Adjunct Professor
Bob Lonne
Faculty of Health,
School of Public Health & Social Work
Biography
BackgroundProfessor Lonne, who semi-retired in 2020, is an Adjunct Professor with the School, and was the foundation Professor of Social Work at QUT with responsibility to lead the new Bachelor of Social Work course, the existing Bachelor of Human Services, and the Masters of Social Work, all of which have been highly successful. Professor Lonne has had a distinguished career with a track record that includes over $1,370,000 in research grants and an additional $3.700,000 as part of the 2022 Norwegian NORWEL research project’s International Advisory Board. In addition, he has authored/co-authored 4 books, 2 monographs, 17 book chapters, 51 refereed journal articles, and 6 major/government reports, as well as holding high-level national leadership roles. He has a longstanding commitment to the area of child protection and its workforce issues, having over a decade in direct practice, and extensive involvement in international, national and state-based policy and program advice.
Bob had a distinguished career in direct practice and has held managerial positions in the mental health, statutory child protection and juvenile justice fields in both Queensland and Western Australia. Professor Lonne has also been engaged as an expert legal witness for child abuse and neglect matters involving civil litigation or Coronial inquiries in several jurisdictions. He has particular expertise regarding historical child maltreatment and the policy/practice developments that have occurred over the past 50 years. Professor Lonne is recognised by Inquiries as an expert witness regarding child protection systems and was cited over 40 times in the Carmody inquiry report into the Queensland child protection system. He has undertaken research for the NSW FACS Their Futures Matter initiative investigating assessment tools and policies for the ‘front door’ of child protection systems to improve access by families and children in need..
Bob was the National President of the Australian Association of Social Workers from 2005-2011, having been twice elected by members. He has demonstrated high level national leadership in a number of areas. He has articulated clear practice and ethical standards, and generally elevated the voice of the profession. He was also the Elections Officer for the International Federation of Social Work.
Research focus: Professor Lonne is passionate about the safety and well-being of children and families, and is involved in onging research of the outcomes and efficacy of contemporary child protection systems and practice, prevention of child abuse and neglect, as well as social work and child welfare workforce issues both nationally and elsewhere. He has established linkages with international researchers in the USA, UK, Norway, Ireland and Canada.
Personal details
Positions
- Adjunct Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Public Health & Social Work
Keywords
Child protection, Human services, Welfare programs, burnout, human services workforce issues, rural social care, rural social work, social work curriculum, social work ethics, work stress
Research field
Social Work, Sociology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (Uni of South Australia)
- MQual(Arts) (James Cook Uni. of North Qld)
- BSW (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
Bob is a member of the Australian Association of Social Workers and the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (IPSCAN).
Teaching
Teaching areas
Bob taught in social work and human services courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, teaching across a range of first year units. He was the Course Coordinator of the Master of Social Work. His teaching interests include general social work practice knowledge and skills, practice methods and processes, theoretical foundations, and he has a particular focus on child protection and youth justice. His interests include the broad societal issues affecting social policy and service users in the increasingly complex and often fragmented human services.
Experience
Professional practice
Bob had a lengthy professional career in statutory mental health, child protection and juvenile justice. He remains active in system development and change. He has also worked closely with a number of community-based human service organisations. Bob is also engaged as a consultant for government and non-government matters including organizational issues. Involvement within the sector includes:
- 2022-present: Member of the International Advisory Board for the successful national competitive grant by UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to establish the Norwegian Research School of Social Work and Child Welfare (NORWEL). The primary objective is to establish a research school of excellence for PhD-students in social work and child welfare.
- 2014-2019: Member of the international Expert Advisory Committee for the implementation of early intervention and prevention service models in an overhaul of the Irish national approach to protecting children. This group worked with the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Atlantic Philanthropies, Dept of Children and Youth Affairs (TUSLA) to shape a major evaluation of the reforms (€10M).
- 2014 - 2016: Member of the Dept of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services statewide Child and Family Stakeholder Advisory Group which provides high-level advice to the reform process implementing the recommendations of the Carmody Inquiry into child protection in Queensland.
- 2012 - 2015: Ministerially appointed member of the Queensland Clinical Education and Training Council (QCETC).
- 2009 - 2015: member of QHealth Allied Health Education Standing Committee
- 2009 - 2013: ministerially appointed member of the FACHSIA and Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) Common Approach to Assessment Referral and Support Taskforce (CAARS), to address issues around the wellbeing and safety of children, early intervention and prevention of child abuse and neglect
- 2008 - 2011: foundation member of the national Centrelink Professional Practice Reference Group
- 2010-2013: foundation member of the Queensland National Framework Interdepartmental Working Group (QNFIWG), whose purpose was to drive implementation and reporting on the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children endorsed by COAG.
Professor Lonne is also on the editorial boards of international professional journals including
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- International Journal of Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice
- Journal of Teaching in Social Work
He also reviews articles for
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- British Journal of Social Work
- International Journal of Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice
- Trauma, Violence and Abuse
- Journalism
- Journal of Teaching in Social Work
- Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
- Child Abuse Review
- Children and Youth Services Review
- Australian Journal of Social Issues
- Australian Social Work
- Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development
- Asian Social Work and Policy Review
- Social Sciences
- Evidence & Policy
International Engagement
Bob has strong linkages with industry, researchers and academics overseas, including:
- Member of the International Advisory Board for the successful national competitive grant by UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) to establish the Norwegian Research School of Social Work and Child Welfare (NORWEL). 2022-present.
- Member of the international Expert Advisory Committee for the implementation of early intervention and prevention service models in an overhaul of the Irish national approach to protecting children. This group is working with the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Atlantic Philanthropies, Dept of Children and Youth Affairs (TUSLA) to shape a major evaluation of the reforms (€10M) 2014-2019;
- Ethics in child protection practice – Alberta Association of Services for Children and Families (AASCF) for Department of Human Services, Alberta Canada Oct 2012; and
- Connections with University of Calgary, University of Huddersfield (UK), University of Michigan, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim, Norway, University of Auckland, and University of Colorado (USA).
Publications
- Lonne, B., Russ, E., Harrison, C., Morley, L., Harries, M., Robertson, S., Pearce, T. & Smith, J. (2021). The 'Front Door' to Child Protection-Issues and Innovations. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 3(4), 351–367. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226373
- Raman, S., Harries, M., Nathawad, R., Kyeremateng, R., Seth, R., Lonne, B. & other, a. (2020). Where do we go from here? A child rights-based response to COVID-19. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 4(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226375
- Herrenkohl, T., Lonne, B., Higgins, D. & Scott, D. (2020). The Personal Security of Children Demands Bold System Reform. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 3(1), 9–17. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226374
- Lonne, B., Scott, D., Higgins, D. & Herrenkohl, T. (2019). Re-Visioning Public Health Approaches for Protecting Children. Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226311
- Lonne, R., Brown, G., Wagner, I. & Gillespie, K. (2015). Victoria's Child FIRST and IFS differential response system: Progress and issues. Child Abuse and Neglect, 39, 41–49. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/80867
- Lonne, R. & Parton, N. (2014). Portrayals of child abuse scandals in the media in Australia and England: Impacts on practice, policy, and systems: Most media coverage distorts the public understandings of the nature of child maltreatment. Child Abuse and Neglect, 38(5), 822–836. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/76225
- Kojan, B. & Lonne, R. (2012). A comparison of systems and outcomes for safeguarding children in Australia and Norway. Child and Family Social Work, 17(1), 96–107. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/77052
- Healy, K. & Lonne, R. (2010). The social work and human services workforce: report from a national study of education, training and workforce needs. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/39674
- Lonne, R., Parton, N., Thomson, J. & Harries, M. (2009). Reforming Child Protection. Routledge. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/14181
- Russ, E., Lonne, R. & Darlington, Y. (2009). Using resilience to reconceptualise child protection workforce capacity. Australian Social Work, 62(3), 324–338. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/29287
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Bob, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).