Associate Professor BJ Newton

BJ Newton, PhD (Social Work/ Social Policy), University of NSW, BA (hons. In sociology), University of New South Wales, B Social Work, University of New South Wales.

BJ Newton is a proud Wiradjuri woman and mother to three children. She is a Scientia Associate Professor based at the Social Policy Research Centre within UNSW Sydney. BJ specialises in Indigenous research methods and child protection research and policy. Her research focuses on working in partnership with Aboriginal organisations to build evidence and support Aboriginal families interfacing with child protection systems.

BJ is the lead investigator of the Bring them home, keep them home research. This project investigates the rates, outcomes and experiences of successful and sustainable restoration for Aboriginal children in out-of-home care. This is a four-year research project in partnership with Aboriginal organisations in NSW funded by the Australian Research Council. This research is making significant impact across the child protection sector, facilitating truth telling for families silenced by the system, Aboriginal community-determined initiatives, and individual and system-level advocacy. Building on the findings and impact from Bring them home, keep them home, BJ has just been awarded an Investigator Grant by the National Health and Medical Research Council commencing in 2026 titled Understanding systems abuse and Aboriginal resistance in child protection contexts.

BJ has extensive experience working on a range of child protection and domestic and family violence commissioned research for NSW DCJ, the Coroner’s Court of Victoria, and multiple projects for the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. BJ was the inaugural Associate Dean (Indigenous) of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, a position held from January 2021- August 2022 when she accepted the Scientia academic position which enables her to focus on her research and impact.