Our people

Associate Professor Rosamund Harrington

Associate Professor Occupational Therapy
School of Allied Health

Areas of expertise: "healthy aging"; "disability"; "mental health"; "occupational therapy"; "intergenerational living and learning environments"; "policy analysis"

Phone: +617 3623 7853

Email: rosamund.harrington@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Brisbane Campus

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: HDR Supervisor (Full)

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0535-6885

Rosamund Harrington is an Associate Professor in Occupational Therapy at Australian Catholic University. Rosamund's work focuses on building inclusive communities through sophisticated environmental design and collaborative action. Awarded a UQ 2013 Deans Commendation for Research Higher Degree Excellence for her PhD thesis 'Motor Accident Insurance Scheme Design and Pathways after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury', her research sits at the intersection of health, disability, injury insurance, ageing and social policy. Informed by ecological systems theory, it seeks to understand how disparate policy frameworks interact to shape opportunities for social and economic participation. Areas of research interest include mental health, disability; injury and disability insurance systems; building inclusive age friendly communities; and creative activity use in Occupational Therapy practice. Current research projects include a five-year transdisciplinary, cross-institutional NHMRC Ideas Project APP1187656 'Inter-generational Learning and Living Campus: A New Model for Healthy Senior Living and Integrated School Communities across Urban and Regional Australia' and a four year federally funded project 'Breaking out of the Silos: Collaborating for employment outcomes for youth with disabilities'. Both projects are founded on collaborating with key stakeholders to realise and research the benefits of intergenerational living and learning environments, and a co-designed interagency collaborative service model to support youth with disabilities into employment.

Rosamund is an experienced PhD supervisor.

Select publications

• Forbes H, Lo A, Steele M, Harrington R. Exploring Australian child and youth mental health occupational therapists' perception and utilisation of creative activities: A survey snapshot. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2026;0(0). doi:10.1177/03080226251412760

• Miller, E., Pham, K., Lindquist, M., Pepping, G. J., Kuys, S., Harrington, R., … Drogemuller, R. (2025). Grandschools: a new intergenerational third place for community regeneration. Contemporary Social Science, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/21582041.2025.2590111

• Harvery, M., Harrington, R., Morgan, M., Yule, E., & Wright, S. (2025). Community Treatment Orders in Australia in the Context of International Literature: A Narrative Review of Consumers, Families and Health Professionals' Perspectives. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 34(3), e70061. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.70061

• Kotzur, C., Harrington, R., Patterson, F., & Froude, E. (2025). Current use of therapeutic groups by Australian occupational therapists servicing community-dwellers with acquired brain injury: a qualitative interpretive descriptive study. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2025.2477829

• Sheahan, N., Harrington, R., Nelson, A., Sheppard, L., Potgieter, A., Bartlett, A.,... & Brown, R. (2025). The responsiveness and clinical utility of the Australian therapy outcome measure for indigenous clients. Australian occupational therapy journal, 72(2), e13001. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.13001

• Cowan, H. J. K., Sheppard, L., & Harrington, R. (2024). Young adults with intellectual disabilities participating in employment-related activities using the pathways and resources for engagement and participation intervention: A case study. British Journal of Learning Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1111/bld.12580

• Kotzur, C., Patterson, F., Harrington, R., Went, S., & Froude, E. (2023). Therapeutic groups run for community-dwelling people with acquired brain injury: a scoping review. Disability and rehabilitation, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2023.2283099

• Harrington, R., Kuys, S., Olsen, H., Darzins, S., Lindquist, M., Trotter, M.,... & Drogemuller, R. (2023, June). Health and wellbeing benefits associated with intergenerational farming activities: a systematic review. In IAGG Asia/Oceania Regional Conference: For Enhanced Wellbeing in Later Life through Innovation and Wisdom Sharing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/243753/1/IAAG_Poster.pdf

• Trotter, M., Sanders, P., Lindquist, M., Miller, E., Hajirasouli, A., Blake, A.,... & Drogemuller, R. (2022). Intergenerational living and learning: The value and risks of co-locating retirement villages on secondary school campuses-Evaluating the GrandSchools vision. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 41(3), e305-e309. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajag.13111

• Joosten, A., Darzins, S., Pépin, G., Roche, N., Cahill, L., & Harrington, R. (2021). Occupational therapy practice contexts. In Occupational Therapy in Australia (pp. 305-323). Routledge.

• Burns, K., & Harrington, R. (2020). Safe as Houses? Lump Sum Dissipation and Housing. In P. Vines & A. Akkermans (Ed.). Unexpected Consequences of Compensation Law (pp. 101-122). Oxford: Hart Publishing. Retrieved March 13, 2026, from http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781509928026.ch-006

• Sheppard, L., Harrington, R. & Howard, K. (2018). Leaving School and Getting a Job. Research to Action Guide, A guide for young people with disability who want to work. NDS Centre for Applied Disability Research. https://nced.org.au/media/download_resources/word/Guide_for_young_people.pdf

• Grant, G. M., Burns, K., Harrington, R., Vines, P., Kendall, E., & Maujean, A. (2017). When lump sums run out: Disputes at the borderlines of tort law, injury compensation and social security. In K. Barker, K. Fairweather, & R. Grantham (Eds.), Private Law in the 21st Century (1st ed., pp. 301-322). (Hart Studies in Private Law). Hart Publishing.

• Foster, M., Henman, P., Tilse, C., Fleming, J., Allen, S. and Harrington, R. (2016), 'Reasonable and necessary' care: the challenge of operationalising the NDIS policy principle in allocating disability care in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 51: 27-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2016.tb00363.x

• Harrington, R., Foster, M., & Fleming, J. (2015). Experiences of pathways, outcomes and choice after severe traumatic brain injury under no-fault versus fault-based motor accident insurance. Brain Injury, 29(13-14), 1561-1571. https://doi.org/10.3109/02699052.2015.1075142

• Foster, M., Henman, P., Fleming, J., Tilse, C., & Harrington, R. (2012). The Politics of Entitlement and Personalisation: Perspectives on a Proposed National Disability Long-term Care and Support Scheme in Australia. Social Policy and Society, 11(3), 331-343. https://doi.org/10.1017/S147474641200005X

Projects

• Drogemuller R, Kuys S, Pepping GJ, Sanders P, Harrington R, Tyvimaa T, Lindquist M, Trotter M. An Inter-generational Learning and Living Campus: A New Model for Healthy Senior Living and Integrated School Communities across Urban and Regional Australia. NHMRC Ideas Grant 2020-2026. $1156152.75

• Breaking out of Silos: Collaborating for employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Economic and Community Participation Grant $434,040.42. 2020-2026 A collaborative project between Onemda, CVGT and ACU. Project Evaluation Team: Sheppard, L., Harrington, R. Imms, C.

• Financing and managing lifetime care for adults with acquired disabilities and high care needs, School of Social Work and Human Services, UQ Australian Research Council Linkage project grant (LP0883377) $162,865. 2009-2013 - APAI Candidate

Awards

• University of Queensland 2013 Deans Commendation for Research Higher Degree Excellence

• ACU Vice-Chancellor's Staff Excellence Spirit of Reconciliation Award 2020

Appointments and Affiliations

• Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG)

• Australian Institute for Intergenerational Practice (AIIP)

• Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA)

Public engagement

Invited participant:

• Queensland Mental Health Commission - Shaping a trauma-informed Queensland: reform challenges and opportunities. Consultative Forum, Brisbane, 15th March, 2024.

• Public Hearings of Education, Tourism, Innovation and Small Business Committee Inquiry into a suitable model for the implementation of the National Injury Insurance Scheme. Queensland Parliament House, February-March 2016

• Queensland Joint Solutions Forum, Queensland Parliament House, Brisbane, February 2014

• Roundtable discussion on Young People with Disability in Long Stay Health Care Facilities, Queensland Parliament House, Brisbane, December 2013

• Transitional Rehabilitation Service Proposal Expert Reference Group, Brisbane, 2012

• TBI Expert Reference Group convened by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission of Queensland, Brisbane, 2011

• Oral Presentation to Productivity Commission inquiry into disability care and support in Australia, 2010 - 2011