Jemma Venables

Associate Professor Jemma Venables is a social work academic in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at The University of Queensland, within the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. She joined the university in 2017 as a lecturer and progressed to Associate Professor. Currently, she is the Program Lead for the Master of Social Work (Qualifying) program and teaches courses in both undergraduate and postgraduate social work programs. Her academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor (Honours), and a Doctor of Philosophy obtained in 2016 from The University of Queensland, all from the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.

Venables specializes in research on transforming child and family welfare, spanning early intervention to supporting young people transitioning from out-of-home care to adulthood. Her interdisciplinary and industry-engaged projects aim to generate knowledge for more responsive policies and practices that improve wellbeing, connections, and outcomes for marginalized children, young people, and families. She has secured substantial funding, including ARC Linkage Projects such as 'Enhancing outcomes for young people in out-of-home care who self-place' (2024-2027), 'Empowering peer-parent and family advocacy in Australian child protection' (2025-2028), and 'Enhancing Children's Journey in Out-of-Home Care' (2020-2025), as well as an NHMRC grant for 'Supporting Healthy Lifestyle Choices to Promote Mental Health & Wellbeing of Indigenous Youth Aging-Out-of-Care' (2023-2028). Key publications include 'Approaches to supporting young people in out-of-home care who ‘self-place’ in unapproved locations: Perspectives of statutory child protection practitioners' (The British Journal of Social Work, 2024), 'Children in out-of-home care's right to family and cultural connection: Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australian children's perspectives' (Child Abuse and Neglect, 2024), 'Diminishing their voice through choice? How ‘self-placing’ in out-of-home care affects children and young people’s participation in decision-making' (European Journal of Social Work, 2024), 'The social and emotional wellbeing of children in out-of-home care: a scoping review exploring structural and social factors' (Children and Youth Services Review, 2024), and co-editing the 'AJSI transitions from out-of-home care special issue' (Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2025). Her work influences child protection policy and social work practice through evidence-based insights and collaborations.