‘Academic Research’ category
Take a look at a selection of our working papers, curated with care and made accessible to both researchers and our communities. Each one shares Pacific knowledge, creative storying, collective knowledge sharing and collaborative efforts to empower Pacific knowledge holders and voices.
Academic Category — PARC Working Paper Series
The Academic category of the Pacific Australia Research Centre (PARC) Working Paper Series provides a dedicated platform for Pacific pracademics, community researchers, early‑career scholars, and established academics to share developing research that contributes to Pacific-led knowledge creation. This category supports the dissemination of emergent ideas, conceptual explorations, raw discussion papers, preliminary findings, methodological reflections, and other early-stage research outputs that hold value for scholars working across the Pacific region and its diasporas.
Academic papers published in this category prioritise Pacific health, wellbeing, migration, education, Indigenous methodologies, Pacific sense-making, and community-led research. Authors are encouraged to contribute work that strengthens Pacific voices, advances culturally grounded scholarship, and supports intergenerational wellbeing across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the wider Pacific
Academic Working Papers
Pasifika Mobilities: Pre- & Post-pandemic
Ruth (Lute) Faleolo
Pacific Islander families who move between Australia and New Zealand (the trans-Tasman region) do so for many connected reasons that support their overall wellbeing. For many Pasifika people, “home,” “family,” and “work” are not tied to just one place — they are shared across both countries.
Stories and surveys from Pasifika migrants (collected between 2015 and 2021) show that moving back and forth is often a collective decision, shaped by family needs, cultural responsibilities, and hopes for a better future.
Before COVID-19, these strong social and cultural connections across the Tasman were already well established. When the pandemic hit and borders closed, Pasifika communities had to rethink how they stayed connected. They adapted, found new ways to support each other, and reshaped their cross-border relationships to keep their families and communities strong.
Faleolo, R. L. (2026). ‘Pasifika mobilities: Pre- & post-pandemic’. Pacific Australia Research Centre Working Paper Series, 2026-04. PARC, Australia. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.33253.97761
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/403721495_Pasifika_Mobilities_Pre-_Post-Pandemic
“Not Just Filling a Labour Shortage” - Trans-Tasman Pacific Mobilities
Ruth (Lute) Faleolo
This paper shares how Pacific people today move, live, and stay connected across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. Instead of seeing migration as something that “happens to” Pacific peoples, the research shows that Pasifika families make active choices about when and how they move. These decisions are shaped by family needs, cultural responsibilities, and the desire to stay connected to people and places that matter.
Pacific migrants don’t simply move from one place to another in a straight line. As they travel, settle, and reconnect across different locations, they keep building and maintaining relationships—caring for family, supporting communities, and adapting to new situations. This is what researchers call collective agency, and it reflects the strength of Pacific ways of living.
Findings from both the author’s PhD research and ongoing postdoctoral work show that Pasifika mobility is always changing. Pacific families adjust their movements in response to what is happening around them, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. Even when borders closed and travel became difficult, Pasifika communities found new ways to stay connected and support one another across the Tasman.
Faleolo, R. L. (2026). ‘“Not just filling a labour shortage” - trans-Tasman Pacific mobilities’. Pacific Australia Research Centre Working Paper Series, 2026-05. PARC, Australia. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.12112.06409