Hospitality SMEs’ misconceptions about people with intellectual disability (PWID), together with a lack of connectivity between people with intellectual disability and disability employment services, are holding these businesses back from recruiting more PWID for mainstream jobs, a study has found. 

Ashokkumar (Ashok) Manoharan is Associate Professor – Strategic Management at Flinders Business School. He led a research study funded by Endeavour Foundation through the Endeavour Foundation Disability Research grant 2022-2023 with a twofold aim: firstly, stimulating demand for employing people with intellectual disabilities in the hospitality SME sector, and secondly, providing a toolkit to facilitate the employment of people with intellectual disability in hospitality SMEs. 

“In our study we were seeking to develop strategies for businesses to foster inclusive environments and create sustainable employment outcomes for people with intellectual disability, ” explains Manoharan. 

“We analysed the challenges faced by both job seekers with disabilities and the dynamics facing hospitality SMEs, exploring attitudes towards and/or lived experiences of employing people with intellectual disabilities.” 

Thirty-five hospitality employers were interviewed and participants included SME business owners and senior staff in hotels, clubs and restaurants in South Australia, industry peak bodies such as AHA and Clubs SA, disability employment service providers and education providers. 

Values and attitudes shaped by lived experience 

“What often shapes peoples’ values and attitudes towards people with intellectual disability is lived experience and our research supported this,” says Manoharan. 

“Owners/managers who employ PWID identified positive outcomes from employing people with intellectual disabilities including loyalty, strong work ethic and a commitment to the job.” 

“Some stated that co-workers were not interested or available to support a person with intellectual disability and there could be a negative attitude toward people with intellectual disabilities in the workplace. However, many owners/managers found working through challenges ultimately rewarding.” 

Others were not confident employing PWID, expressing concerns surrounding the fast-paced nature of the hospitality sector and safety risks within hospitality environments such as kitchens.  

Similar concerns were raised by owners and managers who had never employed PWID. Most indicated they were prepared to consider employing PWID in the future. 

Employer and employee barriers leading to PWID being back of house

Disability employment in Australia indicates that people with intellectual disability often experience a restricted employment pathway. Many commence with volunteer work or supported employment before transitioning to open employment, where opportunities are predominantly limited to back-of-house roles, such as retail, warehousing, or kitchen hand positions.

“People with intellectual disability have largely been given back of house roles and there are common pervasive myths that are among the roadblocks to PWID being customer facing,” says Manoharan.

SMEs slower to support recruitment 

“The hospitality industry is a potentially attractive employer of people with intellectual disability, but barriers still exist. Some large organisations in the industry employ PWID but 76% are small and medium sized enterprises and have been slower to support their recruitment.” 

“In the SME hospitality sector where most organisations have little in-house human resource or diversity management experience, it is expected that positive engagement with disability employment service providers is needed to create more opportunities for people with disabilities.” 

Smaller businesses were more risk averse and concerned about the costs associated with recruiting, training and supporting a potential employee with disabilities. 

Awareness of government support programs another roadblock

“Many of these costs can be covered by existing government support programs, a fact that employers without experience seemed unaware of. Business associations and peak bodies can also play an important role in raising awareness about the employment of people with disabilities. In the current climate of labour shortages and high turnover, the hospitality sector can no longer afford to ignore this potential talent pool.” 

Online toolkit devised to dispel common myths 

Manoharan, together with representatives from the hospitality sector in South Australia,* in a bid to help pave the way to mainstream employment for people with an intellectual disability, has devised common myths around employing PWID. 

“It’s our intention to facilitate practical connections between hospitality SMEs with Inclusive Employment Australia.” 

“One prominent myth is that hiring someone with intellectual disability means higher recruitment, employment, and training costs. In reality, evidence shows there are typically no additional costs. The assumption of financial burden is one of the biggest and least-founded barriers employers carry.” 

Several studies and reviews in the hospitality sector have identified that one of the largest barriers to the employment of people with disabilities is concerns over the costs of accommodations, a concern that is shared by employers in other sectors. 

In a survey of 320 hospitality companies in the US, the cost of accommodations was a significant barrier for most businesses, though reported as a particular concern for smaller businesses. However, studies reporting the actual costs of accommodations in the hospitality sector observed that many accommodations were free or relatively low-cost (e.g., less than US$500). 

“Another myth is that most people with intellectual disability have severe intellectual disability. Data shows that 85% of people with intellectual disabilities have only a mild intellectual disability – meaning minor challenges that do not prevent them from being employed.” 

*Owen Webb, Deputy Chief Executive Officer – AHA (SA), Rhys Braybrook from Clubs SA, Greg Hobby, CEO of Taylor & Holmes 

Osteoarthritis (‘OA’) is a $3.5 billion burden in Australia and a leading cause of pain and disability globally. Pain and impairment from OA means extensive time-loss from work, with people relying on pain medication and in some circumstances major surgery to manage the condition.

A/Prof Myles Murphy is a Sport and Exercise Physiotherapist and researcher at the University of Notre Dame Australia. His research explores what drives pain and impairment in people with lower-limb musculoskeletal injury, and how we can better prevent and treat these conditions.

Fresh perspective on an old problem

Best-practice management for OA involves building strength, increasing range of motion and improving proprioception (body awareness). But despite doing all of these things, not everyone achieves a satisfactory outcome. During his work as a sports physiotherapist, A/Prof Murphy knew there had to be more to this condition and that thinking ‘outside the box’ was needed to improve outcomes for people with OA.

“This suggested to me that looking at the joint structure and function alone was too narrow a view, and we weren’t seeing the complete picture.”

Therefore, his latest research has demonstrated that people with hip OA not only have peripheral issues with the joint structure and function, but they also experience changes in the brain that are associated with their OA pain.

Misconceptions about pain at the heart of OA

“There’s a misconception about OA that pain severity and function are related to the degree of structural damage,” says Murphy.

“Evidence actually shows that pain severity with OA has a poor relationship with the degree of structural damage visible on imaging.”

Working with elite athletes, Dr Murphy saw this play out time and time again: people with ‘bone-on-bone’ OA living completely pain-free with full function, and others with only minor degeneration rating their pain 11 out of 10.

“What we were seeing on the x-ray or MRI wasn’t accurately reflecting how clients were feeling, or how their limb was functioning.”

“Improvements in pain can even occur while visible “damage” on a scan remains completely unchanged. We have seen this in other musculoskeletal conditions, where changes in disability aren’t necessarily tied to improvements in muscle function either.”

Research has shown that imaging has a poor relationship to function in many musculoskeletal conditions, such as lower back pain or tendinopathy.

OA brains are hitting the ‘brakes’

“People with OA are unable to fully activate the muscles around their affected joint, because the brain is actively applying a ‘brake’ to stop them from using the muscle,” Dr Murphy explains.

“We don’t yet know why that is. But the brain seems to be doing this to protect the joint by reducing the ability of the muscle to produce force. However, this is a maladaptive change as strong muscles actually help reduce joint pain.”

“If we describe this in clinical terms, when people with persistent OA pain try to actively contract muscles around the affected joint, they show impaired voluntary muscle activation. To produce maximum strength, the motor cortex, which is the part of the brain that activates muscles, needs to send a clear signal down through the spinal cord to the muscle. When that signal is reduced, the result is muscle weakness that has nothing to do with damage in the muscle itself.

The exact mechanism driving these changes in the brain, and the lack of activation in the muscle, are not yet fully understood.

“What we know is that the pain associated with OA is complex and not solely related to signals sent by damaged joint tissue. The central nervous system plays an important role.”

“Understanding the different ways in which the nervous system contributes to muscle dysfunction in OA, will help inform the design of more targeted treatments for pain, muscle weakness, and function.

Measuring the brain’s role: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

To measure the degree of inhibition and facilitation of the brain’s motor cortex researchers use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Magnetic pulses stimulate the motor cortex, and EMG sensors on the leg muscles record the level of activation. This provides insight into whether the brain-to-muscle pathway is underactive, or overactive.

“Think of inhibition and facilitation as a brake and accelerator,” says Dr Murphy. “TMS lets us see how those pathways are working — whether they’re operating normally, or whether activity is excessive.”

With alterations in these brain pathways, resulting in a lack of strong signal to the muscles, people with OA cannot properly activate their muscles and this limits their ability for improvements in pain and restoring normal function. A/Prof Murphy’s research is now looking at how innovative technological approaches can be used to normalise brain pathways.

Turning measurement into treatment: the ACL study

Similarly to OA even with best-practice exercise rehabilitation, patients commonly struggle to recover following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury and Reconstruction. Previous research has shown the changes that occur in the brain in people with OA, are also present in people following ACL reconstruction.

“This is largely because the brain ‘dials down’ the drive to those leg muscles, making rehab less effective,” says Dr Murphy.

Dr Colin Sylvester, a physician with the Fremantle Football Club, investigated this under the supervision of A/Prof Murphy, and discovered these changes in the brain occur as early as two weeks following the ACL surgery.

A/Prof Murphy, alongside Dr Casey Whife, West Coast Eagles Chief Medical Officer, tested whether they could reverse these changes by applying a small, externally-delivered electrical current to the brain region controlling the leg muscles, at the same time as standard rehab exercises. This is a simple approach, and all participants feel is a light tingling or itchiness at the site of the electrodes on the head.

Findings indicated that muscle strength could be maintained while reducing the brain’s inhibitory “brake”. Marking a substantial step forward in our understanding of how to best rehabilitation people with musculoskeletal injuries.

What’s next

Myles is now trialling the same electrical stimulation approach for people with hip OA, testing whether the positive changes he has observed following ACL surgery can be replicated in people with hip OA.

“This is early-stage research, and brain stimulation isn’t yet a standard clinical tool. But it’s paving the way for a potentially simple, low-cost, accessible add-on to existing exercise rehab — not a replacement for it, but a way to help rehab actually work the way it’s supposed to.”

Read about Myles Murphy’s latest work here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266633762400101X

https://eor.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/eor/8/12/EOR-23-0092.xml

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266633762500099X

https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/4/e002080

Dr Myles Murphy is open to speaking on the topics of ankle, knee and hip pain as well as musculoskeletal injury prevention in physically active populations.

 When Dr Karen Massel, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Crop Science, part of UQ’s Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) is working with cutting edge biotechnological tools to edit the genes of grains, she has globally significant goals in mind. 

Goals such as securing food supplies in the face of climate challenges and global population growth. By improving crops for productivity, climate resilience (against drought tolerance, abiotic stress tolerance) and sustainability.

“Farmers have been manipulating the DNA of plants using conventional breeding technologies for millennia, and now with emerging gene-editing technologies, we can do this with unprecedented safety, precision and speed,” says Dr Massel.

“If you want to bring in a trait from a wild crop and bring it into a commercial breeding line, it takes 10-15 years. It is now possible to substantially compress the time it takes to bring about crop improvements … I can do it in one year in my lab.” 

“Using biotech tools such as CRISPR9, instead of putting large fragments of genes from other species we are making extremely small, targeted changes to the genome to tweak the genetic code and get rid of traits you don’t want..”

“This type of gene editing mimics the way cells repair in nature.” 

Energy-rich cereal crops such as wheat, rice, maize and sorghum provide two-thirds of the world’s food energy intake. 

“Just 15 plant crops provide 90 per cent of the world’s food calories,” Dr Massel said. 

“It’s a race between a changing climate and plant breeders’ ability to produce crops with genetic resilience that grow well in adverse conditions and have enriched nutritional qualities. 

“The problem is that it takes too long for breeders to detect and make that genetic diversity available to farmers, with a breeding cycle averaging about 15 years for cereal crops.” 

“Plus CRISPR allows us to do things we can’t do through conventional breeding in terms of generating novel diversity and improving breeding for desirable traits.”

Gene editing to prevent white button mushrooms from browning 

One example of gene editing improving crop production is preventing white button mushrooms from browning. 

“When you slice or bruise a white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), it turns brown in minutes. This browning happens due to an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (‘PPO’) being released from damaged cells and reacting with oxygen, producing brown pigments.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 the researchers were able to successfully disable one of the genes that codes for PPO to prevent discolouring. 

“Less PPO means the mushroom resists browning and holds its fresh, creamy-white look much longer after being cut or handled and therefore extending shelf life,” she explains. 

Going with the grain: genetic modifications on Queensland sorghum

Driving through southern and central parts of Queensland it’s easy to mistake fields of sorghum for corn. Sorghum, worth an estimated $1.2 billion in annual exports in 2024-25, is a staple for more than half a billion people worldwide.

In sorghum, Dr Massel and her research team have developed genetic modifications that double grain protein digestibility, improve water-use efficiency through canopy redesign, and enhance planting density for higher yields. 

“Sorghum’s grain protein is hard to digest…due to a family of storage proteins called kafirins… .. we edited the plant’s genes to unlock the digestibility level of the available proteins and to boost its nutritional value for humans and livestock.”

“In places such as Queensland, crop production quality and yield is influenced by impacted by climate variability including drought, flooding and high temperatures.”

“Our work is significant because it shows how using these tools we can be used to stack a variety of edits together for broad improvements in the crops,” says Massel. 

“This has allowed researchers to also develop more nutritious crops with improved drought resistance, which is becoming increasingly important as climate variabilities, which will have large impacts for dryland crops such as sorghum.”  

“In efforts to improve drought resilience we have modified the canopy architecture and root architecture of both sorghum and barley using gene editing to improve water use efficiency.” 

“Altering how the plant’s leaves are arranged and angled (‘canopy’) can improve light capture for photosynthesis and reduce its water requirements. Similarly, through changes in root system architecture, the plant should be able to access more water and nutrients from different soil profiles to capture better inputs especially during times of drought,” she explained.

Productivity and sustainability: expanding reach into tropical pasture grasses

Dr Massel’s research is expanding into tropical pasture grasses, with a focus on improving both productivity and environmental sustainability.

Reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint by developing low-emissions solutions is an important step that toward a more sustainable and climate-resilient production system. 

In her research, Dr Massel’s team are developing novel tissue culture protocols and gene edited pasture grasses aimed to improve livestock nutrition while also introducing anti-methanogenic traits to reduce the methane produced during digestion.  

Dr Massel describes the next 10 years as an exciting window in which to mature tools such as CRISPR9.

“We have a real opportunity to explore the potential of these tools in less studied crops and get products into the field.”

Along the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in East Arnhem Land, the Easterly winds send plastic tumbling along the shorelines. Hundreds of pieces of flotsam and jetsam nudge the feet of the Dhimurru Rangers.

The Dhimurru Rangers are part of a collective of First Nations ranger groups from across Arnhem Land undertaking programs to remove ghost nets. They are protectors and nurturers of Sea Country, its people and wildlife, carefully removing plastic waste reaching deep into the Gulf from places as far flung as the Arafura and Timor Seas and the Torres Strait.

The Rangers’ utes feature specialised equipment such as cranes to hoist bigger pieces, like ghost nets, off the sands. Ghost nets are just one part of a much  bigger waste problem, with an assortment of items, from microplastics to bottles, cigarette lighters, fishing lures, toothbrushes, and lolly wrappers to fishing ropes and fuel canisters. Thousands of tonnes of rubbish is strewn along hundreds of kilometres of coastline, which is a daily reality faced by First Nations rangers from Broome to Cape York.

Tackling ocean plastic pollution and educating communities 

“The ghost nets and the debris accumulate, posing a threat to ocean life… and the consequences for communities and Country are significant,” says Dr Nina Wootton, a marine researcher at Adelaide University’s Gillanders Aquatic Ecology Lab in the School of Biological Sciences. Dr Wootton is dedicated to tackling ocean plastic pollution and helping to educate communities. She leads research on microplastics in seafood, helps develop better ways to study marine plastics, and is the lead author on a microplastic sampling manual in coastal environments in Australia. 

Plastic pollution in the marine environment is a pervasive and escalating problem, impacting ecosystems from coastal habitats to the deep sea. Persistent plastics can smother habitats, introduce toxic compounds, and be ingested by marine life, leading to injury, reduced fitness, and even mortality across a wide range of species. 

Ghost nets are abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear in oceans, lakes and rivers. These nets drift through the water, snagging and smothering coral and other critical habitats, while entangling and killing marine animals. These durable synthetic materials can take hundreds of years to break down, continuing to cause harm long after they are lost. 

Gulf of Carpentaria a hotspot for marine debris

Global expansion is suspected as the source of many of the nets and over 15,000 nets have been found and documented in the Gulf of Carpentaria alone, CSIRO figures reveal.

“The impacts are everywhere in the natural environment … places where Traditional Owners hunt, the animals, culturally significant sites, too,” says Wootton.

Toys for Turtles: transforming and repurposing plastic debris 

Dr Wootton, through the North-east Arnhem Land community, leads a marine conservation and education initiative, Toys for Turtles. The initiative was designed in collaboration with the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation and engages schools and the Northeast Arnhem Land community.

Through Toys for Turtles, plastic debris collected during beach cleanups is being repurposed into new, usable items. Pot plant holders, games, keyrings and soap dishes are just some of the items being made with specialised plastic recycling machinery. Ranger groups have helped design specialised moulds with local language names or symbols and these finished goods are sold at local festivals, or via other channels. 

“Marine debris is a huge problem for the environment and wildlife in Northern Australia, including the culturally significant sea turtle,” Dr Wootton says. “With the turtle representing the marine life we want to protect, this project works with the Dhimurru Rangers, Yirralka Rangers and local students to combat the plastic problem.”

On science excursions and in other settings, local students learn about marine debris by removing and surveying plastics. Recycling machinery is processing up to 5kg of plastic per hour at recycling hubs in three locations across north-east Arnhem Land. This project is funded through the Ghost Nets Innovative Solution Grants, funded through Parks Australia (DCCEEW). There is also funding through the Max Day Environmental Fellowship (Australian Academy of Sciences) and the Cybec Foundation to further expand the work, looking at microplastic contamination in local seafood sources, and expanding locations to the Tiwi islands.

Turning the tide, scratching the surface 

Toys for Turtles is one part of a broader body of work being undertaken by Wootton, including quantifying microplastics in seafood, investigating the impacts of plastics on wildlife health, and partnering with fisheries and aquaculture to reduce plastic use and loss across supply chains.

“Encouragingly, there is growing momentum in this space,” says Wootton. 

“Initiatives led by researchers, Indigenous ranger groups, industry stakeholders, and organisations such as the Ghost Nets program are demonstrating that collaborative, on-ground action can make a tangible difference.” 

Co-ordinated, sustained effort by government, industry and community is needed

Wootton suggests that while these efforts are beginning to turn the tide on marine debris, they are only scratching the surface of what is needed.

“Addressing marine debris at scale will require stronger, coordinated action, including greater investment, improved policy frameworks, and meaningful partnerships that centre local and Indigenous knowledge. A sustained push from governments, industry, and the broader community is essential to reduce plastic production, improve waste management, and prevent debris from entering marine ecosystems in the first place.” 

Ghost Nets Australia has three main goals related to the reduction of marine debris. By 2030, they want no ghost gear from international sources washing up in Northern Australia, no ghost gear from recreational fishing and a circular program for end-of-life fishing gear in the commercial sector.

Read more about Dr Nina Wootton’s work here:
https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/nina.wootton 

Read about Toys for Turtles:
https://www.toysforturtles.com/about 

Explore products made by Ranger groups from recovered plastics:
https://yirralkamiyalk.com/products/marine-debris-soap-dish
 

The treatment of burns and other injuries requiring skin grafts is slated for significant improvements following a world-first innovation by researchers at Metro North Health and UQ’s Frazer Institute.

The breakthrough is the development of a complete skin replica containing blood vessels and immune cells. By incorporating these critical components, the model more closely replicates real human skin, allowing researchers to better study wound healing, inflammation, infection, and gain insight into how patients may respond to treatments before they attend a clinic.

Stem cells were used to successfully grow a ‘replica’ of human skin, known as skin organoids, complete with all skin layers. These include hair follicles, sebaceous glands, pigmentation, and nerves, and now, blood vessels, capillaries and immune cells.

“Advancements in stem cell research have enabled us to grow mini versions of skin by taking human skin cells and reprogramming them into induced pluripotent stem cells*, which can be turned into almost any type of cell in the body,” explains Dr Abbas Shafiee, UQ Frazer Institute Researcher and Metro North Health Practitioner.

“We used these same stem cells to create vascular organoids, tiny living networks of blood vessels, and added these into the growing skin organoids to generate vascularised skin organoids.”

Transforming understanding of human skin development

Dr Shafiee said the research is an exciting step forward that will transform researchers’ understanding of human skin development, wound healing, inflammatory skin diseases, and future regenerative treatments.

“For many years, recreating the complexity of real human skin, particularly the integration of blood vessels, has been a significant challenge. Bringing together advances in stem cell biology, vascular biology, and organoid engineering developed over many years of research is what made our innovation possible.”

Skin graft transplants transformed by innovation

“Looking ahead, having these skin replica for research will transform how we study skin diseases and develop new therapies. In the longer term, they have the potential to revolutionise skin graft transplants and regenerative medicine, particularly for patients with severe burns, chronic wounds and genetic skin disorders.

“Unlike traditional biological skin models, our skin organoids closely mimic the structure of real human skin, including blood vessels and immune cells. This is critical, as successful skin grafting relies on how well transplanted skin integrates with the patient’s body, establishing blood supply, responding to inflammation and resisting infection.

“Our model allows the study of living human skin in ways that were not previously possible,” Dr Shafiee said.

“The skin organoids can grow and change over time in the laboratory. This enables us to study how human skin develops, how diseases emerge and progress, and how different treatments affect skin function over time.”

Learnings from this research could be used to accelerate the development of new treatments for skin wounds, and the next generation of skin grafts.

“Burns and treating burns is complex. There are so many variables in terms of how a burn will behave, likelihood of infection, extent of scarring, frequency/volume of skin grafts and revision surgery – as well as longer term complications such as chronic inflammation before skin ‘products’ are considered safe and reliable.

“Our technology changes that by providing a more predictive platform for developing new therapies before they are tested in patients.”

Dr Shafiee said that previously when researchers wanted to study skin, animals, particularly rodents, were used to study skin biology and test treatments. While valuable, rodent skin differs from human skin in structure, composition, immune response, healing processes and hair follicle biology, limiting how well findings translate to patients.

The Burns Registry of Australia and New Zealand for example records around 3,000 major burns admissions annually. Of these, approximately 70% of adult patients and over 50% of paediatric patients who undergo surgical wound procedures require skin grafts.

“This skin model will enable us to further progress those treatments, along with wound healing, regenerative medicine and precision dermatology by providing a more realistic human platform for testing therapies and understanding diseases. At the same time, we are continuing to improve the functionality of our skin organoid models.”

A new generation of research and regenerative therapies

Achieving the successful integration of blood supply and immune cells to this skin model was a six-year undertaking**.

While this innovation is already providing new opportunities to study human skin development, its use as a therapeutic skin graft for patients is still some years away.

“The possibilities are incredibly exciting,” Dr Shafiee says. “This breakthrough opens the door to a new generation of research and regenerative therapies, and it is a space worth watching closely in the years ahead.”

Further information

The research received funding from Metro North Health and was conducted at the Translational Research Institute.

• Vascularised skin replica model
• Skin replica model developed before the vascularised version:
  • Development of Physiologically Relevant Skin Organoids from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
  • The empowering influence of air-liquid interface culture on skin organoid hair follicle development

• Dr Shafiee’s commentary on the potential of Skin Organoids as a New Biological Standard

*Pluripotent stem cells are remarkable cells that can continuously renew themselves and develop into almost any cell type in the human body. This unique ability makes them a powerful tool for researchers seeking to understand embryonic development, uncover disease mechanisms, and develop new treatments.

**Team members included Jane Sun, and Mitchell Mostina, who were Research Assistant and PhD candidate, respectively, at the time of this discovery. The study was co-led by Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani, a clinician scientist and dermatologist at the UQ Frazer Institute.

Within interactive gaming, it remains uncommon for players to engage with virtual experiences that portray significant cultural ceremonies. 

But this is exactly what Rhett Loban set out to do through Torres Strait Virtual Reality (TSVR), with a storyline based on the Tombstone Opening ceremony, a significant cultural gathering held at the end of the mourning period for loved ones who have passed away. 

The project demonstrates how virtual reality (VR) can become a vehicle for deep cultural representation and communication to audiences.  

Communicating culture through immersive technology 

The ceremony depicted in TSVR is the Tombstone Opening, a deeply significant Torres Strait Islander cultural practice that brings together families from across the Islands and mainland Australia to pay respects and remember a family member or loved on who has passed away. 

Within the virtual environment the player takes on the role of someone involved in the Tombstone Opening preparation.  

The player participates in activities connected to cultural life and preparation for the ceremony. Gathering dugong and turtle for the feast, travelling to northern islands to obtain items from Papua New Guinean traders, and encountering native flora and fauna. 

The project also incorporates Torres Strait stories and cosmologies through constellation imagery, narrated storytelling (by an Elder) and encounters with Torres Strait Islander story characters. 

Respectfully sharing Torres Strait stories in immersive media 

“There was not much Torres Strait Islander representation or knowledge depicted in digital game or interactive immersive media.” Rhett says.  

“I created the game because I felt Torres Strait Islander culture was not widely known or depicted in interactive immersive media. I wanted to help young people and students engage with Torres Strait Islander culture.”

Developing a digital experience that is culturally sound 

To help ensure the experience was both well designed as a digital experience and aligned with cultural protocols, and an Elder and the Torres Strait Islander community were involved throughout the game development.  

The team was led by a Torres Strait Islander (Rhett) with an Elder embedded into the team who was helping shape the game and also creating game assets in the form of narrator’s voice and drawings of constellations that would be depicted at night. During playtests and quality assurance process, the team engaged with community for input as a part of an iterative cultural protocol and the software development process. 

“The Torres Strait stories, knowledge practices and depictions were constructed from the Elder and various community members’ input, external research, cultural stories/knowledge passed down and the product of interactions between Rhett,  the Elder and community. 

From game design into new contexts 

The game is being applied in a wide range of educational contexts. 

For example, Rhett worked with a fellow academic to implement TSVR in an environmental policy course. TSVR showed how different laws, policies and treaties were established to facilitate various existing cultural practices and relationships which were depicted through the VR experience. 

“You’re engaging the senses in a variety of ways – seeing environments change from day to night, being guided from one environment to the next, collecting drums, mats, harpoons and spears, being led by a narrator. You are immersed in the story and environment. This is very powerful and could help provide a greater understanding and context to what’s being studied or read in a book.” 

For Rhett, the broader goal is to create digital experiences shaped by Indigenous perspectives and cultural understandings. 

“The cultural focus is key to integrating culture into games where cultural depictions are more than visual objects, but rather, reflections of deep cultural understandings of the world,” he says.

Dr Rhett Loban is the Director of Indigenous Education in the School of Computer Science, and Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Technology Sydney.   

He is the author of ‘Embedding Culture into Video Games and Game Design’, a book that helps game designers and those interested in games to thoughtfully embed culture into video games and the game design process.

Fishing supports the livelihoods of at least 34 million people and feeds billions, but it is also one of the biggest drivers of marine biodiversity decline. This introduces a fundamental tension: how do we keep seafood on our plates while protecting the ecosystems that produce it?

Associate Professor Carissa Klein is an ARC Future Fellow at The University of Queensland and Director of the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science. Klein is a conservation scientist and leads The Ocean Conservation Team, a group of students and post-doctoral researchers focused on developing science to support marine and coastal conservation. Sustainable seafood is one of Associate Professor Klein’s key research areas.

Her work follows seafood from ocean to plate: how is it caught, where it comes from and how it travels through global trade networks.

Australia has an imported seafood problem

In Australia, 60-70% of the seafood we consume is imported (and that’s 12–15kg per person). Most of these imports come from a small number of countries, many with weaker environmental protections, higher risks of illegal fishing, and greater vulnerability to labour exploitation.

A/Prof Klein says this effectively exports Australia’s environmental and socioeconomic impacts of its seafood consumption to other countries, placing pressure on ecosystems and communities far beyond ours.

“This happens in other regions such as Europe, and countries such as the US and the UK.”

“Imported seafood may come from countries with weaker environmental protections, poor labour standards, illegal fishing practices, weaker fisheries management, and limited social and political protections.”

But tracing exactly where that seafood comes from, and under what conditions it was caught, is far harder than it sounds. By the time seafood reaches a plate, its origins are almost impossible to trace.

Fish and chips, with a catch

Mislabelling and complex seafood supply chains mean most Australians are making seafood purchase decisions without knowing the type of seafood or whether it is sustainably sourced. Klein encourages consumers to be proactive.

“If you don’t know where your seafood is from or what species you are eating, don’t buy it,” Klein suggests. “Refer to sustainable seafood guides, like MSC or the Good Fish Guide. For instance, if you’re told it’s ‘ocean trout’ ask questions. What species is it? Is it wild caught or farmed? Make careful and informed choices.”

Preventing fishy imports entering Australia

Despite the growing reliance on imported seafood globally, only three countries have implemented legislation to regulate whether the seafood arriving at their borders was legally caught. Australia is not one of them, though efforts to develop such a policy have been crawling along for years.

Consumer countries such as Australia have the opportunity to use their market power to raise the bar. The goal is not just better paperwork, but a coordinated global front against illegal fishing. Better traceability and stronger verification of legal origin could reduce the likelihood of illegal seafood entering Australian markets.

Seafood labelling guidelines a limiting factor

Whether at fish and chip shops, or restaurants, most Australians find it challenging to determine what seafood is sustainable.

“‘Fish’ can refer to almost anything,” says Klein.

“When we order wine, we know the grape. We care so much about where our beef or eggs come from. With fish, consumers often cannot tell which species they are eating, where it originated, how it was caught, or whether it is sustainable.”

New laws coming into effect this year will require seafood to be labelled as imported, Australian or mixed; a step forward, but one that falls short of what consumers need to make informed choices.

“Australia needs laws that require more stringent labels on seafood sold – whether at a fish and chip shop, a restaurant, or a supermarket. Together with consistent sustainable seafood certification, labelling laws could help make the consumption of more sustainable seafood the easy, default choice.”

Can commercial fishing and conservation coexist? A look at Southern Bluefin Tuna

The story of Southern Bluefin Tuna is a rare piece of good news. Historically overfished, it was listed as conservation dependent under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 in the early 2000s.

The Southern Bluefin Tuna is a major export species, but robust fisheries management and international collaboration have helped support its recovery and was delisted in 2024, demonstrating that commercial fishing and conservation can coexist,

Plenty more fish in the sea?

“Deep contradictions exist in the Australian context,” Klein explains.
Klein’s research team has identified multiple marine species that are both listed under the EPBC Act and subject to commercial fishing, four of which are legally exported from Australia: the orange roughy, blue warehou, school shark and, until recently, southern bluefin tuna.

We are working to protect some marine species in our waters while we continue to export them.”

“Why are we still catching and selling species we are trying to protect?”

It points to a persistent gap between conservation intent and industry practice, one that Australia’s key environmental legislation, the EPBC Act, has so far been unable to close.

“Further reform is needed to Australia’s environmental laws, as threatened fish species continue to be legally caught and exported.”

Policy tension

The EPBC Act is designed to protect vulnerable species and ecosystems yet operates alongside commercial fisheries and export industries. It has been under long-term review for years.

From imported seafood to domestic fisheries, from mislabelling to illegal fishing, the challenge is the same: aligning what we catch, trade and consume with what we are trying to protect.

Until then, Australia’s seafood industry will continue to reflect fundamental contradictions. Ultimately, the sustainability of what ends up on our plate depends on what we choose to buy and consume.

Ella Legg, with insights from A/Prof Carissa Klein.

Microbes living in soils in Australia’s coastal areas, inland agricultural regions and vast deserts may hold important links to the next generation of antibiotics for humans and animals. 

Dr Zeinab Khalil, a 2024 ARC Future Fellow whose work focuses on “Towards the sustainable discovery and development of new antibiotics” is at the centre of this effort. 

Based at the UQ Biosustainability Hub, part of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at The University of Queensland, Dr Khalil is an internationally recognised expert in microbial natural product biodiscovery, medicinal chemistry and metabolomics. 

Her work is aimed at countering the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance in humans, animals and agriculture while doing so in ways that protect ecosystems. 

Turning microbial diversity into sustainable solutions 

Through her ARC Future Fellowship, Dr Khalil is building BLOOM. BLOOM, which stands for Biosustainable Life Out Of Microbes, is an integrated research platform dedicated to unlocking the potential of microbes collected from diverse environments including soils, marine ecosystems, plants seaweeds and host-associated microbiomes. 

“Through our BLOOM program we are turning microbial diversity from nature into practical, sustainable innovations for health, agriculture and the environment,” she says. 

BLOOM brings together microbial discovery, chemistry, genomics, protein analysis and metabolomics techniques that allow scientists to identify, characterise and understand the molecules microbes produce to bridge the gap between fundamental scientific discovery and real‑world application, discovering new, useful molecules and developing them at scale. 

From citizen science to deep discovery 

Dr Khalil previously directed Soils for Science, Australia’s first citizen science program designed to engage the public in studying soil microbes. That experience helped shape both her scientific approach and her commitment to collaboration.  

“My ARC Fellowship is enabling me to study microbes at a far more in‑depth level than before, moving from discovery alone to understanding microbial chemistry, genetics and biosynthetic potential in detail,” she says. “Through this integrated, multidisciplinary approach is how we find the next generation of drug leads.” 

This deeper level of analysis allows her team to explore not just whether a microbe produces a useful compound, but how stable, scalable and sustainable that production could be. 

Why microbes matter across every sector 

Microbes have largely been overlooked as a source of future biosustainable solutions, despite historically underpinning many of the most transformative discoveries in medicine and agriculture. Many of the world’s most important antibiotics, antifungals and bioactive compounds including penicillin and streptomycin were originally derived from microorganisms. 

“If you look around,” Dr Khalil says, “most antibiotics and many other drugs and natural products all came from microbes. What interests me is biosustainability – beyond soil microbes and in marine environments, plants, animal guts, and even the human gut.” 

Many microbes, and the compounds they produce, support human health, regulate immune systems, protect crops, improve soil structure and strengthen ecosystems. For example, soil microbes can suppress plant pathogens and promote healthier crop growth, while microbes in the human gut produce metabolites that influence immunity and overall health. Yet in Australia, one of the world’s most microbially diverse continents, this resource remains largely unexplored. 

“Australia spans bushland, deserts, beaches and marine environments,” she says. “Within these lie enormous chemical diversity that could help solve some of the world’s most pressing global concerns, such as antimicrobial resistance to sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration.” 

Rethinking agriculture and environmental impact 

BLOOM’s work is timely in agriculture, where reliance on synthetic fungicides is increasing resistance, reducing soil biodiversity, polluting waterways and creating resistant pathogens. 

“Growers are facing increasing antifungal resistance,” Dr Khalil explains. “Often the approach is to flood environments with chemical agents. Yes, they may kill the target fungus, but they also disrupt soil microbes, accumulate in waterways, and impact aquaculture, fish and even seaweeds.” 

Microbe‑based solutions such as biological fertilisers and naturally derived antifungals offer a sustainable alternative.

Collaboration brings complementary strengths 

BLOOM brings together academia, industry, community groups and policymakers and their complementary strengths, working together in ways that that accelerate discovery-to-application pipelines, reduce time to market, and enable scalable, real-world solutions. 

This work is further strengthened through partnerships with industry leaders such as Agilent Technologies, whose advanced analytical platforms support high-resolution metabolomic profiling and accelerate the identification of novel bioactive compounds. These collaborations ensure that discoveries are not only scientifically robust, but also scalable and ready for translation into practical solutions. 

Through the UQ Biosustainability Hub, research teams spanning genomics, microbiology, synthetic biology and chemistry are directly paired with industrial partners to fast-track innovation from early discovery to application and commercialisation.

“We bring all parties together and ask: what real-world problems are you facing?” Dr Khalil says.  “Then we design microbial solutions to meet those needs, whether that means discovering new antibiotics, developing sustainable antifungals for agriculture, or identifying beneficial microbes for gut health and functional foods.” 

Collaborators range from international universities exploring biodegradable food packaging derived from microbial compounds, to industry partners studying gut microbes for next‑generation functional foods such as weight‑management yoghurt. 

In another collaboration, the Capricorn Conservation Council in Rockhampton is working with BLOOM to explore soil microbiomes and their role in water retention. 

The partnership includes school visits, community talks and on‑site sample collection, integrating biosustainability education alongside science innovation.

A growing, shared platform 

BLOOM is still in its early stages, but it is developing rapidly. The platform already includes around 250 environmental samples, yielding more than 600 microbial strains. Dr Khalil’s vision is to make BLOOM a shared international resource. 

“I want BLOOM to be a platform anyone can contribute to and benefit from,” she says. “Drug discovery is just one part. Others might study these microbes for agriculture, environmental repair or new materials.” 

For Dr Khalil, Citizen Science Month speaks to the essence of BLOOM’s philosophy: science works best when sectors share knowledge and expertise. 

“The more expertise involved … community members and students to farmers, industry and policymakers, the greater the impact we can have, and scale of discoveries we can unearth.”