Through her research, Anna Fieldhouse considers the regulatory governance of welfare services and the role of civil society as intermediaries representing marginalised welfare service users. Her PhD thesis looks at regulatory governance eco-systems as a way of understanding how actors come together to drive or impede reform, how discourses move across governance spaces. Her thesis raises normative questions about whether the democratic ideals of representation and participation embedded governance sites are realised in the regulatory welfare state.

Anna's research focuses on two regulatory communities – disability and aged care in Australia. It draws evidence from civil society submissions to recent Australian Royal Commissions into the abuse and neglect to identify governance narratives and networks. Interviews with civil society leaders adds to the empirical study examining the mechanisms and processes of representation used to bring the voice of marginalised welfare service users into the regulation of critical social services. Her research takes a normative case study approach to shed light on the democratic ideals that are little challenged in non-majoritarian governance environments.

Anna has extensive experience in social policy design, including in the development of responsive regulatory systems. She holds a position as Policy Director in the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS). Her career has included policy and operational leadership roles in government and non-government organisations in the homelessness, domestic violence, mental health and disability sectors. Anna’s more recent focus has been on designing regulatory systems for welfare services, including developing the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission, established in 2018.

Troy is a proud Wonnarua man from the Hunter Valley region in NSW. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) as a Corporate Graduate in 2011. He has held various corporate enabling roles in DFAT including in finance and human resources, as well as consular and passports service delivery. Troy has also been posted overseas to Bangkok and Kabul. Most recently, he was Assistant Director, Financial Policy in Finance Division. He is an Associate Member of CPA Australia, aiming to attain full membership status by the end of 2024.

Troy is completing a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at ANU. His interest in this space was reignited through his CPA study and while working to support Indigenous business engagement with DFAT.

Ronald has worked in the public service for the past 20 years, for agencies in Canberra and at the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) managing programs that deliver natural resource management across the Torres Strait Region. His most recent role at the TSRA involved working in the Governance and Leadership program managing legislative processes and policies, supporting effective regional communication, and coordinating the integration of the delivery of government services to the region.

Through the Pat Turner scholarship and Master of Public Policy program at CDU, Ronald will look for opportunities and pathways to help him gain a deeper understanding of complex policy, especially arrangements and implementation in the Northern Australian context. In addition, he will explore how policy arrangements can improve essential and critical service delivery in the Torres Strait, improving the lives of Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people in the region.