Past Projects
Australian One Health Network Mapping
This project, conducted in collaboration with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Federal Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (OCVO), aimed to map Australia's current One Health policies, engagements, and expertise. Using a desktop mapping approach followed by surveys, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews, the study identified key stakeholders, activities, and gaps within the One Health framework, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health. The findings provide a comprehensive snapshot of past, present, and future One Health initiatives in Australia, offering recommendations to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and inform future policy directions. The results have been written into a policy brief for key Government partners and interested parties.
Environmental Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific
This policy brief, written for the Australian Department of Defence, explored the complex relationship between environmental insecurity and disease emergence in the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR). Using the DPSIR (drivers, pressures, state, impact, response) framework, the study identified key risk factors for zoonotic disease spillover and examined the role of the Defence sector in preparedness and response. The findings and policy recommendations emphasise the need for integrated, proactive strategies, including environmental diplomacy, cross-sector collaboration, and governance frameworks to mitigate security threats posed by emerging infectious diseases. The brief provides key recommendations for Defence and policy stakeholders, advocating for a shift from reactive responses to preventive, whole-of-government approaches that address the root causes of disease emergence and instability in the region.
Working together to protect Australia in the age of pandemics
In collaboration with the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, a series of stakeholder workshops were conducted, using an adapted Delphi model, to gauge the status of upstream environmental pandemic prevention in Australia and make policy recommendations for its improvement. The resulting white paper highlighted the urgent need for a national, interdisciplinary strategy to mitigate pandemic risks in Australia, emphasising the role of human-driven environmental changes—such as deforestation, agricultural intensification, and climate change—in driving zoonotic disease emergence. It called for a coordinated One Health governance system that integrates human, animal, and environmental health, incorporating Indigenous Healthy Country principles to enhance resilience. Since the report was provided to key Government partners, an Interim Centre for Disease Control was established, with a coordinating One Health group.
Negotiations and positioning on the Proposed Pandemic Treaty
Dr Woolaston, with colleague Associate Professor Bridget Lewis from the Queensland University of Technology, provided advice to the Australian Government on incorporating One Health into their negotiating position for the proposed Pandemic Treaty. Much of the advice provided can be found in a paper titled ‘ Options for a Preventative Pandemic Treaty based on One Health’, which can be found here.