Policy and Lawmakers Outreach and Education

The Centre for Law and Social Justice at the University of Newcastle provides outreach, education, capacity-building and policy engagement activities that support policymakers, lawmakers, public institutions and community organisations across areas including human rights, governance, technology regulation, migration and displacement, climate justice, and access to justice.

Briefings for policymakers and international institutions in 2025

In October 2025, Professor Amy Maguire chaired a Universal Periodic Review briefing for foreign diplomatic missions in Canberra, co-hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the NGO Coalition. The session provided a direct briefing opportunity for government and diplomatic representatives on international human rights monitoring and review processes.

In November 2025, Professor Maguire also joined the AHRC delegation at Universal Periodic Review pre-sessions and advocacy meetings at the United Nations in Geneva. Her contributions connected University legal expertise with government and international institutional discussions about Australia’s human rights obligations.

Building public-sector human rights knowledge

In 2025, the Centre continued its leadership in policy-focused research and engagement through an Australian Research Council Industry Fellowship led by Professor Amy Maguire in partnership with the Australian Human Rights Commission. The project, "How can Australia deliver its commitments to human rights reform? A research-policy alliance", is designed to support evidence-based law and policy development, including a national human rights measurement framework for Australia, participation in United Nations human rights monitoring processes, and the design of human rights educational resources for public-sector and community audiences.

During the fellowship’s first year, Professor Maguire collaborated with the AHRC’s Human Rights and Strategy, Workplace and Community Education, and Child Rights teams. Her contributions included work on the AHRC’s first Human Rights Education Strategy and inaugural National Human Rights Assessment and Report Card initiative. The fellowship’s proposed education programmes are distinct from the briefings and engagement activities delivered during 2025.

Connecting young people and lawmakers at NSW Parliament

On 11 September 2025, the Centre for Law and Social Justice and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights co-hosted a Youth Forum on human rights protection for NSW at NSW Parliament House. The event brought together 60 secondary school students from 21 schools across the Hunter and Sydney regions. Several members of Parliament welcomed participants, including Jenny Leong MP, and students developed a statement calling for stronger human rights protection in NSW. The forum brought students’ lived experience and civic learning into direct contact with parliamentary decision-makers.

International legal education and specialist policy expertise

Also in 2025, Associate Professor Kcasey McLoughlin extended the Centre's international policy and law-reform engagement through an international speaking and collaboration program focused on feminist approaches to international criminal law and justice, which included engagements at Sciences Po in Paris and with the Nuremberg Academy. Her work on feminist judgments of the International Criminal Court supported professional and academic exchanges on gender justice, human rights and accountability.

Centre members also contribute specialist knowledge relevant to policymaking: Professor Angela Daly in digital governance and technology regulation; Dr Joseph Wenta in environmental governance and climate law; Dr Samuel Woldemariam and Dr Alice Neikirk in migration and refugee protection; and Dr Marie Hadley in intellectual property, technology regulation and legal communication. This research expertise supports the Centre’s wider educational and policy engagement.

Throughout 2025, Centre members contributed to public lectures, webinars, policy discussions, community forums, research collaborations and law reform initiatives that translated academic expertise into practical resources for governments, policymakers, legal practitioners and civil society stakeholders.

Earlier outreach, parliamentary advice and regional partnerships

The Centre’s 2024 activities illustrate an established approach to sharing legal knowledge with decision-makers. On 10 May 2024, Centre representatives and the Human Rights Law Centre briefed Senator Penny Allman-Payne on the Right to Education in Australia report. Professor Amy Maguire explained the report’s findings and implications for a rights-based approach to education policy.

In 2024, the Centre contributed submissions to parliamentary inquiries into the Truth and Justice Commission Bill (co-authored with the Wakul Yabang Aboriginal Health Research Community Panel) and Australia’s Human Rights Framework. These submissions provided legal analysis and recommendations on truth-telling, oversight and stronger protections for vulnerable groups.

The Centre also pursued policy and institutional capacity-building partnerships in the Pacific. In June–July 2024, its representatives met with government agencies and civil society organisations in Samoa, including the Ombudsman and Office of the Public Service Commission, to identify legal and policy collaboration opportunities. The original Centre account also describes related capacity-building partnership activity involving the Cook Islands.

The wider public education programme included the 2024 Justice Kirby Public Lecture at Newcastle City Hall; collaboration with the AHRC’s Speaking from Experience project on workplace sexual harassment; and the launch of the Right to Education in Australia report with the Human Rights Law Centre. These activities shared research and practical legal perspectives with public, professional and community audiences. For further examples, read the Centre for Law and Social Justice Annual Report 2024.

In 2025, the University contributed to policymaker learning through human rights briefings and parliamentary engagement. Earlier legal education, government advice and Pacific partnerships extend the reach of this work.