Crawford School of Public Policy

This week, the Australia South Asia Research Centre (ASARC) at ANU brought together researchers and policymakers to tackle a genuinely hard question: how does Australia build a care system that can actually keep up?

With an ageing population, a workforce that already leans heavily on women and migrant workers, and AI changing the game fast – there's no easy fix. The workshop dug into labour mobility, skills partnerships, community care models (Thailand had some interesting lessons), the PALM scheme, and how AI can support care workers without stripping out the human parts that matter most.

The takeaway? You can't solve this with one lever. Migration policy, workforce planning, social protection and technology all need to be designed together - and the people doing the caring need to be at the centre of it.

Professor Janine O'Flynn, Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy, has been appointed to the Board of ANZSOG - The Australia and New Zealand School of Government, alongside Professor The Hon Bill Shorten, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Canberra, and Simone Walker, Deputy Secretary, Corporate Services at the Premier's Department NSW.

ANZSOG works with governments, universities and public sector leaders across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to build capability, share knowledge and strengthen public institutions.

Congratulations, Janine, on this well-deserved appointment. We look forward to the valuable contribution you will make in shaping the future of public sector leadership across the region.

Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g2fCw7ux

The Crawford School of Public Policy, University of Indonesia FISIP and Universitas Gadjah Mada FISIPOL have officially joined forces to support current and emerging policy leaders across the region.

Professor Janine O'Flynn says, “Two years ago, we called our joint initiative kolaborasi for good reason. Today we formalised our initiatives and worked together to map out how we will implement our new relationship.”

Read more about what the agreement will kickstart here: https://lnkd.in/gSAZeDDA

Emeritus Professor Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt AO has been awarded a Swedish Research Grant (FORMAS) for her project titled Towards decarbonised democracy: Pathways for an inclusive energy transition in India. The four-year $6m Swedish Krona grant will be conducted with Dr Patrik Oskarsson (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences).

Read more about the project here: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/crawford-school-public-policy/news/emeritus-professor-awarded-swedish-research-grant-formas

Laurie Singh is a master of juggling it all. He spent two years commuting back and forth to Fiji for his work in the Ministry of Finance, Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics, Fiji, while also making time to see his wife and children.

He graduated with a Master of Environmental Management and Development and was awarded the Elspeth Young Prize for social contribution throughout his degree.

We can’t wait to see the impact he has. Read his story here: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/news/listening-between-worlds-how-crawford-graduate-applying-his-knowledge-fiji

Save the date! Mark your calendar for 18–19 September 2026 for the 43rd annual Indonesia Update conference 'Islamic diversity in Indonesia'.

How does Islam shape and contest diversity in contemporary Indonesia? This year’s Indonesia Update will bring together experts from Australia, Indonesia, and around the world to explore the relationship between Islam and diversity in today’s Indonesia through four themes: ‘Embracing Differences’, ‘Insisting on Difference’, ‘Institutions’, and ‘Mediating Difference’. The conference will acknowledge that Islam in Indonesia is both a platform for an ethics of inclusion and a site for its contestation, and will ask what this means for the country’s future.

Full program and registration details coming soon!

Follow conference updates:https://crawford.anu.edu.au/event/indonesia-update-islamic-diversity-indonesia

Image: Ministry of Religious Affairs Indonesia/Mokodompit

Stay tuned for the upcoming Indonesia Update on Islamic diversity in Indonesia at ANU, where leading experts will unpack key social, political, and religious dynamics shaping the nation today. Registration opens in June!

We are pleased to announce Associate Professor Eva Nisa School of Culture, History & Language as a convenor of the 2026 Indonesia Update, 'Islamic diversity in Indonesia'.

At the close of the 2025 conference, Eva announced that she and Professor Julian Millie Monash University will convene the 2026 Indonesia Update, highlighting Islam’s diverse voices and describing Indonesia’s Islamic experience as “a Netflix series with multiple plotlines.”

Associate Professor Eva Nisa is an anthropologist, Islamic studies scholar, and ARC DECRA Fellow at ANU. Her work explores the intersections of religion, gender, economy, youth, and digital life. Trained in Qur’anic Sciences at جامعة الأزهر Al-Azhar University (Cairo), she brings rare depth to the study of Muslim societies. Her academic path spans Universiteit Leiden / Leiden University (MA), ANU (PhD), and postdocs at the Universität Hamburg and the University of Amsterdam / Universiteit van Amsterdam. She is the author of Face-veiled Women in Contemporary Indonesia and has published over sixty scholarly works. Since joining ANU in 2019, she has received the ANU CAP Award for Teaching Excellence and held a guest professorship at the University of Vienna. She currently serves as Vice President of the Asian Studies Association of Australia and Secretary of the Australian Association of Islamic and Muslim Studies.

Join us on 18–19 September 2026 at ANU.

More information: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/event/indonesia-update-islamic-diversity-indonesia

Hla Doi brought a world of experience with him to Crawford and now takes his Master of Environmental Management and Development back out into the world. He plans to change climate and environmental policy in Myanmar, and we can’t wait to see the difference he makes.

You can read his story here: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/crawford-school-public-policy/news/crawford-graduates-plans-change-climate-and-environmental-policy

Meet Zoë Fitzgerald. She began her Master of Public Administration 1,000km away from the nearest city in the Northern Territory and completed it from Timor-Leste. Her passion for study knows no bounds, and we are proud to call her a Crawford graduate.

Read her story here: https://lnkd.in/gg4ENymc

Congratulations Zoë!

Dr Paul Wyrwoll has been appointed as the Associate Commissioner of the Productivity Commission's new national water reform inquiry.

The inquiry, announced by Minister Murray Watt today, will be led by Commissioner Joanne Chong. It will focus on keeping Australia’s water secure and affordable, while making the sector more productive and sustainable in the long term.

More information about National Water Reform 2026 can be found here: https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries-and-research/water-reform-2026/