Swinburne secures ARC Linkage funding for industry-focused research

Swinburne has secured over $740,000 in funding as lead organisation on two Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects, while also contributing to four externally led projects.

The two Swinburne-led projects will focus on making government systems safer for victim-survivors of financial abuse and improving floor design in timber mid-rise buildings. 

“It is fantastic to see the contrast of disciplines represented across the two Swinburne-led projects, as well as the four externally led projects our researchers are involved in. Together, they demonstrate the depth and breadth of our research,” says Swinburne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, Professor Karen Hapgood.

“Industry engagement is central to the Linkage Project scheme and highlights Swinburne’s strong capability to collaborate with key industry partners to develop practical, relevant solutions to real-world challenges." 

Tackling real-world challenges

A project led by Swinburne’s Professor Kay Cook and Dr Steven Murdoch, in partnership with the University of New South Wales, Single Mother Families Australia and Centre for Woman’s Economic Safety will focus on improving government system to prevent the weaponisation of child support, taxation and family benefit systems. 

This project will help identify unsafe policies and practices, support real-time reform and develop a toolkit to guide safer system design. It aims to strengthen policymakers’ and advocates’ ability to respond to financial abuse and prioritise women’s safety in ongoing government reform efforts.

The other successful Swinburne project will be led by Dr Anita Amirsadari, Associate Professor Jessey Lee, Professor Lam Pham and Professor Emad Gad in collaboration with the University of Queensland, Mitek Australia, ITW Australia and Multinail Australia. 

This project aims to address safety challenges posted by outdated design approaches in Australian timber-framed mid-rise buildings by modernising the floor design of these buildings. 

The project will focus on developing comprehensive design guides that improve structural performance and accelerate the design and construction of timber-framed buildings. This will lead to safer, cost-effective construction, promote sustainable and innovative practices, and enhance community resilience to natural disasters. 

Additional ARC Linkage highlights 

Several Swinburne researchers are also involved in four successful externally led projects. These are:

• Professor Wendy Stone, who is part of the team on the Building the financial capacity of Australia’s cooperative housing sector project, led by University of Melbourne

• Professor Wendy Stone, who is part of the research team on the Social housing tenants navigating relocation project, led by University of Technology Sydney

• Professor Xiaodong Huang, who is part of the research team working on the 3D printable topology-optimised design for structural – acoustic building project, led by University of Southern Queensland

• Professor Weixiang Shen, who is part of the team working on the Repurposing retired EV batteries for stationary energy storage solutions project, led by University of Tasmania.