Paul Gray

Dr Paul Gray is an Associate Professor at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He leads the Indigenous child protection hub focused on transforming child protection systems to center First Nations voices and approaches. His work emphasizes community-led solutions to address systemic inequities in child welfare.

Dr Gray holds a DPhil in Experimental Psychology from the University of Oxford (as a Charles Perkins Scholar). He has extensive experience in policy development, including co-chairing the Family Matters National Leadership Group, which aims to end the overrepresentation of First Nations children in out-of-home care. He also serves on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Working Group of the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children.

His research explores decolonizing child protection practices, legal reforms, and community-led systems. Recent publications address intergenerational trauma, epistemic violence in welfare interventions, and self-determination in health programs. He has secured grants totaling over $1M for projects like the Aboriginal child restoration initiative and co-designing child commissioners for the ACT.

Dr Gray is a member of the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW Human Research Ethics Committee and contributes to the Safest Start Initiative for infant protection. His advocacy bridges academic research with grassroots community action to achieve transformative change in child welfare systems.