Biography of Professor Kerry Carrington

Background

I grew up initially in the Hawkesbury region of NSW, then moved to the Sunshine Coast, attended Buderim Primary School and then Maroochydore High School. At 18, I was the youngest of six siblings and first to attend university in 1980, a milestone made possible through the Whitlam Labor Government that opened up higher education to the poor and not just the rich.

During my adolescence, I aspired for greater opportunities for ordinary students to attend university. Today, I am honoured to serve as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Law and Society at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

At 60, I left a rewarding full-time academic career to become an independent research consultant, returning to the coast to prioritise family and my passion for the ocean, as a Surf Life Saver at Fairy Meadow NSW.

Skills

With more than 30 years of experience in government and the tertiary sector (summarised in Wikipedia), I possess extensive expertise in research, grant writing and leadership.

 In 2022, I provided expertise to the Coroner in the investigation into the death of Doreen Langham, and in 2025, an expert report for the advocates seeking a new inquest into the death of Louisa Ioannidis. 

As a trained mentor coach for ETHOS, I have successfully supported many academics with their career development.

I draw on my extensive experience with ARC grants to assist academics in writing research grant applications, primarily for the Australian Research Council. 

Research Record

Over my career, I have published over 150 publications and led 8 Australian Research Grants totalling $1.5 million. Some of these research teams have produced ground-breaking knowledge. Along with my husband Russell Hogg, and colleague Maximo Sozzo from Universidad Nacional de Litorel, Argentina, we were the contemporary architects southern criminology (almost 1000 citations) – a project that aims to bridge global divides, democratise criminological concepts, theories and methods and inject the field with innovative ideas and research from the periphery. It builds upon a rich tradition of scholarship from Latin America inspired by the Southern School of Art in the early 1900s.

You can read a short overview of my research into how women’s police stations effectively respond to domestic family violence by clicking here.