Skip to main
This is Dr. Marg Camilleri expert profile image

Dr. Marg Camilleri

Associate Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice

Contact

Campus

Mt Helen Campus

Biography

Social justice is central to Marg’s work in practice, research and teaching. Before joining Federation University, she worked across a range of justice‑related roles in both community and government sectors including agencies such as public housing and community legal centres. 

Marg is actively included in law reform across areas of sexual assault and family violence. Most recently, she was involved in a campaign to introduce the Vicarious Liability legislation, which responded to the High Court Bird vs DP decision in November 2024. 

Marg has taught in the Police Academy (in her role at Victims Support Agency) and teaches in the Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Federation, where she brings her experience and research of the criminal justice system. 

Marg’s membership of international, national and state advisory groups and regional partnerships focus on access to justice (defendants and victims), gendered violence and young people. She is currently a member of the Youth Justice Innovation Partnership (Grampians region) and the Central Highlands Integrated Family Violence Committee (CHIVIC). She was previously invited to join the Supreme Court Funds in Court Human Rights Advisory Committee and was a member of the Disability Reference Group (Court Services Victoria). 

Is this your profile? Submit an update

More about Marg

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Ballarat  
  • Master of Social Policy, RMIT 
  • Graduate Diploma in Community Development, RMIT 
  • Bachelor of Arts (Multicultural Studies), Philip Institute

Areas of expertise

  • Victim‑survivors of family violence and sexual assault
  • Justice system response to victim-survivors 
  • Young people involved in the justice system
  • Justice system responses to people with disabilities
  • The impact of rurality on access to justice

Marg is also interested in trauma‑informed pedagogy and the role of education as a vehicle for transforming lives, particularly for young people and those who are incarcerated. 

Grants

  • Camilleri, M. Wright, W., Klein, T., Nicholls, J., Wise, M., and Burns, D. 2025–2026 Experiences of Higher Degree by Research students with disabilities at Federation University ($10,000) 
  • Camilleri. M 2026–2027 Evaluation – Youth Enrichment and Support program ($10,000) 
  • Camilleri, M. & Pedersen. C June 2025–June 2026 Evaluation - Homeless project – Court Services Victoria ($20,000) 
  • Camilleri, M 2022–2024 Evaluation – Goldfields Educator’ (GE) Tailored Education for Youth Crime Prevention ($29,000) 
  • Camilleri, M 2022 Gateways to social inclusion: enablers and barriers for young people in accessing meaningful recreational activities ($11,911) 
  • Camilleri, M 2020–2021 Lived Experiences of participants in the MAST program. ($11,353) 
  • Camilleri, M 2019–2021 Building health justice for young people in the Central Highlands Region ($5,000)  
  • Camilleri, M 2014–2019 Central Highlands Health Justice Partnership for Youth ($260,000) 
  • Camilleri, M 2016–2018 To explore the requirements of people with complex communication needs when interacting with the criminal and civil justice system. ($57,270) 

Awards

  • 2024: Certificate of Achievement Court Services Victoria Disability Advisory Committee 
  • 2022: Public Advocate Award – Funds in Court Human Rights Advisory Committee – Supreme Court of Victoria 
  • 2013–2018: Certificate of Service for 5 years as an Independent Third Person Office of the Public Advocate 

Current

  • PhD student, ‘Young peoples’ perspectives on youth justice interventions’, principal supervisor.  
  • PhD student, ‘White Collar Crime – Fraud’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, ‘Victoria Police member perceptions concerning mental health consumers in Western Victoria’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, ‘The Role of Horn of African Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) in Youth Crime Prevention’, principal supervisor. 

Past

  • PhD student, ‘Women's experiences of health care in the prison system in Victoria: do they align with through-care principles and human rights framework?’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, ‘The Potential of the Clemente Transformative Learning Approach to Empower Students who Experience Coercive Control in Family Violence’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, ‘Early intervention to reduce young peoples’ contact with the criminal justice system’, principal supervisor.  
  • PhD student, ‘Teaching with difference: barriers and enablers for teachers with impairments in professional roles’, associate supervisor.  
  • PhD student, ‘Women’s lived experience of their partner’s referral, to a men’s behaviour change program’, associate supervisor.  

  • Criminology
  • Criminal justice 
  • Victims of crime
  • Criminal justice landscape
  • Police
  • Courts and corrections   

Specialist roles

  • Deputy Chair University Human Research Ethics Committee (2026–2027) 
  • Member of the Respectful and Inclusive Communities Action Plan (RICAP) working group 
  • Member of the Accessibility Action Plan working group 
  • Member of the Gender Equity Network for Federation University Australia 
  • Member of the IEAC Research Committee

Centre for Regional Education Research and Development (CRERD)

Marg is part of the Centre for Regional Education Research and Development (CRERD), a Victorian‑first research centre working to improve education outcomes for regional and rural communities. 
  • Publications

Insight from Women on the Lived Experience of Their Partners' Referrals to Men's Behavior Change Programs

Teaching at Intersections: Cross-Disciplinary and Intersectional Trauma-Informed Pedagogies