Mobility Shocks: Understanding disruptions to Australian migration. This Fellowship aims to generate new knowledge about the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on human migration and mobility, in order to advance understanding of major disruptive changes to population movement more broadly. Fellowship outcomes will include designing innovative geospatial research methods, linking and analysing cutting-edge datasets, and building cross-sector collaborations, in order to develop a new theory of ‘Mob ....Mobility Shocks: Understanding disruptions to Australian migration. This Fellowship aims to generate new knowledge about the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on human migration and mobility, in order to advance understanding of major disruptive changes to population movement more broadly. Fellowship outcomes will include designing innovative geospatial research methods, linking and analysing cutting-edge datasets, and building cross-sector collaborations, in order to develop a new theory of ‘Mobility Shocks’. This will benefit Australia and its migration partners with new ideas, tools, evidence and expertise to help scholars, policy makers and practitioners to understand, anticipate, and manage future disruptive changes to human migration and mobility in the Australian context and beyond.Read moreRead less
Regional Australia' skills shortages and high-skill refugees' employment . Regional Australia loses to cities thousands of professional and trade-related people whose skills cannot be replaced. Focusing on small and medium-size enterprises producing food and beverages, this project aims to determine whether refugee employment (i) is a strategic resource (ii) can alleviate these chronic regional skill shortages, and (iii) can be integrated in immigration policy. In doing so, it will for the firs ....Regional Australia' skills shortages and high-skill refugees' employment . Regional Australia loses to cities thousands of professional and trade-related people whose skills cannot be replaced. Focusing on small and medium-size enterprises producing food and beverages, this project aims to determine whether refugee employment (i) is a strategic resource (ii) can alleviate these chronic regional skill shortages, and (iii) can be integrated in immigration policy. In doing so, it will for the first time provide critical empirical evidence on the possible need to separate policy measures aimed at rural vs. urban employers. The outcomes will contribute to reducing the problem of critical skill shortages and wastage at once and do so with an eye to the needs to rural Australia – a key driver of the country’s exports. Read moreRead less
Australian Seasonal Workers Programme and well-being impacts in Timor-Leste. This research aims to investigate the impacts of Australia’s Seasonal Workers Programme and South Korea’s Employment Permit System on the well-being of migrant workers and their families in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The contribution of this research to scholarship would be the creation of a sound method to measure the impact of temporary labour migration on well-being across various aspects of life that can be used by r ....Australian Seasonal Workers Programme and well-being impacts in Timor-Leste. This research aims to investigate the impacts of Australia’s Seasonal Workers Programme and South Korea’s Employment Permit System on the well-being of migrant workers and their families in Timor-Leste (East Timor). The contribution of this research to scholarship would be the creation of a sound method to measure the impact of temporary labour migration on well-being across various aspects of life that can be used by researchers in Timor-Leste and elsewhere to evaluate the development impacts of such migration schemes. The data will inform evidence-based policies to improve temporary labour migration schemes, meet urgent development priorities in Timor-Leste, and maximise the benefits of Australian aid funded labour migration schemes.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
The Political and Economic Agency of Africans in Australia. This project examines the nature and impact of political and economic agency among African migrants in Australia, using mixed methods (survey, interviews, media and policy analysis). With the right policy settings, African migrants and Australian communities stand to benefit enormously from projected African population growth. However, due to a two decade research focus on African refugees, little is known about the successful navigatio ....The Political and Economic Agency of Africans in Australia. This project examines the nature and impact of political and economic agency among African migrants in Australia, using mixed methods (survey, interviews, media and policy analysis). With the right policy settings, African migrants and Australian communities stand to benefit enormously from projected African population growth. However, due to a two decade research focus on African refugees, little is known about the successful navigation of political and economic life among the wider African diaspora. This project will generate new knowledge offering a blueprint for such policy settings. Outcomes include a monograph, 8 papers, and evidence-based policy advice on enhancing African migrant political and economic engagement in Australia. Read moreRead less
Industry Travel Bursary To Attend The Thirteenth Meeting Of The Conference Of The Parties To The Convention On The Conservation Of Migratory Species Of Wild Animals (CMS COP13)
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Australia will be sending a delegation to the conference, yet there will be no industry representation. The Department of Environment have strongly encouraged industry to attend, given the dynamics of the meeting and the manner in which decision making is influenced and conducted. Specifically, the influence of non-government organisations and the strict conservation and protection agendas that are promoted and promulgated.
The potential listing of School Shark as a migratory species is ....Australia will be sending a delegation to the conference, yet there will be no industry representation. The Department of Environment have strongly encouraged industry to attend, given the dynamics of the meeting and the manner in which decision making is influenced and conducted. Specifically, the influence of non-government organisations and the strict conservation and protection agendas that are promoted and promulgated.
The potential listing of School Shark as a migratory species is the topic of greatest concern for industry, given the impact of listing at an international level and the consequences for the Commonwealth EPBC Act. Should this listing be ratified there will be significant impacts on the commercial and recreational fishing sectors. This is extremely concerning given our body of scientific work on School Shark and the current and historical management actions taken to recover the stocks.
In addition to the importance of the topic of discussion, this bursary will provide a significant capacity building opportunity for an industry representative. An experience that will provide benefits throughout a range aspects of industry representation.
Objectives: 1. Attend the CMS COP in India, February 2020 2. Bring back learnings for dissemination to interested industry parties Read moreRead less
Understanding The Stock Structure Of Rock Flathead And The Role Of Movement Dynamics In Influencing The Performance Of The Corner Inlet Fishery
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$161,550.00
Summary
Rock Flathead supports commercial mesh-net fisheries in Corner Inlet; however, CPUE for this fishery has shown a declining trend since 2005, while remaining above the management reference point. The stock structure of rock Ffathead in Victorian waters is largely unknown, presenting uncertainty for fishers and managers when assessing the future of the fishery and ensuring the sustainability of the stock.
Objectives: 1. Determine the population structure of rock flath ....Rock Flathead supports commercial mesh-net fisheries in Corner Inlet; however, CPUE for this fishery has shown a declining trend since 2005, while remaining above the management reference point. The stock structure of rock Ffathead in Victorian waters is largely unknown, presenting uncertainty for fishers and managers when assessing the future of the fishery and ensuring the sustainability of the stock.
Objectives: 1. Determine the population structure of rock flathead in south-eastern Australia, with emphasis on understanding how the Corner Inlet population relates to other populations 2. Characterise the movement and residency patterns of rock flathead in Corner Inlet Read moreRead less
Diaspora Humanitarians: How Australia-based migrants help in crises abroad. This project aims to map the extensive humanitarian activities and contributions of Australia-based migrants to crises abroad. Australia is home to large diasporas who are connected to communities in many humanitarian crisis hotspots, including the project's focus areas: Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Pacific Islands. By generating much-needed knowledge on how and why migrants engage ....Diaspora Humanitarians: How Australia-based migrants help in crises abroad. This project aims to map the extensive humanitarian activities and contributions of Australia-based migrants to crises abroad. Australia is home to large diasporas who are connected to communities in many humanitarian crisis hotspots, including the project's focus areas: Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Pacific Islands. By generating much-needed knowledge on how and why migrants engage in humanitarian responses, the project expects to support and improve the work of diasporas themselves, the Australian Civil-Military Centre and other humanitarian organisations, who are partners in the project. This will benefit Australia by highlighting our innovative leadership role in humanitarian and migration issues.Read moreRead less
Humanitarian migrants' settlement in Australia: A longitudinal study. Current evidence suggests that humanitarian migrants settle less successfully than other immigrants both economically and socially. This project aims to examine the causal mechanisms and pathways to economic, sociocultural and political settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants to Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of humanitarian migrants’ settlement by using nationally representative dat ....Humanitarian migrants' settlement in Australia: A longitudinal study. Current evidence suggests that humanitarian migrants settle less successfully than other immigrants both economically and socially. This project aims to examine the causal mechanisms and pathways to economic, sociocultural and political settlement outcomes of humanitarian migrants to Australia. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of humanitarian migrants’ settlement by using nationally representative data and cutting-edge longitudinal techniques.Expected outcomes include enhanced research capacity in causal methods, interdisciplinary and institutional collaborations, and evidence-based social policy for humanitarian migrants, significantly benefitting humanitarian migrants directly and society more broadly. Read moreRead less
An Updated Understanding Of Eastern School Whiting Stock Structure And Improved Stock Assessment For Cross-jurisdictional Management
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$451,748.00
Summary
Most of the commercial catch of Eastern School Whiting is taken by the Commonwealth South East Trawl (SET) sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) in eastern Victorian waters and Bass Strait and in the NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery in central and northern NSW waters. Smaller amounts are reported from inshore state waters of southern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania (Conran et al. 2018).
Eastern School Whiting have been managed by catch quotas in Commonwealth fisheries ....Most of the commercial catch of Eastern School Whiting is taken by the Commonwealth South East Trawl (SET) sector of the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery (SESSF) in eastern Victorian waters and Bass Strait and in the NSW Ocean Trawl Fishery in central and northern NSW waters. Smaller amounts are reported from inshore state waters of southern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania (Conran et al. 2018).
Eastern School Whiting have been managed by catch quotas in Commonwealth fisheries since 1993. A Commonwealth Tier 1 stock assessment is completed every 3–5 years to estimate the recommended biological catch (RBC) for the entire biological stock. Historically, the estimated discards and average state catches were then subtracted from the RBC to set the Commonwealth total allowable catch (TAC). The most recent stock assessment in 2017, calculated an RBC of 1,606 t and the 2019–20 Commonwealth TAC was set at 788 t.
A new basket TAC for Eastern School Whiting and Stout Whiting was introduced in NSW state waters from May 2019 (set at 1,189 t for the 2019–20 fishing year). While some of this catch is likely to comprise Stout Whiting, the combined total of the two independently determined TACs could permit total catches of Eastern School Whiting that exceed the current RBC for the shared stock. Furthermore, as part of these management reforms, the NSW Southern Fish Trawl Fishery is to transition into the Commonwealth SET, which will include allocation of Commonwealth quota to existing state operators. A review of the existing cross-jurisdictional stock assessment and management arrangements for this species is urgently needed to ensure sustainable fishing continues to occur.
Critical information gaps that are hindering this process include the uncertain stock structure of Eastern School Whiting, mixed species composition of whiting in northern NSW and representativeness of biological parameters currently used in the joint stock assessment. This collaborative project between Commonwealth and state agencies aims to fill these information gaps using state-of-the-art scientific methods to increase confidence in stock assessment outputs and help develop appropriate cross-jurisdictional management arrangements. Objectives: 1. To clarify the stock structure of Eastern School Whiting in south-eastern Australian waters using a range of modern methods. 2. Investigate the spatial and temporal variation in the main biological parameters (length and age structures, growth and reproductive biology) of Eastern School Whiting across the species’ distribution. 3. Investigate the species composition of mixed trawl whiting catches in northern NSW to improve the quality of state catch data used in stock assessments. 4. Explore the effects of the findings from the first three objectives on the outputs of an updated Tier 1 stock assessment for Eastern School Whiting. Read moreRead less