Dr Azhar Hussain Potia is an applied behavioural economist with expertise in evaluating programs and policies through economic and natural experiments, as well as randomised controlled trials. He is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Industry Fellow (2024–2027) whose focus currently centres on improving the educational and well-being outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, especially around the critical phase of transitioning from primary to secondary school. Azhar works in close collaboration with community organisations, schools and government departments to achieve these goals.
Azhar is particularly passionate about bridging the gap between academia and industry. His research is grounded in extensive field experience, including time spent living and working in remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland (Aurukun, Hope Vale and Cairns), where he co-designed health and education programs tailored to local needs.
These experiences continue to shape his commitment to community and industry engagement, and to the translation of his work for real-world, practical application. Azhar’s contributions in this space have been recognised through multiple awards to date, including the ARC Industry Fellowship, an Outstanding Leadership Award from the Life Course Centre, and a high commendation from the Prime Minister and Cabinet Behavioural Economics Team of Australia for policy impact.
Awards
- Outstanding Leadership Award (2024) for undertaking knowledge transfer awarded by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course
- UQ Partners in Indigenous Research Excellence Awards (2023) for contributions to the Lets Yarn About Sleep Program
- Australian Research Council (ARC) Industry Fellowship (2024-2027)
- High commendation, Prime Minister and Cabinet Behavioural Economics Team of Australia (BETA) for impacts on policy outcomes using behavioural economics in 2018.
Professional social media
Grants
|
Years |
Details |
|---|---|
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2024 – 2026 |
Australian Research Council (ARC) Early Career Industry Fellowship - $476,053 Team: Potia, A.H. Title: Supporting successful educational pathways of First Nations students Role: Fellowship lead, community engagement, industry engagement |
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2024 - 2025 |
ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course - $20,000 Team: Potia, A.H. Title: Transition to secondary school: Supporting successful educational pathways of First Nations students Role: Project lead, knowledge transfer, community engagement, industry engagement. |
|
2024 – 2029 |
MRFF Optimising Screening Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea - $1.99M Team: Fatima, Y., Woodroffe, T., Wheeler, K., Sullivan, D., Von Senden, R., Skinner, T., Bucks,R., Eastwood, P., Chawla, J., Potia, A.H., Tan, E.J., Oguoma, V., Nasir, B., Martin, P., Yiallourou, S., Collaro, A., Cooper, R. Title: Co-designing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea screening and diagnostic approaches for First Nations Australians Role: Value-for-money assessment lead, community engagement. |
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2024 – 2029 |
MRFF Childhood Mental Health Research - $4.99M Team: Fatima, Y., Wheeler, K., Chawla, J., Williams, W., Potia, A.H., Sullivan, D., Von Senden, R., Huda, M., Yap, M., Blunden, S., Hou, X., Anderson, K., Tan, E.J., Smith, S., Title: Co-designing Obstructive Sleep Apnoea screening and diagnostic approaches for First Nations Australians Role: Value-for-money assessment lead, community engagement, school and student engagement. |
|
2023 – 2025 |
Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth Limited (ARACY), Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation - $1.8M Team: Staton, S., Coles, L., Houen, S., Potia, A.H., and Thorpe, K. Title: Brain Builders Initiative Role: Responsible for building a brain development program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth in collaboration with the Indigenous communities. |
|
2021 – 2023 |
Education Horizon Grant, Queensland Department of Education - $97,342 Team: Potia, A.H., Rankin, P. and Thorpe, K. Title: Successful transition: identifying predictors of resilient trajectories of transition into secondary school. Role: Project lead, manage funder relations, big data management and analysis. |
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2020 – 2022 |
Paul Ramsay Foundation (led by The University of Newcastle) - $339,039 Team: Povey, J., Potia, A.H., Staton, S. and Tomaszewski, W. Title: Building Capacity for Quality Teaching in Australian Schools - New Jurisdictions Role: Responsible for the design and implementation of the randomisation and quantitative data evaluation. |
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2019 – 2021 |
Beyond the Broncos, Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Club Limited - $40,682 Team: Potia, A.H., Beatton, T., Tomaszewski, W., Moran, M. and Thorpe, K. Title: Evaluation of the Beyond the Broncos Indigenous Girls Academy Program Role: Project lead, manage clients, evaluation design and quantitative analysis. |
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2018 – 2021 |
Commonwealth Department of Health - $2.5M Team: Smith, S., Thorpe, K., Edmed, S., Salom, C., Kenardy, J., Mamun, A., Western, M., Potia, A.H. and Brown, R. Title: Evaluation of the National Support for Child and Youth Mental Health Program and Longitudinal Research Plan Role: Component lead for the value-for-money assessment of the program. |
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2020 |
Life Course Centre Social Industry Partnerships Funding - $17,000 Team: Potia, A.H., Menner, R., Beatton, T., and Thorpe, K. Title: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Capacity Building in the Research Team Role: Project lead and facilitate industry engagement. |
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2019 – 2020 |
Life Course Centre Social Intervention Grant - $44,004 Team: Potia, A.H., Menner, R., Beatton, T., and Thorpe, K. Title: Exploring the Effects of Prosocial Incentives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students’ School Attendance Role: Project lead and facilitate industry engagement. |
Research areas
- Behavioural economics
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Secondary Education
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Education
Recent Selected Publications:
- Potia, A.H., Wheeler, K.W., Woodroffe, T. and Thorpe, K., 2025. 'Transition From Primary to Secondary School: Igniting Attendance and Engagement Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students Through National Policy Reform', Australian Journal of Social Issues.
- Fatima, Y., Edmed, S.L., Von Senden, R., Bucks, R.S., Nasir, B., Sullivan, D.P., Potia, A.H., Maddison, K., Williams, W., Woodroffe, T. and Joosten, S., 2025. 'Obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis and management in First Nations communities: Protocol for the Let’s Yarn About Sleep-Obstructive Sleep Apnea Program', Sleep Advances, p.zpaf061.
- Staton, S., Coles, L., Normore, G., Casey, C., Searle, B., Houen, S., Potia, A., Crompton, R., Long, D., Hogan, M. and Thorpe, K., 2024. 'The Brain in Context: A Scoping Review and Concept Definition of Neuro-Informed Policy and Practice, Brain Sciences, 14(12), p.1243.
- Kler, P., Potia, A.H. and Shankar, S., 2023. 'Nappies, books and wrinkles: How children, qualifications and age affect female underemployment in Australia', Economic and Industrial Democracy, 44(1), pp.138-160.
- Thorpe, K., Potia, A.H., Searle, B., Van Halen, O., Lakeman, N., Oakes, C., Harris, H. and Staton, S., 2022. 'Meal provision in early childhood education and care programs: Association with geographic disadvantage, social disadvantage, cost, and market competition in an Australian population', Social Science & Medicine, 312, p.115317.
- Rankin, P.S., Staton, S., Potia, A.H., Houen, S. and Thorpe, K., 2022. 'Emotional quality of early education programs improves language learning: A within‐child across context design'. Child development, 93(6), pp.1680-1697.
Dr Azhar Hussain Potia is an applied behavioural economist with expertise in evaluating programs and policies through economic and natural experiments, as well as randomised controlled trials. He is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Industry Fellow (2024–2027) whose focus currently centres on improving the educational and well-being outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, especially around the critical phase of transitioning from primary to secondary school. Azhar works in close collaboration with community organisations, schools and government departments to achieve these goals.