A visionary financial and land use planning model is being trialled in South East Queensland to manage the relocation of homes exposed to high natural hazard risks such as flooding, bushfire and coastal inundation.
The solution will allow owners of at-risk homes to transfer climate and financial risk to a new corporate body designed to manage natural hazard risks over the long-term, and aims to encourage increased urban development in safer, low risk locations.
The Meridian Urban Settlement Adaptation and Financing Delivery (SAF-D) pilot is led by Griffith University’s Climate Action Beacon in partnership with Meridian Urban, and will use real-world case studies and financial modelling simulations to confirm the viability and efficacy of the program.
Climate Council estimated around 652,000 Australian properties faced escalating natural hazard risks in 2025, and that number is projected to rise in following years.
These properties may face catastrophic financial risk if insurance and financing become unavailable or unaffordable, or when weather events make these homes unliveable.
Research lead Professor Robert Bianchi.
Professor Robert Bianchi from Griffith’s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics said the research project aimed to minimise ongoing government liability and expenditure resulting from natural hazard events in the future.
“The model encourages the private sector to directly and indirectly invest in natural hazard adaptation,” Professor Bianchi said.
“It incorporates public and private financing and investment, designed to deliver a ‘managed retreat’ solution for vulnerable households.
“The goal is to remove all at-risk properties over time from these climate risk ‘red zones’, without the present owner losing out financially –in a way that limits ongoing government expenditure on reconstruction and rebuilding.
“Under the SAF-D model, homeowners in designated red zones can sell their property to the adaptation corporation at market price, but they retain the right to continue living in their home for as long as they choose — or until the property is no longer viable due to hazard impacts.
“This approach ensures financial security while respecting personal choice and community continuity.”
The permanent removal of some at-risk homes will reduce overall housing availability, so the program includes a plan to incentivise the construction of new housing in ‘green zones’ which are less prone to climate risk.
Meridian Urban Company Director Stephen Dredge said the SAF-D model seeks to fill a massive gap in policy and planning, and it will help to address two of Australia’s key policy issues – the housing crisis and the climate crisis.
Meridian Urban Company Director Stephen Dredge.
“There are no public policy tools available to government that actively support homeowners and residents to avoid the increasing impacts of natural hazard risk in towns and cities, and there is no policy to actively incentivise new urban development in safer locations,” Mr Dredge said.
“There are currently no integrated financial or land use planning tools that can address this emerging national systemic risk, and this model is the first of its kind to incentivise private sector investment through an urban development-led managed retreat system.
“The SAF-D model would support communities and individual community members to make decisions that minimise the risks to safety, property and finance that are inherent in places routinely impacted by disasters.
“By encouraging the private sector to finance the purchase of at-risk properties, the model incentivises and subsidises the creation of new homes in lower risk areas, which can actively contribute to supporting housing affordability outside of hazard areas.”
Climate Action Beacon Director Professor Brendan Mackey said approximately one in 25 properties across Australia will be ‘high risk’ and uninsurable by 2030.
Climate Action Beacon Director Professor Brendan Mackey.
“No level of government today or in the future will have sufficient capital to purchase all properties at high risk across Australia,” Professor Mackey said.
“Despite government efforts to mitigate disaster risk, these households will likely face insurmountable challenges of managing both climate-risk and financial-risk over time.
“Furthermore, these Australian households don’t possess the appropriate skills, insurance products or financial capability to adequately manage these complex issues for themselves and their family members.
“This research will confirm whether there is a viable solution that could be employed to help people in this situation and ultimately make safer places for us to live.” ‘Private sector-led financial innovation for managed retreat of settlements exposed to natural hazard risk: A proof of concept pilot’ project was undertaken in collaboration with local South East Queensland governments, Queensland Government agencies and industry organisations, and is funded by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) via the Disaster Ready Fund (DRF).
Students from Griffith Film School showcase their confidence and professionalism, moving into the start position at short notice for ‘On Air’, a 24-hour global livestream by students from 18 universities worldwide.
Originally scheduled for the second slot, the Griffith crew quickly adapted to open the broadcast when the Sydney team faced technical problems.
Olympic gold medallist, Natalie Cook OAM, on set
The world’s largest student-led broadcast took place from 16 -17 October and was hosted from a central hub at Ravensbourne University, London.
More than 500 students from cities such as Cape Town, Sao Paolo, Stuttgart, Los Angeles as well as Brisbane, participated across every stage of the media workflow, from content creation and live production through to playout, distribution and post-production.
Griffith University students contributed an hour of content from their television studio at South Bank, including an interview with Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook OAM, and music performances from singer-songwriter Dublin Rose and Gamilaraay man Glenn Barry on the didgeridoo.
Producer, Alexandra Connor, in her third year of a Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production, said she did not think the broadcast could have gone any better, despite the change of plan at the start.
“Sydney was going to begin the broadcast, but they had some issues, so we were asked if we could go first instead,” she said.
“There were quite a few moments like that, when we had to make quick decisions and problem solve on the fly.
‘The leadership experience for me was invaluable.”
You can watch Griffith University’s On Air broadcast here.
Griffith researchers built and tested a digital archaeology framework to learn more about the ancient humans who created one of the oldest forms of rock art, finger fluting.
Finger flutings are marks drawn by fingers through a soft mineral film called moonmilk on cave walls.
Experiments were conducted – both with adult participants in a tactile setup and using VR headsets in a custom-built program – to explore whether image-recognition methods could learn enough from finger-fluting images made by modern people to identify the sex of the person who created them.
Finger flutings appear in pitch dark caves across Europe and Australia. The oldest known examples in France have been attributed to Neanderthals around 300,000 years ago.
Dr Andrea Jalandoni observes finger flutings at an Australian cave site
“Whether the marks were made by men or women can have real world implications,” she said.
“This information has been used to decide who can access certain sites for cultural reasons.”
Past attempts to identify who made cave marks often relied on finger measurements and ratios, or hand size measurements.
Those methods turned out to be inconsistent or vulnerable to error; finger pressure varied, surfaces weren’t uniform, pigments distorted outlines, and the same measurements could overlap heavily between males and females.
“The goal of this research was to avoid those assumptions and use digital archaeology instead,” Dr Jalandoni said.
Tactile (left) and virtual (right) data collection
Two controlled experiments with 96 adult participants were conducted with each person creating nine flutings twice: once on a moonmilk clay substitute developed to mimic the look and feel of cave surfaces and once in virtual reality (VR) using Meta Quest 3.
Images were taken of all the flutings, which were then curated and two common image-recognition models were trained on them.
The team evaluated performance using standard metrics and, crucially, looked for signs that models were simply memorising the training data (overfitting), rather than learning patterns that generalised.
The VR images did not yield reliable sex classification; even when accuracy looked acceptable in places, overall discrimination and balance were weak.
But the tactile images performed much better.
“Under one training condition, models reached about 84 per cent accuracy, and one model achieved a relatively strong discrimination score,” Dr Tuxworth said.
However, the models did learn patterns specific to the dataset; for example, subtle artefacts of the setup, rather than robust features of fluting that would hold elsewhere, which meant there was more work to be done.
The study showed a computational pipeline, from a realistic tactile representation and a VR capture environment to an open machine-learning workflow, could be built, replicated, and improved by others for a more rigorous scientific approach.
“We’ve released the code and materials so others can replicate the experiment, critique it, and scale it,” said Dr Robert Haubt, co-author and Information Scientist from the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE).
“That’s how a proof of concept becomes a reliable tool.”
The team said this research paved the way for interdisciplinary applications across archaeology, forensics, psychology, and human-computer interaction, while contributing new insights into the cultural and cognitive practices of early humans.
A team of Griffith Business School students has triumphed once again, winning the Queensland final of the CFA Institute Research Challenge for the second consecutive year.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that gives university students hands-on experience in financial analysis and professional ethics. Participants are tested on their analytical, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills, stepping into the role of an equity analyst to gain real-world insights.
The winning team – Khoulud Alhoush, Yadan Noerdin, Aditya Singh, Jose Felipe Garcia Pulido, and Reglis Hajdinaj – demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork in preparing an investment report and presenting their recommendations to a panel of professional judges. This year, the students were assigned Brisbane HQ data centre company NEXTDC (NXT.AX) as the focus of their analysis.
The Griffith team was guided by faculty advisor Dr Akihiro Omura and industry mentor Margot Jones, who provided strategic guidance throughout the intensive preparation process.
Dr Omura said “The Griffith team was brave to issue a sell recommendation when all the professional equity analysts were giving buy recommendations, and the other participating universities had issued buy or hold recommendations. The judges were impressed by the depth of the team’s research.”
“Achieving back-to-back victories in the state final reflects the high calibre and competence of our finance students,”
Dr Akihiro Omura
Team members praised the experience as a steep learning curve that pushed them to grow both academically and personally.
“This journey pushed me to grow not just as a student but in how I think, collaborate, and perform under pressure. More than anything, I hope my success inspires more women to step confidently into finance and see what is possible when you push beyond your comfort zone.”
Team leader Khoulud Alhoush
Aditya Singh added: “For me, it was a very sharp learning curve, being a second-year student with only the corporate finance unit under my belt at the start. From learning basic profitability formulas to defending a 35% downside on stage, we showed grit and determination.”
Yadan Noerdin said: “This has been a great learning experience. I especially enjoyed defending our sell thesis on stage against six CFA charter holders and industry professionals. It boosted my confidence enormously, knowing I faced them in that situation and came out with a win alongside my team.”
Reglis Hajdinaj reflected: “The CFA Research Challenge was the steepest learning curve I’ve had – weeks of building and rebuilding models, defending assumptions, and learning to tell a clear story under time pressure. Walking off with the win felt less like a single moment and more like the payoff from dozens of late-night edits.”
Jose Felipe Garcia Pulido said: “Participating in the CFA Research Challenge gave me practical experience in valuation and equity analysis while enhancing my teamwork and communication skills to achieve the best results.”
With this victory, the Griffith team will go on to represent the CFA Brisbane Chapter in the Sub-Regional competition, competing against the winners from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, and New Zealand.
Griffith Business School’s consistent success in the CFA Institute Research Challenge highlights the strength of its finance program and the dedication of its students and mentors, ensuring participants leave with practical, industry-ready skills and confidence to excel in the financial world.
Leaders from across Australia’s energy sector gathered in Brisbane last week for the National Electricity Market Development Conference 2025 (NEMDEV2025), hosted by the Griffith University’s Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research (CAEEPR), in collaboration with the University of Queensland’s Gas & Energy Transition Research Centre (GETRC).
Held at Sofitel Brisbane Central from 7–8 October, the two-day conference brought together policymakers, regulators, academics, and industry professionals to explore reform pathways for Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) amid the country’s accelerating energy transition.
Co-chaired by Professor Magnus Söderberg, Director of CAEEPR, and Professor David Close, Director of the GETRC at the University of Queensland, NEMDEV2025 provided a unique forum for constructive and evidence-based dialogue.
“The energy transition is a challenge that affects every part of Australian society,” Professor Söderberg said. “By bringing together people from government, industry, research, and regional communities, we can work towards shared, practical solutions for the National Electricity Market.”
Designed as an inclusive event, NEMDEV fosters open and respectful discussion among diverse stakeholders, including local governments, regional organisations, and early-career professionals, voices often underrepresented in mainstream energy forums.
“An open dialogue that draws on expertise throughout Australia’s energy sector is our best opportunity to form a shared vision for the National Electricity Market.”
Professor Söderberg added.
Keynote presentations were delivered by Professor Paul Simshauser AM, CEO of Powerlink Queensland, and Associate Professor Tim Nelson, Chair of the Review of the National Electricity Market.
Professor Simshauser highlighted the importance of designing an electricity system that balances reliability, affordability, and sustainability, while maintaining investor confidence and supporting new technologies.
“Our market design must evolve to meet the realities of a high-renewable grid,” Professor Simshauser said. “That means forward-thinking policy, flexible infrastructure, and a continued commitment to transparency and collaboration.”
Associate Professor Nelson discussed the ongoing Review of the National Electricity Market, emphasising the role of integrated planning, regulatory reform, and system modelling in ensuring Australia’s long-term energy security.
“The NEM must be both adaptable and fair,” he said. “Conferences like this help align the many moving parts, from industry investment to community engagement, that underpin our transition.”
Over two days, the conference explored key themes including:
Reliability, affordability, and sustainability
Market reform and system design
Energy system modelling and integrated planning
Risks and opportunities in the energy transition
Following keynote sessions, delegates participated in interactive panel discussions with the audience in the room, encouraging open dialogue and collaboration.
Day one concluded with a networking reception, providing opportunities for attendees to connect with peers across sectors in a relaxed setting.
“NEMDEV isn’t about promoting a single view,” said Professor Close. “It’s about creating a trustworthy, neutral space where people can discuss different pathways forward. That’s essential for building a resilient, low-emissions electricity system.”
At the core of the conference is the work of CAEEPR, which uses advanced National Electricity Market models to assess the impact of policy decisions and market reforms. The Centre’s mission is to maximise the energy sector’s potential to achieve emission reductions and contribute to inclusive, sustainable economic growth across Australia.
“CAEEPR’s research provides the analytical foundation for discussions like those we’ve had at NEMDEV,” Professor Söderberg said. “By combining data-driven insights with open collaboration, we can ensure policy decisions are grounded in both evidence and practical experience.”
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into marketing and consumption practices, Griffith University research is investigating how these technologies are reshaping consumer behaviour and marketplace relationships.
PhD researcher Nhung Trinh is studying AI-induced consumer vulnerability, a state that can affect consumers when intelligent systems alter their perceptions, emotions, or trust in digital environments. The research highlights a crucial insight: vulnerability is not limited to disadvantaged groups but can affect any consumer, especially as AI-driven technologies become more widespread and less transparent in how they function.
“Although AI is widely used to improve efficiency and relevance, there is limited understanding of when and how it causes consumers to perceive vulnerability,” Ms Trinh explains.
“The research seeks to fill that gap by exploring how consumers experience and interpret AI-induced vulnerability.”
AI now influences nearly every stage of the consumer journey — from product discovery and personalisation to purchasing decisions and post-sale engagement. However, as algorithms become more adept at predicting and shaping human preferences, they can also manipulate emotional responses and cognitive biases. Ms Trinh’s work sheds light on the psychological mechanisms behind these interactions, helping to clarify when AI enhances empowerment and when it risks undermining consumer autonomy.
Her research also has broader implications for consumer trust and digital well-being. In an era of deepfakes, targeted advertising, and opaque recommendation systems, understanding how consumers interpret and react to AI-generated content is critical. By identifying patterns of perceived manipulation or over-reliance on automated systems, the study provides valuable evidence to guide both ethical technology design and consumer protection policy.
Combining a comprehensive literature review with experimental studies, the research examines the psychological and relational patterns that arise when AI systems tailor, monitor, or simulate human interaction. It focuses on how different AI-driven practices and phenomena, such as personalisation, surveillance, social interaction, or algorithmic bias, affect consumers’ responses and marketplace experiences.
By integrating insights from psychology, technology, and marketing, the research explains the nature of AI-induced consumer vulnerability and identifies its corresponding outcomes. The findings aim to inform ethical AI development and responsible marketing practices by clarifying the conditions under which technological influence is beneficial or detrimental.
Supervised by Dr Mai Nguyen (Griffith University), Dr Jiraporn Surachartkumtonkun (Griffith University), and Associate Professor Liem Viet Ngo (University of New South Wales), this research contributes to a growing body of knowledge on how businesses can implement and govern AI technologies in ways that promote both business and consumer outcomes.
Griffith University researchers have shown the shape and surface chemistry of microscopic “re‑entrant” structures – tiny overhanging caps arranged like mushroom tops – can tune how cancer cells stick, spread and multiply.
Using an aggressive, triple-negative breast cancer cell line (MDA‑MB‑231), the team demonstrated simple design rules could guide cell behaviour in the lab.
Interactions between cells, microstructure geometry, and surface chemistry highlighted how these parameters influenced cell spreading, attachment, and orientation.
The study has been published in Advanced Materials Interfaces and has also been selected to feature on the back cover of the upcoming issue of the journal.
What are re-entrant microstructures?
Re-entrant microstructures have overhanging edges that create confined spaces and curved surfaces.
The team fabricated arrays with circular, triangular and linear (microline) caps in two materials: hydrophilic silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and hydrophobic silicon carbide (SiC) and investigated how geometry and wettability affected the cancer cell responses.
Using a lab model, the team showed they could guide how MDA-MB-231 cancer cells – an invasive breast cancer cell – stuck, spread, and multiplied by tweaking the curves and chemistry of these tiny structures.
“By changing curvature, spacing and surface chemistry, we can nudge how aggressive cancer cells attach and grow. That gives us more realistic tumour-like lab models for drug screening and design cues for implants and coatings that are less welcoming to cancer.”
Dr Navid Kashaninejad
How was it tested?
Fluorescence microscopy images show the intricate adaptations of the cancer cells to re-entrant microstructures.
Researchers cultured MDA-MB-231 cells on each surface and tracked growth over three days using a PrestoBlue metabolic assay, alongside fluorescence microscopy and SEM to visualise spreading and cytoskeletal organisation.
Dr Kashaninejad said the method mimicked the environment of real tumours more accurately in the lab, which meant it could greatly improve how new cancer drugs were tested.
“It also opens the door to better ways of identifying treatments that stop cancer cells from spreading,” he said.
“In the future, this approach could even be used to design medical implants or surface coatings that make it harder for cancer to grow on them.
“Our method shows cancer cell behaviour can be precisely tuned by the curvature and chemistry of re-entrant microstructures.”
This study extended on previous work on simple micropillar arrays by demonstrating mechanosensitive behaviours that emerged when curvature and confinement were introduced through re-entrant structures.
The re-entrant designs were also structurally stable, supporting their use in long-term biointerface applications.
This work was part of Dr Kashaninejad’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) funded in 2022 by the Australian Research Council: Engineering micropatterned surfaces for cell mechanics and mechanobiology.
Griffith University is back in the top 300 universities in the world and has been ranked equal 14th in Australia, a jump of two places, in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2026.
The rankings have placed Griffith third in Queensland.
Dean (Sustainability and Rankings) Professor Jennifer Boddy
Dean (Sustainability and Rankings) Professor Jennifer Boddy said the rankings recognised the exceptional learning, teaching, staff achievements and research opportunities Griffith provided and reinforced the University’s impact in creating a brighter future for all.
“This is a terrific reflection of the University’s performance across a range of key measures,” Professor Boddy said.
“Griffith’s return to the top 300 reflects the strength of our global partnerships, research excellence, and commitment to high-quality education.
“While rankings are only one lens through which universities are viewed, this recognition affirms the impact and relevance of our work on the world stage.”
The global ranking assessed more than 2000 research-intensive institutions from 115 countries on the basis of teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.
The 18 performance indicators were grouped into five areas:
Teaching (the learning environment)
Research environment (volume, income and reputation)
Research quality (citation impact, research strength, research excellence and research influence)
International outlook (staff, students, and research)
Industry (income and patents)
From climate change to technological disruption, today’s leaders are operating in a more complex and more highly scrutinised world. Communities, employees and customers are asking businesses to think beyond profit and short-term gains and take responsibility for the wider impact of their decisions.
The concept of responsible leadership has been discussed for decades, but recent events have made its importance impossible to ignore. Australia has seen its share of cautionary tales, for example the recent inquiries into Crown Resorts which exposed the damage caused by weak governance and poor accountability eroding public trust.
By contrast, many leaders and organisations have charted a different course including Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes who has become a high-profile advocate for corporate action on climate change, showing that business leaders can play a critical role in shaping national conversations. Bank Australia has built its reputation on ethical banking, refusing to invest in fossil fuels or harmful industries, and Who Gives A Crap, the social enterprise founded by Simon Griffiths, reinvests half its profits to improve global sanitation. These examples highlight how values-driven decision-making can build trust, loyalty, and long-term resilience.
So, what sets a responsible leader apart? Integrity, accountability and a willingness to think long-term. Responsible leaders act with transparency, acknowledge mistakes when they occur, and make choices that balance the needs of shareholders with those of employees, customers, communities and the environment.
Professor Naomi Birdthistle, Director of Griffith University’s MBA, says these qualities are increasingly non-negotiable for anyone seeking to make an impact in leadership.
“Responsible leadership is not about perfection; it’s about having the courage to do what is right, even when it’s difficult. It means being honest, thinking about the long-term impact of your decisions, and recognising that leadership is about people as much as it is about profit,” she says.
This perspective is also reshaping how business education is taught. At Griffith Business School, concepts like sustainability and ethics are not treated as standalone topics but woven throughout the MBA program. Courses encourage students to challenge traditional business logic, consider the wider systems their organisations operate within, and reflect on the kind of leaders they want to be.
Graduates often describe the experience as a shift in mindset, one that broadens leadership beyond quarterly results to a form of stewardship: of resources, communities and trust.
This kind of leadership is not static. It requires ongoing reflection, continuous learning and the ability to adapt as challenges evolve. In practice, it means engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, listening carefully, and making decisions that are inclusive as well as strategic. It also means building cultures within organisations where openness and accountability are valued, and where purpose is not separated from performance.
As global and local challenges intensify, the demand for leaders who can balance commercial success with social responsibility is growing. What was once seen as a “nice to have” is now central to building organisations that can endure, inspire and contribute positively to society.
For Griffith, fostering this type of leadership is about preparing graduates not only to succeed in their careers, but to help shape a future where business and societal wellbeing are deeply connected.
“The leaders who will thrive in the years ahead are those who understand that success is not measured by profit alone. It’s also measured by the trust you build, the impact you have on people’s lives, and the legacy you leave for future generations.”
Professor Naomi Birdthistle
When a storm or Tropical Cyclone impacts mainland Australia, would you get behind the wheel of a vehicle?
New Griffith University research has explored this question by analysing driver behaviour during the four most extreme days of Tropical Cyclone Alfred – 6-9 March 2025.
Dr Matt Stainer from the MAIC Griffith University Road Safety Research Collaboration at Griffith’s School of Applied Psychology surveyed 319 drivers with results showing 29.47 per cent of people drove at some point during 6-9 March.
Dr Matt Stainer
Of the 310 people who reported driving, 1.94 per cent drove every day, 6.45 per cent drove three days, 7.42 per cent drove two days, and 11.60 per cent drove one day.
The number of people driving decreased from Thursday to Saturday, the day Tropical Cyclone Alfred made landfall, but it increased again on Sunday.
Dr Stainer said participants reported a range of reasons for travelling during the four-day period.
“Reasons given were for essential trips for food and safety, but also for non-essential outings such as going to the gym or popping out for a coffee,” he said.
“In the lead up to Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s project landfall, most trips were for food and supplies as people prepared for the storm.
“Friday saw an increase in visits to family and friends, either due to power outages at their own homes, or checking on others.
“Work trips declined on Friday and Saturday, possibly reflecting business closures during this time.”
Other reasons provided included leisure and recreation, damage assessment, and shelter and safety.
Dr Stainer hoped the insights from the research would be used to guide public safety messaging, support emergency planning, and help reduce road risks in future extreme weather events.
“We found the number and nature of trips changed throughout the approach, crossing, and aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Alfred,” he said.
“Most driving in the buildup was for necessary tasks, such as gathering supplies and helping friends and family to prepare.
“When the storm was at its worst, trips tended to be for more serious reasons such as evacuating from flooding or power loss, or to help others in urgent need.
“In the aftermath, things returned to ‘normal’ quickly with people completing less critical tasks such as going to survey the damage to the beaches.
“When the weather eased, people seemed to become far less cautious – but this is actually a very dangerous time as floodwater, debris left by the storm, and power outages to traffic lights meant many participants were surprised by how hazardous driving was.
“Being storm-ready, reducing trips to only those that are necessary (including after the event has ‘finished’), and checking Transport Main Roads and the BoM websites for advice before heading out can help people to be safer on the roads.
“We also need to be especially understanding and considerate of other road users.
“Many people told us they were anxious to be on the road, but their trips were unavoidable.
“At times of heightened stress, it is most important we work together to keep our community safe on the road.”
