia. Open access
2019	Cox, S, Ey, L-A, Parkinson, S & Bromfield, L 2019, Evidence check: Service models for children under 10 with problematic sexual behaviours, SAX Institute, Australia. Open access
2019	Moore, T, Bourke-Taylor, H, Greenland, N, McDougall, S, Bromfield, L, Robinson, L & Brown, T 2019, No space in my brain to learn: young carers and their engagement with education. An analysis of application to the Carers Australia Bursary Program 2017-2018, University of South Australia, Australia. Open access
2018	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, L 2018, National comparison of cross-agency practice in investigating and responding to severe child abuse, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia. Open access
2017	Anderson, P, Bamblett, M, Bassarab, D, Broomfield, L, Chan, S, Maddock, G, Menzies, K, O'Connell, M, Pearson, G, Walker, R & Wright, M 2017, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and child sexual abuse in institutional contexts, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia. Open access
2017	Bromfield, L, Hirte, C, Octoman, O & Katz, I 2017, Child sexual abuse in Australian institutional contexts 2008-13: Findings from administrative data, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Australia. Open access
2017	Herbert, J & Bromfield, L 2017, Components of effective cross-agency responses to abuse - a report for the NSW Ombudsman's Office, NSW Ombudsman's Office, New South Wales. Open access
2017	Herbert, J & Bromfield, L 2017, Multiagency Investigation & Support Team (MIST) pilot: evaluation report, University of South Australia, South Australia. Open access
2017	Herbert, J & Bromfield, L 2017, National comparison of cross-agency practice in investigating and responding to severe child abuse - A report for the NSW Ombudsman's Office, NSW Ombudsman's Office, New South Wales. Open access
2017	Meiksans, J, Bromfield, L & Ey, L-A 2017, A continuum of responses for harmful sexual behaviours: an issues paper for Commissioner for Children and Young People Western Australia, Australian Centre for Child Protection (UniSA), Australia. Open access
2017	Parkinson, S, Bromfield, L, McDougall, S & Salveron, M 2017, Child neglect: Key concepts and risk factors, Australian Centre for Child Protection, Australia. Open access
2016	Herbert, JL & Bromfield, L 2016, Evaluation of the multi-agency investigation & support team pilot: interim report, Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia, Australia. Open access
2012	Bromfield, L 2012, Child protection in Australia, The Swiss Project Fund for Child Protection, Switzerland. Open access
2012	Jordan, B, Sketchley, R, Bromfield, LM & Miller, R 2012, Infants and their families - Best interests case practice model, specialist practice resource, Victorian Government Department of Human Services, Australia. Open access
2012	Mathews, B & Bromfield, L 2012, Australian laws and policies on child neglect, International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Colorado, USA.
2012	Spratt, T, Bromfield, L, Nett, J, Hietamaki, J, Kindler, H & Ponnert, L 2012, Cross national analyses of good practices and derived recommendations, The Swiss Project Fund for Child Protection, Switzerland. Open access
2011	Arney, F & Bromfield, L 2011, An integrated framework for child safety and wellbeing in the Northern Territory, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australia. Open access
2011	Jordan, B, Sketchley, R, Bromfield, LM, Antcliff, G & Lamont, A 2011, Practice guide 2: infants at risk of abuse and neglect, Benevolent Society, Australia. Open access
2010	Miller, R & Bromfield, L 2010, Cumulative harm: best interests case practice model specialist practice resource, Victorian Government, Australia.

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Highlights

Professorial Fellow to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

2017 Telstra Business Women's Awards, Public Sector and Academia. State and National Winner

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Organisation	Country
Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
Australian Catholic University	AUSTRALIA
Australian Institute of Family Studies	AUSTRALIA
Bern University of Applied Sciences	SWITZERLAND
Berry Street Incorporated	AUSTRALIA
Charles Darwin University	AUSTRALIA
Deakin University	AUSTRALIA
Department for Child Protection and Family Support	AUSTRALIA
Department of Human Services, Victoria	AUSTRALIA
German Youth Institute DJI	GERMANY
Government of Victoria	AUSTRALIA
Lund University	SWEDEN
Menzies School of Health Research	AUSTRALIA
Monash University	AUSTRALIA
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute	AUSTRALIA
Northern Territory Department of Health	AUSTRALIA
Parenting Research Centre	AUSTRALIA
Parliament House, Canberra	AUSTRALIA
Private Individual	AUSTRALIA
Productivity Commission	AUSTRALIA
Queen's University Belfast	UNITED KINGDOM
Queensland University of Technology	AUSTRALIA
Resolutions Consultancy	AUSTRALIA
Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria	AUSTRALIA
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse	AUSTRALIA
Salvation Army	AUSTRALIA
Telethon Kids Institute	AUSTRALIA
The Benevolent Society	AUSTRALIA
The Benevolent Society (NSW)	AUSTRALIA
The Lowitja Institute	AUSTRALIA
University of Adelaide	AUSTRALIA
University of Dublin	IRELAND
University of Jyvaskyla	FINLAND
University of Melbourne	AUSTRALIA
University of New Hampshire	UNITED STATES
University of New South Wales	AUSTRALIA
University of Newcastle	AUSTRALIA
University of South Australia	AUSTRALIA
University of Sydney	AUSTRALIA
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA)	AUSTRALIA
Wesley Mission	AUSTRALIA

External engagement & recognition

Engagement/recognition	Year
Winner, Winnovation Award (Social Impact) Women in Innovation SA	2018
Academic Excellence, End User Engagement Research Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences, University of South Australia	2017
Business Woman of the Year - Public Sector and Academia Telstra SA	2017
Co-Director Australian Centre for Child Protection	2017
Professorial Fellow Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse	2017
Mid-Career Researcher Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia	2014

Teaching & student supervision

Research degree supervision

Supervisions from 2010 shown

Thesis title	Student status
Child sexual abuse enabling knowledge, attitudes and planned behaviours	Current
Children's problematic sexual behaviour in schools: Identifying and addressing collaborative responses to incidents	Current
Laws that colonise: Aboriginal children, child protection and the Australian legal system	Current
Reducing externalising behaviours for adolescents in out of home care	Current
Development of a screening tool for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A preliminary study	Completed
Pre-birth child protection concerns: the characteristics and experiences of women and service providers	Completed
Resilience in frontline child protection workers: a model of risk and protective factors	Completed
The extent of repeat involvement throughout childhood: characteristics and early identification of children known to child protection multiple times	Completed

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Professor Leah Bromfield

About me

About me

UniSA Justice & Society

Other UniSA associations

About me

Professional Associations

Experience

Qualifications

Research

Research focus

Highlights

Projects

Outputs

Books

Chapters

Journal Articles

Reports

Current research & highlights

External engagement & recognition

Collaborations

Highlights

Collaborations

External engagement & recognition

Winner, Winnovation Award (Social Impact)

Academic Excellence, End User Engagement Research

Business Woman of the Year - Public Sector and Academia

Co-Director

Professorial Fellow

Mid-Career Researcher

Teaching & student supervision

Courses and programs

Courses I teach and/or co-ordinate

Research degree supervision

Gallery