Christine Bigby

Professor Christine Bigby is a leading academic and researcher at La Trobe University, where she serves as Director of the Living with Disability Research Centre within the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport. She has held significant leadership roles, including Chair of the Academic Board from 2016 to 2022. Her work is deeply collaborative with disability support and advocacy organizations, focusing on improving social inclusion and quality of life for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Her research interests span intellectual disability, supported decision-making, ageing and disability, social inclusion, active support, organizational culture in disability services, and disability policy. She has pioneered work on supported accommodation practices and community participation, applying concepts like 'encounter' to understand inclusion. Her research has led to the development of widely used, freely available online training resources for frontline workers and practice leaders across the disability sector.

The 15 most recent publications reflect a sustained focus on supported accommodation, active support, organizational culture, inclusion, and decision-making support. They demonstrate interdisciplinary engagement across social work, health services, policy, and community participation, often involving longitudinal and qualitative methodologies. Her work frequently addresses systemic challenges, including findings from the Disability Royal Commission, and emphasizes participatory and rights-based approaches.

Christine Bigby has received significant recognition for her contributions:

• Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to people with intellectual disabilities, social welfare, inclusion research, policy, and tertiary education.
• Four-time recipient of the Research Award from the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability.

She has led major research initiatives, securing over $18 million in competitive and industry funding. Her projects include longitudinal studies on supported accommodation quality since 2009 and research on supported decision-making since 2015. She is the founding editor of the journal Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and has served as President of the Australasian Society of Intellectual Disability since 2022. She was also a member of the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts from 2019 to 2023. Her work is organized through the Living with Disability Research Centre, which collaborates extensively with disability service providers across Australia.