Presentations, webinars and publications

Opoku S, Gilbert N (8 April 2025) ‘Evaluating our collaborative approach to strengthening family relationships in the City of Yarra’ [webinar], Relationships Australia, accessed 7 May 2025.

Heard G (March 2025) 'Family Violence Position Paper', Relationships Australia Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria.

Alford D (14 June 2024) ‘Working with separated dads and father-figures' [conference presentation], Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Heard G, Bickerdike A, Lindstrom J, Velasquez-Tan M, Hayes L, Moran C, Tom L and Bishop L (4 September 2023) ‘Lawyer-Assisted Family Dispute Resolution: evaluating outcomes from a partnership model’ [conference presentation], National Mediation Conference, Wellington, New Zealand.

Heard G, Lohan A, Petch J, Milic J and Bickerdike A (12 June 2024) ‘A tick-box exercise? Benefits of mandatory FDR for ambivalent clients’ [conference presentation], Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Heard G, Smyth BM, Payne JL, Irving MA and Althor G (16 October 2023) ‘Post-separation co-parenting apps: what should practitioners know?’ [conference presentation], Partnership of Victorian Family Relationship Centres Good Practice Forum.

Heard G and Velasquez-Tan M (14 June 2024) ‘The child’s voice in Family Dispute Resolution: Rethinking existing practices with evidence’ [conference presentation], Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne.

Heard G, Zeleznikow J, Maxwell C, Wilson-Evered E and Bickerdike A (16 May 2024) ‘The use and misuse of communication technologies among separated parents: understanding clients and future-proofing services’ [conference presentation], Family and Relationship Services Australia National Conference, Melbourne.

McCord L and Pepperell L (14 May 2024) ‘The Diffuse program – respectful relationships in prisons’ [conference presentation], Family and Relationship Services Australia National Conference, Melbourne.

Opoku S (26 October 2023) ‘Working with evaluation finding for continuous improvement’, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Evidence and Evaluation Support, Evaluator Community of Practice, Victoria.

Heard G, Bickerdike A and Hebblewhite M (2024) ‘Practitioner Impartiality and Client Self-determination in a Court-ordered, Lawyer-assisted Property Conciliation Model’, Australasian Dispute Resolution Journal, 33(1).

Heard G, Lee E, Khoo ST and Bickerdike A (2023) ‘Revisioning Acrimony: The Development and Validation of Short Scales Measuring Relationship Hostility and Parental Co-Operativity’, Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 64(2–4):173–197, doi:10.1080/10502556.2023.2242752.

Heard G, Lohan A, Petch J, Milic J and Bickerdike A (2024) ‘Participation, agreement and reduced acrimony through family mediation: Benefits for the ambivalent client in a mandatory setting’, Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 41(4):1–18, doi:10.1002/crq.21426.

Irving MA, Heard G, Smyth BM, Payne JL and Althor G (2023) ‘Post-separation parenting apps in the hands of family law practitioners: expectations versus experience’, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 37(1), doi:10.1093/lawfam/ebad027.

Opoku S and Heard G (2024) ‘Adapting a men’s behaviour change program to online delivery using a developmental evaluation approach’, Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 24(1):40–55, doi:10.1177/1035719X231204392.

Opoku S (13 March 2024) ‘How developmental evaluation can be used to develop and adapt social service programs’ [webinar], Australian Institute of Family Studies, accessed 12 August 2024.

Relationships Australia Victoria (October 2023) 'Social Impact Report 2023', Relationships Australia Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria.

• Alford D (16 May 2023) ‘Engaging fathers in the first 1000 days’ [conference presentation], FRSA National Conference, Queensland.
  
  
• Bickerdike A (18 November 2022) ‘The “unheard”: children of separating parents’, ANU Family Law Research Symposium, Canberra.
  
  
• Goldstein A (27 July 2022) ‘The challenges for engaging men who use violence’ [conference presentation] ANROWS Focus on Men Who Use Violence Conference, Victoria.
  
  
• Goldstein A (2 March 2023) ‘Working with clients to promote behaviour change’, Mental Health Professionals Network meeting, Caulfield, Victoria
  
  
• Heard G and Bickerdike A (November 2022) ‘Failure to launch: barriers to initiating property FDR,’ ANU Family Law Symposium, Canberra.
  
  
• Heard G, Lindstrom J, Velasquez-Tan M, Hayes L, Moran C, Tom L and Bishop L (16 May 2023) ‘Lawyer-assisted family dispute resolution: addressing barriers to participation through a partnership model’ [conference presentation], FRSA National Conference, Queensland.
  
  
• Moore R (16 May 2023) ‘FDR services and mental health’, Mental Health Professionals Network meeting, Online for professionals across Australia.
  
  
• Opoku S, Laidlaw B & Gilbert N (20 June 2023) ‘A collaborative approach to strengthening family relationships in the City of Yarra’, OPEN Forum, Victoria.
  
  
• Plavljanic D and March A (16 May 2023) ‘Mediating with rainbow families’ [conference presentation], FRSA National Conference, Queensland.
  
  
• Plavljanic D (17 May 2023) ‘Working with a correctional cohort: Maintaining healthy and respectful relationships’ [conference presentation], FRSA National Conference, Queensland.
  
  
• Smyth BM, Althor G and Heard G (17 May 2023) ‘Post-separation parenting smartphone apps: risks and benefits’ [symposium], FRSA National Conference, Queensland.

• Creek M (30 November 2022) ‘Parenting orders: Research on compliance and enforcement and insights from practice’ [webinar], AIFS and ANROWS webinar series, Australia
  
  
• Heard G, Irving M, Althor G, Smyth B and Payne J (3 November 2022) ‘Post-separation parenting smartphone apps: Can they help families avoid conflict?’ [webinar], Relationships Australia.

• Burns A & Keeble B (hosts) (17 May 2023) ‘Dom Alford – Support for Fathers’ [podcast], Dads Group Podcast, Spotify, accessed 9 June 2023.
  
  
• Kendall, J (host) (14 November 2022) ‘The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on divorce rates in Australia’ [radio program], Mornings, ABC, accessed 14 November 2022.

Heard G, Irving MA, Smyth BM, Payne JL and Althor G (2023) ‘Risks and benefits of post-separation parenting apps: perceptions of family law professionals in Australia and New Zealand’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 45(2):143–164. http://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2023.2206225.

Long KM, Casey K, Bhar S, Al Mahmud A, Curran S, Hunter K and Lim MH (2022) ‘Understanding perspectives of older adults on the role of technology in the wider context of their social relationships’, Ageing & Society, 1–24. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X2200085X.

Smyth BM, Payne JL, Irving M and Heard G (2023) ‘Popular post-separation parenting apps: an examination’, Family Court Review, 61(3): 563–585. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12738.

Payne JL, Smyth BM, Irving M, Heard G and Althor G (2022) ‘Family law professionals’ views of postseparation parenting apps’, International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebac029