Dr Aastha Malhotra

Name	Dr Aastha Malhotra
Email Address	aastha.malhotra@unisq.edu.au
Job Title	Senior Lecturer (Social Work and Human Services)
Qualifications	MHumServ Qld, PhD Qld
Department	School of Psychology and Wellbeing
ORCID	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2509-1239

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Employment

Position	Organisation	From	To
Program Director and Senior Lecturer	School of Psychology and Wellbeing	2022	2023
Program Director and Senior Lecturer	School of Health and Wellbeing	2017	2021
Vice-Chancellor's Research Fellow	Institute of Resilience Regions	2014	2016
Senior Lecturer	School of Psychology and Wellbeing	2024

Fields of Research

350708. Not-for-profit business and management
350799. Strategy, management and organisational behaviour not elsewhere classified
440407. Socio-economic development
440499. Development studies not elsewhere classified
440903. Social program evaluation
440999. Social work not elsewhere classified

Professional Membership

Professional Membership	Year
Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management
Queensland Social Enterprise Council

Qualification name

MHumServ

School

Qld

Year

2008

Qualification name

PhD

School

Qld

Year

2013

Current Supervisions

Research Title	Supervisor Type	Level of Study	Commenced
The Lived Experiences of People with Spinal Cord Injury and the Impact on Healthcare Services in Cambodia	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2025
Bridging the Gap: Addressing Cultural, Linguistic, and Socio-Economic Barriers in Disaster Communication for Marginalised Communities	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2025
Coping with COVID-19: Community and Institutional Responses in Malawi	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2023
Low back pain and related disability in Pakistan: Application of a biopsychosocial approach	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2022
Womens leadership in Australian NGOs: Future perspectives post-global pandemic Covid-19	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2021
Nudged sensemaking meets organizational change management: An exploration into the targeted utilization of status quo bias, and associated heuristics	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2018

Completed Supervisions

Research Title	Supervisor Type	Level of Study	Completed
The role of innovation hubs in building community resilience	Associate Supervisor	Doctoral	2021

Project title	Details	Year
Facilitating wellbeing and resilience for social enterprise leaders and their teams in rural, remote and regional Queensland	Department of Youth Justice, Employment, Small Business and Training (Social Enterprise Research Grants)	2024
Female Founders Fast-track: Elevating Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Female Founders by Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Innovative Growth Strategies	Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport Grant	2023
Increasing access to voluntary, culturally responsive HIV testing and PrEP for prevention for culturally and linguistically diverse community members in General Practice settings	Agency agreement	2023
Developing Human Services Practitioners: Scaffolding student learning in Professional Placements	Office of Advancement of Learning and Teaching	2019
Empowering Women through Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade	2017
Building Women’s Startup Resilience in regional Queensland	Advance Queensland, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation Grant	2016
Big Data for Small Business	Advance Queensland, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation Grant	2016
Advancing women in rural enterprises (WiRE) through entrepreneurship		2016
Empowering Women through Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Sustainability in Bangladesh and Nepal	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Grant	2014

Date	Name	Awarding organisation	Underpinning research
2015	Category Winner	5 Minute Research Pitch

Hybridity in Nonprofit Organizations: Organizational Perspectives on Combining Multiple Logics

Malhotra, Aastha, Wright, April L. and Jarvis, Lee C.. 2025. "Hybridity in Nonprofit Organizations: Organizational Perspectives on Combining Multiple Logics." Journal of Business Ethics. 196 (2), pp. 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05687-y

Remind me that I matter: how self-worth bias can enhance employee support for organizational change efforts

McLaren, Tom A.S., Fein, Erich C., Ireland, Michael and Malhotra, Aastha. 2024. "Remind me that I matter: how self-worth bias can enhance employee support for organizational change efforts." Journal of Organizational Change Management. 37 (8), pp. 53-76. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-08-2023-0340

Transformative change comes from more than structured content: Qualitative exploration of parent experiences of a post-separation group program

Bayliss, Luke, Krishnamoorthy, Govind, Malhotra, Aastha, Beel, Nathan, du Plessis, Carol, Crathern, Jennifer, Hall, Stuart and Burton, Lorelle. 2023. "Transformative change comes from more than structured content: Qualitative exploration of parent experiences of a post-separation group program." Family Relations. 72 (5), pp. 3067-3083. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12836

Future-proofing Queensland families: Investigating CatholicCare’s leadership in family support services and responses to national family law reforms

Bayliss, Luke, Krishnamoorthy, Govind, Malhotra, Aastha, Beel, Nathan, du Plessis, Carol and Burton, Lorelle. 2022. Future-proofing Queensland families: Investigating CatholicCare’s leadership in family support services and responses to national family law reforms. Toowoomba, Australia. University of Southern Queensland.

Developing Human Services Practitioners : Scaffolding Student Learning in Professional Placements

Malhotra, Aastha, Campbell, Christina, Clark, Linda and Dunlop, Emma. 2022. Developing Human Services Practitioners : Scaffolding Student Learning in Professional Placements. Australia. University of Southern Queensland.

Looking for, Learning from and Finally Becoming the Voice of Experience: A Communities of Practice Perspective on the Doctoral Journey

Malhotra, Aastha. 2019. "Looking for, Learning from and Finally Becoming the Voice of Experience: A Communities of Practice Perspective on the Doctoral Journey." Machin, Tanya M., Clara, Marc and Danaher, Patrick Alan (ed.) Traversing the doctorate: reflections and strategies from students, supervisors and administrators. Switzerland. Springer. pp. 237-251

From impediment to innovation: Introducing a residential school within the Human Services Discipline

Malhotra, Aastha, Steggall, David and Campbell, Christina. 2019. "From impediment to innovation: Introducing a residential school within the Human Services Discipline." USQ Learning and Teaching Showcase. Toowoomba, Australia Nov 2019 Toowoomba, Australia.

Transformational leadership and not for profits and social enterprises

Wiltshire, Kenneth, Malhotra, Aastha and Axelsen, Michael. Wiltshire, Kenneth, Malhotra, Aastha and Axelsen, Michael (ed.) 2018. Transformational leadership and not for profits and social enterprises. United States. Routledge.

Three Schools of Nonprofit Thought: Evolution of the Field and Implications For Leadership

Malhotra, Aastha. 2018. "Three Schools of Nonprofit Thought: Evolution of the Field and Implications For Leadership." Wiltshire, Kenneth, Malhotra, Aastha and Axelson, Micheal (ed.) Transformational Leadership and Not for Profits and Social Enterprises. New York, United States. Taylor & Francis. pp. 15-33

Innovation in the face of tension: Lessons from a sustainable social enterprise

Malhotra, Aastha. 2016. "Innovation in the face of tension: Lessons from a sustainable social enterprise." Nicolopoulou, Katerina, Karatas-Ozkan, Mine, Janssen, Frank and Jermier, John (ed.) Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation. New York, United States. Routledge. pp. 170-186

I'll have what I had before, but with a cherry on top: leveraging status quo bias when introducing organizational change

McLaren, Tom A.S., Fein, Erich C., Ireland, Michael and Malhotra, Aastha. 2025. "I'll have what I had before, but with a cherry on top: leveraging status quo bias when introducing organizational change ." Journal of Organizational Change Management. 38 (8), pp. 50-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-06-2024-0306

How can Health and Wellbeing be Fostered through Social Enterprises: An Exploration of Media Portrayals in the Global North and the Global South

Minhas, Kavina, Mullens, Amy and Malhotra, Aastha. 2024. "How can Health and Wellbeing be Fostered through Social Enterprises: An Exploration of Media Portrayals in the Global North and the Global South." University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Health Research Research Symposium . Toowoomba, Australia 06 - 06 Nov 2023 Australia.

Wellbeing Matters Guide: Peer Insights for Social Enterprise Leaders - A Regional, Rural and Remote Perspective

Ryan, Naomi, Malhotra, Aastha, Mullens, Amy, Luke, Jennifer and Excell, Tarra. 2024. Wellbeing Matters Guide: Peer Insights for Social Enterprise Leaders - A Regional, Rural and Remote Perspective. Australia. University of Southern Queensland. https://doi.org/10.26192/zqx35

Ready, Set, Reform? Exploring not-for-profit practitioner perceptions of readiness

Malhotra, Aastha, Bayliss, Luke, Krishnamoorthy, Govind, Beel, Nathan, du Plessis, Carol and Burton, Lorelle. 2024. "Ready, Set, Reform? Exploring not-for-profit practitioner perceptions of readiness." Jackson, A. (ed.) 37th Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM 2024). Woollongong, New South Wales, Australia 03 - 05 Dec 2024 Australia.