The objective of this audit was to assess whether the award of funding under the Safer Communities Fund was effective and consistent with the Commonwealth Grant Rules and Guidelines.

The owner of a dam is responsible for its safety. Having a dam safety management program in place can minimise the risk of its failure and the potential impact on human life and property. This audit provides insights on the Queensland dam regulator’s framework for...

There was a rapid increase in the remand in custody population in Australia between 2008 and 2018, partly caused by legislative responses to some high-profile offences committed by defendants while on bail. The approach in this study was to explore bail and remand policy that...

This paper argues that lockdowns and social distancing regulations introduced to manage the health concerns associated with COVID-19, have imposed significant social, economic and institutional costs, while being of debatable efficacy.

This paper aims to examine whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic, associated behaviour changes and implemented restrictions impacted on crime in Victoria. It examines whether there were changes in the volume, nature or location of offending recorded by police following the introduction of restrictions in...

Research into policy and policy failures tends to focus on analysis rather than implementation and enforcement. The Bennett Institute recently hosted a workshop to bring together people from different domains of safety practice and research backgrounds to discuss the challenge. This report details those discussions.

This paper highlights that security in the 21st Century is as much about defending the health, safety and prosperity of citizens from pandemics, disasters, pollution and supply shortages as it is about defending the state against armed aggression by other states.

This research aims to contribute towards building an evidence base about community-based reintegration programs in order to inform the development and operation of community-based reintegration programs for sexual offenders, and thus to enhance community safety.

Examining the traffic safety of pedal cycles, electrically assisted cycles and electrically powered personal mobility devices, such as e-scooters, in an urban context, this report also proposes a framework to define micro-mobility and suggests certain limits on mass and speed to classify them.

The purpose of this report is to relay the views of the participants about the safety issues on their Town Camps and what is needed to improve Town Camp safety to stakeholders, including participants, community centre staff, and Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation (TCAC).

This Bill Brief looks at legislative attempts to introduce pill testing across all Australian states and territories. It includes an overview of major stakeholder opinions on pill testing, and brief descriptions of existing pill testing programs in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), New Zealand, the...

In the context of increasingly digitised urban governance, this paper investigates the use of digital technology in the advocacy for women’s safety in the city.

The issue of the use of force in immigration detention has been raised in a range of complaints against the Department of Home Affairs received by the Australian Human Rights Commission. This report deals thematically with 14 complaints.

At the time of their introduction, the 2014 'lock-out laws' were an appropriate circuit breaker and were successful in reducing alcohol-related violence in the Sydney CBD and Kings Cross. This report by the Joint Select Committee on Sydney's Night Time Economy contains the committee's comments...

This report presents an overview of the welfare data landscape and explores selected welfare topics—including intergenerational disadvantage, income support, future of work, disability services, elder abuse and child wellbeing—in 8 original articles.

This report tells the story of welfare in Australia with key findings on housing, education and skills, employment and work, income and finance, government payments, social support, justice and safety.

This audit examined whether Victoria Police has the governance structure and organisational capability and capacity to manage registered sex offenders (RSOs). It also assessed how effectively RSOs are managed in the community, including whether Victoria Police appropriately resources the task.

Some of New Zealand’s troubles with the night-time are inherently due to the regulatory framework: So far, cities have been given neither the right tools nor the right incentives to work out their visions and strategies for a more thriving nightlife. This report proposes some...

This report investigates the reasons behind the increase in the number of people being denied bail and detained in prison in Victoria. Through a comparison of bail laws and their associated parliamentary debates in Victoria in 1977 and 2017–18, it analyses how risk has been...

This survey, carried out by the ACTU in July 2019, exposes an underbelly of unsafe work practices that has led to unacceptable numbers of working people dying as a result of their work, being exposed to trauma, experiencing violence, or sustaining psychological/physical illnesses and injuries.