About Us
Staff Details - Heather Nancarrow, Director

Centre Director Heather NancarrowName - Heather Nancarrow
MA (Hons1) in Criminology and Criminal Justice
BA (Social Science)
Assoc. Diploma Community Welfare

Heather has nearly 30 years’ experience working in the field of domestic and family violence prevention, including direct service provision, policy and legislation, and research and professional development.  She has held many leadership roles at both the state and national level in regard to domestic and family violence prevention.  Her primary research interests are justice responses to domestic and family violence, particularly as they relate to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Heather is the Chair of the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Strategy Implementation Advisory Group; she is a member of the national Crime Prevention Advisory Committee and a member of the Canadian Observatory on the justice system’s response to intimate partner violence.    In 2008-2009, she was Deputy Chair of the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, which produced Time for Action: The National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2009-2021.  Time for Action provided the blue-print for the Council of Australian Governments’ National Plan to Reduce violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022. Heather has also chaired the Queensland Ministerial Advisory Council on Domestic and Family Violence (2008-2009) and represented Queensland on the national Partnerships against Domestic Violence (PADV) initiative (1997-2002), and the Model Domestic Violence Laws Working Group (1998-1999).

Heather was awarded the 2009 Queenslander of the Year Community Spirit Award for her work on domestic and family violence prevention; and in 2005 she was awarded the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Award in the individual category.

Current

  • Cultivating empathy in human service practitioners (with Susan Gair, JCU and Tania Signal, CQU)

  • AHSS panel study: adolescent-to-parent abuse and elder abuse (with Christine Hanley, Renette Viljoen and Annie Webster)

  • Mainstream Domestic and Family Violence Policy: Aspirations and Realities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women

2010-2011

  • Intimate partner abuse in Queensland (with Karena Burke, CQU; Stewart Lockie, ANU and Renette Viljoen, CQU)

  • Trial integrated response to domestic and family violence in Rockhampton: Client experiences and outcomes

2008-2009

  • Time for Action: The National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (as Deputy Chair National of the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children)

2008

  • Abuse of female partners in the Bowen Basin region (with Dr Sanjay Sharma and Assoc. Professor Stewart Lockie, CQU; funded by Criminology Research Council)

2007

  • Restorative justice and adolescent-to-parent abuse: Insights from three case studies (with Professor Kathleen Daly)

  • Restorative justice for domestic family violence: Hopes and fears of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian Women

2006

  • Violence Prevention for ‘enmeshed’ dating relationships: Interpreting Queensland’s civil law

2004-2005

  • “Koora the Kangaroo: Violence Prevention at Woorabinda State School” Evaluation (with Michelle Bradford, CDFVR)

2003

  • MA (Hons) dissertation, “In Search of Justice in Domestic and Family Violence: An Examination of the views of Indigenous women and non-Indigenous women on the application of the criminal justice system and restorative justice practices in cases of domestic and family violence”.

1998-2002

  • The State’s Response to Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland for Queensland Government

  • Review of Queensland’s Domestic Violence (Family Protection) Act 1989 for Queensland Government: Part 1 (technical amendments); and Part 2 (policy amendments).
  • 2010 named a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow “in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world”, through work on domestic and family violence prevention.

  • 2009 Queenslander of the Year “Community Spirit” Award, presented by the Queensland Premier

  • Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month 2005 Award (Individual Category)

  • The Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC) prize for the best paper in criminology or a related discipline by an Australian or New Zealand student for 2004, for MA (Hons) dissertation , “In Search of Justice in Domestic and Family Violence: An Examination of the views of Indigenous women and non-Indigenous women on the application of the criminal justice system and restorative justice practices in cases of domestic and family violence”

Current

  • Chair: Domestic and Family Violence Strategy Implementation Advisory Group

  • Crime Prevention Advisory Committee

  • Canadian Observatory on the justice system's response to intimate partner violence

  • Institute of Health and Social Science Research (IHSSR), CQUniversity

  • Advisory Board, Institute of Health and Social Science Research (IHSSR), CQUniversity

  • Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University

  • Australian & New Zealand Society of Criminology

  • Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse Reference Group

Past

  • 2009-2011: Deputy Chair, Violence against Women Advisory Group (Australian Government)

  • 2009-2010: Domestic Violence Death Review Panel (Queensland)

  • 2008-2009: Deputy-Chair: National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children

  • 2008 – 2009: Chair: Ministerial Advisory Council on Domestic and Family Violence (Queensland)

  • 2007 – 2009: Convenor: Queensland Domestic Violence Services Network

  • 2008: National Homelessness Steering Committee

  • 2005 - 2007: Deputy Chair and Mackay/Whitsunday Regional Representative, Ministerial Advisory Council on Domestic and Family Violence

  • 2005 - 2006: Chairperson, Immigrant Women’s Support Service (Queensland)

  • 1997 – 2002: Represented the Queensland Government on the national Partnerships Against Domestic Violence Taskforce and chaired the Taskforce’s Children and Domestic Violence Project Advisory Group

  • 1994 – 2002: Represented the Department of Families on the Queensland Domestic Violence Council

  • 1998 - 1999: Represented the Department of Families on the Queensland Government’s Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code

  • 1998 – 1999: Represented the Queensland Government on the national Domestic Violence Legislation Working Party, convened by the Commonwealth Attorney-general’s Department to develop Model Domestic Violence Laws

Refereed book chapters/articles

  • Lockie, S., Nancarrow, H. & Sharma, S. (2011) "Intimate partner abuse and women's health in rural and mining communities" RURAL SOCIETY Volume 20, Issue 2, April 2011

  • Nancarrow, H. (2010) "Time is of the Essence: Progress on the National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children", in University of New South Wales Law Journal Vol 33, No 3. 2010 pp 836-853.

  • Nancarrow, H. (2010) “Restorative justice for domestic family violence: Hopes and fears of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian Women”, in J. Ptacek (ed.) Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Daly, K. and Nancarrow, H. (2010) “Restorative justice and youth violence toward parents” in J. Ptacek (ed.) Restorative Justice and Violence Against Women. New York: Oxford University Press.

  • Lockie, S., Nancarrow, H. & Sharma, S. (2010) “The impact of intimate partner abuse on women’s health in the Bowen Basin and Mackay region of Central Queensland, Australia” Journal of Rural and Tropical Public Health 2010, VOL 9, pp. 7-13

  • Nancarrow, H., Lockie, S. & Sharma, S. (2009) "Intimate partner abuse of women in a Central Queensland mining region" Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice No. 378 July 2009. Australian Institute of Criminology.

  • Nancarrow, H. (2007) "The Emergency Response to Family Violence in the Northern Territory: Where’s the Evidence?" in Indigenous Law Bulletin, Special Focus Edition: Indigenous Women Vol. 7, Issue 1 2007 pp 14-16.

  • Nancarrow, H. (2006) "In Search of Justice for Domestic and Family Violence: Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian Women's Perspectives" in Special issue of Theoretical Criminology (Vol. 10, No. 1, February 2006): Gender, Race and Restorative Justice. SAGE Publications

  • Nancarrow, H. (2004) “Preventing domestic violence: an analysis of the application of four crime prevention approaches” in Conference Proceedings: Community Research on Children and Community Services (CROCCS) (www.croccs.org.au) Mackay, 6-8 August 2004.

  • Bradford , M., Nancarrow, H., Viti, P., Weazel. A. (2004) “Cross-Cultural Partnerships in Violence Prevention” in Conference Proceedings: Community Research on Children and Community Services (CROCCS) (www.croccs.org.au) Mackay, 6-8 August 2004

  • Bradford , M., Rees, S., Nancarrow, H. (2004) “Research for Policy and Practice in Domestic and Family Violence Prevention” in Women Against Violence Issue 15, August 2004.

  • Nancarrow, H. and Struthers, K. (1995) “The Growth of Domestic Violence Responses in Australia : A Flash in the Pan or a Sustainable Program for Change?” in Social Alternatives Vol. 14:1

Other

  • Nancarrow, H., Burke, K., Lockie, S., Viljoen, R. And Choudhury, J (2011) "Intimate partner abuse of women in Queensland", Research Report. CDFVR, Central Queensland University

  • Nancarrow, H., and Viljoen, R (2011) "Breaking the Cycle – Trial Integrated Response to Domestic and Family Violence: Client Experiences and Outcomes", Research Report. CDFVR, Central Queensland University.

  • Nancarrow, H., Lockie, S. & Sharma, S. (2008) "Intimate Partner Abuse of Women in the Bowen Basin and Mackay Region of Central Queensland". Research Report (unpublished)

  • Nancarrow, H., Lockie, S. & Sharma, S. (2009) “Intimate Partner Abuse of Women in Mining Communities” Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, Australian Institute of Criminology.

  • Nancarrow, H. (2007) “The Emergency Response to Family Violence in the Northern Territory: Where’s the evidence?” in Indigenous Law Bulletin November 2007 Volume 7 / Issue 1

  • Nancarrow, H. (2006) Violence Prevention for ‘Enmeshed’ Dating Relationships: Interpreting Queensland’s Civil Law, Central Queensland University.

Violence against women conference