DrSally Kennedy

I am a Lecturer of Criminology, based at Deakin University’s Burwood Campus.

Since the conferral of my PhD in February 2021, then beginning my current Lecturer position, I have had the opportunity to continue to extend my research interests and expertise, as well as contribute to teaching and learning in a variety of ways.

I retain a strong interest in transnational justice procedures, and how mechanisms could better protect individuals involved in these processes where harm is often substantial. What began as a general interest at Honours level and then continued via my PhD, has developed into a growing expertise and publication record in the transnational justice space.

As opportunities arose, I have gained a developing interest in the intersections between health/care and criminal-legal processes. This includes wellness/wellbeing within the legal system (including neurodiversity), sentencing frameworks which consider questions of criminal liability, prison conditions, the use of psychiatric submissions in legal cases, and the evolving context of policy and theory in these areas of justice/law. This has enabled me to use some of my science background I gained as a result of a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and sector work (before I returned to higher education to pursue criminology).  

Sitting within this intersection of health/care and criminal-legal processes is an ongoing inter-disciplinary relationship with colleagues from the School of Psychology. The common thread of this research is alcohol policy. This work has been supported by external grants, and most recently a Medical Research Future Fund where I am a CI (2026 - 2029). This work continues to extend my experience when it comes to policy development, review, and impact, as well as expand my leadership capacity within funded research projects.

I work primarily with qualitative data and have extensive experience in thematic and legal case analysis, often within a comparative context. This experience extends to all forms of document analysis including policy, reports, and media articles. I have also conducted and analysed interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders and worked with social media data.

Since 2015, I have worked as a teaching and learning scholar at Deakin in a variety of capacities across study levels (including undergraduate, postgraduate, Honours, and HDR supervision). I follow a teaching philosophy focused on inclusion and accessibility. 

This teaching experience has been bolstered by internal research funding to explore enrolment motivations, career aspirations, and career preparedness of criminology students in Australia via a nationwide survey. I am also co-leading a Students as Partners Project which has engaged students as co-decisionmakers and co-creators to develop inclusive, Equity-First employability resources for the Deakin criminology undergraduate program. These projects have/will have applied and tangible outputs to current criminology students at Deakin and have ensured my ongoing drive to understand and address educational inequities.

Internal Service:

Criminology Honours Coordinator: February 2025 - current

Faculty of Arts and Education Teaching and Learning Committee: January 2025 - current

Master of Criminology Course Team Member: September 2025 - August 2026

Membership - Teaching and Learning:

Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), AdvanceHE

Deakin Teaching and Learning Academy

Australasian Academic Integrity Network, Deakin University

Membership - Research: 

Criminology Research Group (CRG), Deakin University

Centre for Law as Protection, Deakin University

Deakin Centre for Relationships, Trauma, Addiction and Aggression

Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology (ANZSOC)

Teaching and Learning in Criminology Thematic Group, ANZSOC

Autism and the Criminal Justice System Program, Salford University

Advancing Rural, Regional Culture and Society, Deakin University

Women in Qual Networking Group 

Training and Education:

Accredited Mental Health First Aider: August 2025 - August 2028

Graduate Certificate of Higher Education (Learning and Teaching): Final trimester T2 2026