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Dr Aastha Malhotra

Dr Aastha Malhotra
Name Aastha Malhotra
Pronoun She/Her/Hers
Position Senior Lecturer (Social Work and Human Services)
Section School of Health, Psychological and Medical Sciences
Office B343
Location Ipswich Campus
Phone +61 7 3812 6083
Extension 6083
Email
Qualifications MHumServ Qld , PhD Qld
Languages Hindi (accredited translator)
Homepage https://research.usq.edu.au/researcher/81317/dr-aastha-malhotra
The views expressed on staff homepages may not reflect the views of the University.

Biography

Dr Aastha Malhotra is a Social Work and Human Services educator with expertise in management and leadership. This interdisciplinary foundation shapes her teaching, research, and engagement. Her work supports not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises, and their leaders to navigate complex change and embed inclusive practice in their work with individuals and communities.

Her academic philosophy is grounded in the transformational nature of learning, and her research is anchored in institutional theory, particularly hybridity in organisations and communities. Informed by over twenty years of sustained industry engagement, Dr Malhotra identifies as a 'pracademic', deliberately bridging the worlds of academia and practice. Her experience spans designing community-based rehabilitation programs in Tihar Jail (Asia's largest prison), advancing inclusive employment for people living with HIV in Canada, and co-creating entrepreneurial solutions with marginalised multicultural communities in Queensland.

As Senior Lecturer and Higher Degree Research (HDR) Coordinator at UniSQ, Dr Malhotra prepares students and researchers to advance social and community outcomes, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, through ethical practice and responsible leadership and management. Her current teaching spans postgraduate research, social innovation, intersectionality and organisational change (cross-taught with the management discipline). This work has been recognised with the ANZAM Excellence Award in Promoting Learning & Teaching (2025) and the UniSQ Excellence Award for Educational Leadership (2024).

She leads the Social Innovation and Inclusion research stream at the UniSQ Institute of Health (Health Equity Theme) which integrates social impact with health and wellbeing across two connected lines of inquiry: leadership and wellbeing in not-for-profits and social enterprises; and equity and inclusion in marginalised communities, with current projects examining leader wellbeing in regional social enterprises, migrant and refugee inclusion, and community-led responses to food insecurity through social enterprise models. Outcomes from recent projects have been taken up by state and national peak bodies.

Dr Malhotra's contribution extends beyond UniSQ. She serves as Co-Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (Public Sector, NGOs, and Not-for-Profit Stream) and as an accredited national adjudicator with the Australian Reporting Awards (Public and Not-for-Profit Division), advancing governance and organisational capability across the broader social service sector. She is regularly invited to contribute to advisory boards and review panels in both professional and academic settings.

She welcomes conversations on fostering social inclusion, co-designing with migrant and refugee communities, effective not-for-profit and social enterprise management and leadership (including leader and employee wellbeing), and impact evaluation.

Research Career


  • Strategy ( 350799 )
  • Socio-Economic Development ( 440407 )
  • Social Program Evaluation ( 440903 )
  • Not-For-Profit Business And Management ( 350708 )
  • Strategy ( 350700 )
  • Social Work ( 440900 )
  • Development Studies ( 440400 )
  • Social Work not elsewhere classified ( 440999 )
  • Development Studies not elsewhere classified ( 440499 )

Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (Co-Chair of the Public Sector, NGOs, and Not-for-Profit Stream)
Queensland Council of Social Services
Queensland Social Enterprise Council
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy


Women’s Ethnic Network


  • Institute for Communities and Regional Development (ICRD)
  • Institute for Health (IH)

Teaching


https://handbook-guide.unisq.edu.au/course/2024/HSW3220
https://handbook-guide.unisq.edu.au/course/2025/swk2200
https://handbook-guide.unisq.edu.au/course/2024/swm5400


Honours Coordinator (2020-2021)
Program Director (2020-2023)
Higher Degree Research Coordinator (2025 - current)

Supervision


  • Strategy ( 350799 )
  • Socio-Economic Development ( 440407 )
  • Social Program Evaluation ( 440903 )
  • Not-For-Profit Business And Management ( 350708 )
  • Strategy ( 350700 )
  • Social Work ( 440900 )
  • Development Studies ( 440400 )
  • Social Work not elsewhere classified ( 440999 )
  • Development Studies not elsewhere classified ( 440499 )