About Us
The Centre for Better Relationships is an important part of Better Place Australia. On this page, you can learn more about us, from our incredible team, to the important frameworks that guide us as an organisation.
Our Mission
To conduct ethical, applied research & policy analysis in the field of family and social welfare in line with the values of Better Place Australia.
Our Vision
To be a research leader in the area of relationships, helping to improve the lives of people and their families through meaningful research, knowledge translation and advocacy work.
Our Research
Working with policy makers and NGOs to understand the relationship challenges that face families and to develop evidence-based policy and practice responses.
Our Team
Dr Sarah Marko
Researcher
Dr Sarah Marko has a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Health Promotion and a PhD from Deakin University. Sarah has a background in qualitative public health research with a focus on people’s perspectives and experiences of gambling-related harm. Sarah is particularly interested in understanding the factors beyond individual control that influence people’s health and well-being. Sarah aims to use research to identify areas for change and provide an evidence-base for improving policy and practice.
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Dr Laila Hugrass
Researcher/Data Analyst
Dr Laila Hugrass is a specialist researcher and data analyst. She has conducted research in the fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience at La Trobe Uni, Swinburne Uni and the Australian Catholic University. Laila holds an adjunct research position at La Trobe Uni where she is studying her Master of Art Therapy. With expertise in data management, applied statistics, quantitative analyses, data visualisation and data storytelling, Laila is passionate about communicating research findings to non-academic audiences in an engaging and accessible manner.
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Ethics and Governance
Any work procedures that we conduct reflect our commitment towards ethical research. We aim to maintain the following principles, regardless ofour slate of projects:
Integrity
We conduct our research with integrity and professionalism and base our professional obligations in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines, to maintain accountability with participants and the communities we work in.
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Justice
All people have the right to live safe and fulfilling lives and we aim to help improve the lives of Australians through our work. Through our experience, the best means to achieve this collective goal is through fair distribution of resources and service accessibility.
Approach to Ethics
Research proposals are reviewed by the Research and Advocacy Committee (RAC) who subsequently assesses all research for merit, feasibility and appropriate ethical conduct. This includes adherence to the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines for ethical research. For research conducted among vulnerable populations, or for research where we are uncertain regarding ethics, we always turn to the Human Research Ethics Committees for advice or approval via application.
Research and Policy
The Centre’s research and policy activities are conducted under the supervision of the Research and Advocacy Committee and the Board of Directors. CBR’s research focuses on organisational priority areas as determined by the Board of Directors. The Research and Advocacy Committee is chaired by the CEO of Better Place Australia and membership is made up of senior leadership representatives.
