Digital economy and society

Founded in 1989, the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) is the country’s peak non-government organisation representing community-based groups of people living with HIV. Its membership of national networks and state-based organisations reflects the diverse make-up of the HIV-positive community.

There is an urgent need to bridge the implementation gap between the Commonwealth's high-level digital health policy and legislation and NAPWHA’s specific requirements as a peer-led advocacy and community-support organisation.

Professor Kath Albury, Associate Professor César Albarrán-Torres, Dr Kyle Moore and Dr Julia Tomassetti are partnering with NAPWHA in a project that aims to develop fit-for-purpose guidance and implementation plans that support NAPWHA’s digital community outreach, advocacy and mobilisation activities now and in the future.

This project examines the road safety implications of algorithmic management in gig delivery work. It is also developing tools for auditing the safety of the platform algorithms used in delivery work. Lead by Dr Paul Bowell of the Sport Innovation Research Group, the project is funded by a Swinburne Research Ecosystem Seed Grant and undertaken in collaboration with the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning.

The goal is to improve road safety for delivery riders and other road users in Victoria. The project should also offer a blueprint for implementing transparent and accountable safety audits in the broader gig economy –  promoting a better alignment of business models, technology development and public policy. 

Terms-of-service agreements are often an overlooked feature of the relationship between social media platforms and their content creators. This project examines different legal and social dimensions of these agreements and their consequences for content creators.

It explores how courts interpret the agreements within contract law, while examining the assumptions underlying legislation and its interpretation regarding how social media companies coordinate economic activity, including how the metaphor of the ‘platform’ may shape these assumptions.

Dr Julia Tomassetti (Swinburne University of Technology) and Associate Professor June Wang (City University of Hong Kong) are editing a special issue of the "Global Media and China" journal on the topic of internet-outernet interface.

The articles will explore the relationship between digital platforms and social structure by examining the gateways that direct flows of people, products, capital, ideas and standards across digital and physical worlds with the focus on how these gateways re-assemble economic value chains and transform urban landscapes. 

Digitalisation has facilitated working from home (WFH), a persistent feature in the Australian employment landscape even after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understand whether Australia’s industrial policies support employers and employees in making WFH arrangements, the federal Fair Work Commission (FWC) commissioned Swinburne researchers to survey employees and employers who use the Clerks Award about their WFH practices and perspectives and draft a report.