Speakers/panel: Shane Drumgold, Assistant Director, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, ACT Linda Crebbin, President, ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Owen Samuels, Clinical Director, Forensic Mental Health Services, ACT Health We will hear from panel members, Shane Drumgold, Linda Crebbin and Owen Samuels about ACT Law on mental impairment and diminished responsibility and the interface of the Courts and the Tribunal. This will be followed by mock cases highlighting the challenges inherent in the clinical assessment, legal tests and ultimately the disposition and rehabilitation of mentally disordered offenders. This will be an interactive event and we welcome questions and comments from our audience. We ask that audience members do not name or discuss the details of specific local cases. Please be mindful of the sensitive nature of this area of work which will impact victims, the offenders, family, carers and professionals alike.

The combination of decades of advocacy by women's organisations and a number of high profile cases has finally resulted in significant public and policy attention being paid to family violence in Australia. With this increased attention a range of facts and opinions are being aired and used to justify policy and funding decisions. Given the prevalence of and significant costs associated with family violence, it is essential that our responses at the societal and individual level are evidence-­based. In this presentation Dr McEwan will examine the research underpinning some common beliefs about family violence, identifying where policy and practice may be being informed by strongly held opinion rather than by evidence. Speaker Dr Troy McEwan is a Senior Lecturer in Clinical and Forensic Psychology at the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science, Swinburne University of Technology, and a Senior Psychologist at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health. Dr McEwan's research interests lie in understanding, assessing and managing complex criminal behaviours including stalking, family violence, arson, and sexual offending. She is an internationally recognised expert in stalking behaviour and her publications in this area include the Stalking Risk Profile, a structured instrument used by mental health and law enforcement agencies around the world to assess and manage stalking-related risks. Dr McEwan focusses her research on projects with strong translational potential, aiming to directly influence practice and policy decisions to improve responses to complex criminal behaviours. She provides consultation to law enforcement on family violence and stalking and currently coordinates projects investigating methods of improving police risk assessment and management in family violence cases. Dr McEwan currently sits on the ANZAPPL national committee in the role of President-Elect and has previously acted as President of the Victorian branch of the Association.

Lawyer Shirley McMurdo will present on her new affordable legal service for victims of domestic violence.

The goal of this symposium is to enable researchers from around Australia working broadly in the area of psychology and law to discuss their current research and identify new avenues for research. The day will involve a series of invited individual presentations and panel discussion about current topics in psychology and law. Topics may include: Offending behaviour and rehabilitation Interviewing witnesses and suspects Conducting suspect identification procedures The effect of pre-trial publicity Judicial instructions Expert evidence and eyewitness testimony Jury decision-making Courtroom design and innovation

Presented by Magistrate Catherine Crawford who successfully obtained a Churchill Fellowship to undertake research in this much needed area.

Join us for an evening talk by Dr Nina Westera from Griffith University. Members and non-members both welcome. The presentation will examine how evidence-based practice in the interviewing of adult complainants of sexual assault can be used to improve the investigation and prosecution in these types of cases. Dr Westera, a former detective with the New Zealand police force, is a lecturer in criminology and criminal justice. She specialises in the application of psychology to law and her interests include investigative interviewing, criminal investigation and detective work, eyewitness testimony, the investigation and prosecution of sexual and violent offenders, and jury decision making. View on YouTube.