Life Course Centre
The Melbourne Institute is host to the Melbourne node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Life Course Centre).
The Life Course Centre is a national research centre that aims to identify the drivers of deep and persistent disadvantage. Funded by the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence scheme, the Centre's goal is to uncover the causes and mechanisms of disadvantage and to develop innovative solutions to prevent its transmission within families and across generations.
The University of Melbourne is one of four participating universities across Australia who have partnered with non-profit organisations, government bodies and international universities in pursuit of the Centre’s aims.
Chief Investigators
The Melbourne node of the Life Course Centre brings together researchers of diverse disciplines from across the University of Melbourne. The Melbourne Institute is home to two of the three Melbourne Chief Investigators (below). Find out who else is involved in the Life Course Centre
Professor Mark Stevenson
Chief Investigator
Professor of Urban Transport and Public Health
Research Focus of the Melbourne Node
The following themes provide an indication of some of the research currently being undertaken by University of Melbourne members of the Life Course Centre.
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Wellbeing and the labour force
Investigating economic impact through labour force participation, including joblessness and its intergenerational transmission, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the labour market.
Life Course Centre researchers: Guyonne Kalb, Barbara Broadway, John de New, Irma Mooi-Reci -
Financial wellbeing
Exploring financial outcomes across various life stages, as well as the relationship between spatial variation and financial stress.
Life Course Centre researchers: John de New, Ferdi Botha, Barbara Broadway, Nicolás Salamanca, Sangeetha Chandrashekeran, Julia de Bruyn, Ilan Wiesel -
Education and disadvantage
Linking educational opportunities and wellbeing, as well as exploring early employment opportunities and work-based training.
Life Course Centre researchers: A. Abigail Payne, Steeve Marchand, Cain Polidano, Guyonne Kalb, Jan Kabátek, Julie Moschion -
Intergenerational disadvantage
Investigating families and communities experiencing poverty, transmission across generations, and the impact of COVID-19 on families.
Life Course Centre researchers: A. Abigail Payne, Sharon Goldfeld, Ana Gamarra Rondinel, Guyonne Kalb, Nicolas Hérault, Sarah Dahmann, Nicolás Salamanca -
Gender and disadvantage
Investigating gender gaps at school, factors that protect women from poverty, and gender inequality.
Life Course Centre researchers: Guyonne Kalb, Barbara Broadway, Leah Ruppanner -
Indigenous wellbeing
Exploring water and Country, the impacts on wellbeing over the life course, and causes and current-day legacy of historical frontier violence.
Life Course Centre researchers: Cain Polidano, Julie Moschion, Sangeetha Chandrashekeran, Julia de Bruyn, Brendan Kennedy, Melissa Kennedy
Read our research in the Life Course Centre Working Paper Series, and the Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series.
See lifecoursecentre.org.au for information on Life Course Centre research, impact, events and more.
Partner Research Institutions



