Richard Brooking

Richard's passion for social justice and improving outcomes for disadvantaged young people and their families comes from his lived experience. Starting in his youth, Richard spent over a decade involved in selling and manufacturing drugs until serving time in prison.

After being released, Richard spent a decade rehabilitating and educating himself. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws/Business at Griffith University and a Master of Business majoring in Philanthropy and Nonprofits at the Queensland University of Technology. 

Richard is now an admitted lawyer in the public sector who helps people with impaired decision-making. Richard is a director of a social justice and land conservation charity working with First Nations young people and families. Richard has experience in youth justice policy, youth lawyering, and philanthropy.

Richard is passionate about the rehabilitative effect of the crime and justice system lived experience community, having spoken about his lived experience at various conferences, including the University of Southern Queensland's Vulnerable Persons Conference on Youth Justice, the University of Newcastle's conference on Medicare in prisons, the Probation and Community Corrections Officer's Association of Australia conference on prisoner employment, and, to Flexi School youth about choosing good mentors.

In 2024, Richard was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to explore crime and justice system lived experience programs for at-risk youth in the United States of America (US). Described as a movement in the US, the use of crime and justice system lived experience is fostering the transformation of justice-impacted youth, their families, and justice agencies. This research will examine how Australia can better use crime and justice system lived experience for at-risk youth intervention.