Kate Thompson

Dr Kate Thompson is a Gooreng Gooreng and Yuggera woman and a Lecturer in Health and Social Work in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work (NMSW) at the University of Queensland. Her work focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child, youth, and family wellbeing, with expertise in cultural identity, connection, and culturally safe practice across child protection, health, and social service systems.

Kate’s research is grounded in Indigenous knowledges, qualitative methodologies, and co-design. Her PhD (conferred April 2025) examined cultural identity and connection for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out‑of‑home care (OOHC), generating evidence to strengthen the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. She is currently a Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage Project exploring young people’s experiences of self‑placing in OOHC.

Before entering academia, Kate worked in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community‑controlled organisation as a Foster and Kinship Care Practitioner and later as a Senior Practitioner, providing practice leadership and specialist guidance across OOHC services to support culturally safe, evidence‑informed, and legislatively aligned practice.

Kate co‑coordinates Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, families, and communities, taught to nursing, midwifery, and social work undergraduate and graduate‑entry students. She also coordinates Human Development and Social Work, taught to undergraduate social work and psychology students. Her teaching and leadership focus on embedding cultural safety and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being, and doing across nursing, midwifery, and social work curricula.

Kate actively contributes to curriculum transformation, governance, and community engagement through service roles including:

• Faculty of Health, Medicine, and Behavioural Sciences Indigenising Curriculum Advisory Committee (member)
• School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work Indigenising Curriculum Working Party (co‑chair)
• UQ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Alumni Reference Group
• Australian Association for Adolescent Health (Board Director, 2020–2024), contributing to national conferences, youth‑focused forums, and professional webinars

She has also led the School of NMSW’s engagement with community through organising and facilitating stalls at the Murri School Health Expo for the past two years.