Ms Renee Usher

Research Associate

Australian Centre of Child Protection

College of Education, Behavioural and Social Science


Renée is a research assistant and PhD graduate researcher at the Australian Centre for Child Protection. Her research focuses on family, domestic, and sexual violence, perinatal child protection, out-of-home care, and disclosing child sexual abuse – with an emphasis on the long-term social, emotional, and psychological impacts of trauma.
Renée’s work is guided by a strong commitment to social justice and a focus on understanding the systems and structures that create inequities, particularly for women, children, and other marginalised groups. Using qualitative research methods, she is dedicated to including lived experience voices in research to help shape evidence-based policy and practice at local, national, and international levels. Renée has also written and co-authored several published articles and shared her work through webinars and national conferences, both online and in person.
Her PhD focus: Perinatal child protection responses in the context of domestic and family violence: A critical exploration of policy, practice, and lived experience.
You can find more on her published work at https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1519-9705 

Date Position Institution name
2022 - ongoing Research Assistant University of South Australia

Date Institution name Country Title
2025 University of South Australia Australia Doctor of Philosophy
2020 - 2022 Curtin University Australia Master of Social Work with Distinction
2015 - 2019 University of Notre Dame Australia Australia Bachelor of Behaviour Science
2015 - 2019 University of Notre Dame Australia Australia Bachelor of Counselling

Year Citation
2025 Bryant, C., Bayliss, D., O'Donnell, M., Usher, R., & Maclean, M. (2025). Young mothers with experience of out-of-home care and intergenerational risk of child removal. Child Abuse & Neglect: the international journal, 167(107599), 1-12.
DOI
2025 Usher, R., Parsons, L., O'Donnell, M., Walter, B., Thain, E., & Chung, D. (2025). "It's not a normal upbringing": Insights from young mothers with care experience to improve parenting support and prevent intergenerational out-of-home care. Children and Youth Services Review, 179(108593), 1-9.
DOI
2025 Burrow, S., ODonnell, M., Wood, L., Fisher, C., Usher, R., Gayde, R., & Krakouer, J. (2025). Homelessness, family violence and infant removals. Parity, 38(3), 20-22.
2024 O'Donnell, M., Burrow, S., Grose, M., Usher, R., Marriott, R., & Taplin, S. (2024). Child protection proceedings for infants: analysis of court files to identify court outcomes and requirements for families in child protection safety plans. Children and Youth Services Review, 157(107376), 1-10.
DOI
2024 Burrow, S., Wood, L., Fisher, C., Usher, R., Gayde, R., & O'Donnell, M. (2024). Parents' experiences of perinatal child protection processes: a systematic review and thematic synthesis informed by a socio-ecological approach. Children and Youth Services Review, 166(107960), 1-22.
DOI WoS3
2022 O'Donnell, M., Usher, R., Burrow, S., Nguyen, R., McKenzie, A., & Fisher, C. (2022). Victim-survivors, family and domestic violence service providers and support people: identification of priority issues for research and translation into policy and practice. Global Social Welfare, 10(2), 129-138.
DOI
  • Wrapped in Our Ways During Pregnancy, Paul Ramsay Foundation, 11/11/2025 - 31/01/2029

  • Bringing Baby Home (BBH) Program, Department for Education, Children and Young People, 10/02/2025 - 30/06/2025


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