Alison Reid

Dr Alison Reid

Research Officer

School of Social Sciences

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

For further details please visit my Linkedin profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-reid-106a0327/

Alison’s research has explored the motivations and experiences of refugee and asylum seeker support workers who are often providing critical support to people who have fled circumstances of war, conflict, violence, torture and trauma. 

Alison has her own experience volunteering in this area, having previously been a regular visitor to the Inverbrackie detention centre in the Adelaide hills, supporting people seeking refuge in community, and spending time in refugee camps in Calais, France and Veria, Greece during the Syria/ Iraq exodus between 2015 and 2017.  

In her research, she looks at the impacts of these experiences and responses on organisational cultures in the advocacy sector - as well as on grassroots community organisations and individuals. The aim was to uncover whether, and how or why, certain organisations in the support space manage and thrive, or crumble because of the demands of their daily work. The purpose being to inform the development of practical strategies that organisations and individuals can adopt to enhance the wellbeing and resilience of supporters working in this sector, leading to the sustainability of this important work.

Alison's research is now extending into the exploration of intergenerational volunteering in refugee and asylum seeker support. 

2024 Accelerator Grant - School of Social Sciences

2022 School of Social Sciences Writing Fellowship

Prizes and awards

2022 Hugh Martin Weir Prize 

2015 Winner of the ITAS Tutor of the Year Award for my work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Tutorial leader for course 1001 Indigenous People, Country and Protocols in 2019, 2021 and 2025.

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2024 - ongoing Member Kaldor Centre's Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) Australia
    2023 - ongoing Member Association for Academic Language and Learning Australia

  • Presentation
    Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
    2023 - ongoing "Bandaids in a Battlefield": The Anthropology of Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support in Australia Lunchtime Discovery event held by Friends of the Library, The University of Adelaide, Barr Smith Library. The University of Adelaide -
  • Position: Research Officer
  • Phone: 83133500
  • Email: alison.reid@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: 10 Pulteney Street - Nexus 10 Tower, floor Fifth Floor
  • Room: 524
  • Org Unit: Future of Employment and Skills Research Centre
Connect With Me
External Profiles