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Areas of expertise: “decolonising knowledge, research and practice.” “mental health.” “social work practice and research ethics.” “culturally and linguistically diverse populations.” “critical discourse analysis.” “Critical Disability Justice.” “AI and Ethics.”
Email: [email protected]
Location: ACU Strathfield Campus
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0632-6058
Aniqa Farwa is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Australian Catholic University (ACU), based at the Strathfield campus. With 23 years of domestic and international experience across social work research, teaching, and practice, she brings sustained academic leadership and deep disciplinary expertise. She completed her PhD at The University of Queensland, where her research advanced critical analyses of power, discourse, and professional practice.
Since joining ACU in 2019, Aniqa has held significant leadership roles within the School of Allied Health. She currently serves as Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Course Coordinator and BSW Honours Coordinator and previously led the Master of Social Work (Qualifying) program for six years. In 2024, she received the Faculty of Health Sciences Employee Values Award for Research Supervision, recognising her commitment to mentoring emerging scholars and fostering rigorous, socially responsive research.
Aniqa’s research centres on decolonising knowledge, research, and social work practice. Her scholarship examines institutional power, professional discourse, frontline practice, mental health systems, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) contexts, and street-level bureaucracy. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, research ethics, and critical disability justice, she advances socially just and ethically grounded approaches to research and practice. She also engages critically with the implications of artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making for human services and professional ethics.
As Discipline Lead and Co-Convener of the School of Allied Health Research Network (SOAHRN), Aniqa fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration and research capacity building. She also serves as Social Work Lead on the School’s Inter-Professional Education (IPE) core working group, strengthening integrated and collaborative learning across health disciplines.
Aniqa maintains active research partnerships with universities, government, and non-government organisations nationally and internationally. Across research, teaching and leadership, she is committed to advancing equity, critical inquiry, and transformative social change within social work and allied health.
Aligning inter-professional learning in the School of Allied Health (SoAH) to the ACU Inter-Professional Education Framework and discipline-specific professional competency standards and corresponding university IPE accreditation requirements.
Year: 2021-2022
Funded by: Australian Catholic University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Teaching Development Grant
Funds: $8,000
Investigators: Dr Susan Darzins, Prof. Suzanne Kuys, Assoc. Prof. Elspeth Froude, Ms Shari Maver, Dr Aniqa Farwa, Dr Michelle Smith-Tamaray, Mr Nick Flynn, School of Allied Health