Debby Lynch

Overview

Deborah Lynch is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at The University of Queensland who has a strong and coherent program of research grounded in social justice, community engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her policy and practice engaged research has informed professional and organisational responses across health, education and justice sectors, including domestic and family violence, refugee support and Indigenous health. Her publications strengthen community development as a participatory, ethical and social justice‑oriented field of practice.

Deborah has contributed significantly to academic leadership since joining UQ in 2011. She has led initiatives to strengthen external partnerships, resulting in the NMSW External Engagement Strategy, and currently chairs the School’s T&L Assessment Sub-Committee. Her previous leadership roles include Higher Degree by Research Program Lead (guiding the program through the challenges of COVID-19), Student Engagement, Experience and Employability Academic Lead, and Program Lead for the Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), overseeing a Faculty Academic Program Review and curriculum development and reaccreditation in 2016 and 2021.

Her research spans child protection, community development and school-community partnerships, with a current ARC Discovery Project advancing national understanding of how school‑community partnerships underpinned by social justice can support and empower young people experiencing marginalisation to participate in education and community life. This work builds on commissioned work for the Queensland Department of Education and has led to an ARC Linkage Grant application with community and school partners to co-create school-community resilience frameworks to support student attendance, drawing on community development and youth voice methodologies. Recently, her presentation at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Conference 2025 received the Special Interest Group (SIG) Best Presentation Award for Educational Leadership.

Deborah teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programs, specialising in group work, community development, and international social work. Drawing on her extensive practice experience in Australia and internationally in health, the legal system and international community development, she models professional practice by example, and seeks to create safe, supported and enabling learning environments which empower students as learners and future social work professionals. Deborah grounds her social work teaching in the values of social justice and human rights, working to support critical thinking and collective approaches to nurture dynamic and innovative forms of practice that can respond to contemporary community, environmental and social issues. She has a demonstrated track record in PhD research supervision. Since 2020, she has supervised five PhD completions.

Recognised for excellence in teaching, Deborah has received multiple awards (School, Faculty and UQ) and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is an Affiliate Academic with the UQ Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI) and Graduate Attribute Champion (Respectful Leadership) which are academic outreach roles across UQ. She maintains strong national and international collaborations and is committed to advancing social work education and research that addresses contemporary social and environmental challenges. Collaboration with Indigenous researchers has supported community‑led prevention approaches to Rheumatic Heart Disease, while her international conference contributions and role as Visiting Expert for the Singapore Ministry of Health reflect global recognition of her expertise in community development and health equity.