Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
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.
Attendees of the 2025 Youth Forum Statement: Human Rights Protection for NSW.
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.
Upcoming Events
In person
Works In Practice Muster 4
A new research collective at the University of Newcastle that aims to foster a supportive and collaborative community of practice.
News
News • 30 Mar 2022
Budget cuts to the Australian Human Rights Commission couldn’t have come at a worse time
The budget for Australia’s national human rights institution, the Australian Human Rights Commission, will fall significantly over the next four years.
News • 24 Mar 2022
Resourcing Youth-Led Peace Work: Commit to the Long Term and the Local
Since 2015, the global community has increasingly acknowledged the importance of youth leadership for the pursuit of sustainable peace. In an under-resourced and hyper-competitive landscape, promising youth-led programs are missing out.
News • 18 Mar 2022
Russia’s bombardment and Ukraine’s departure ban leave children and those with disabilities most vulnerable
Russia’s war on Ukraine is driving some of the most rapid movement of refugees ever seen. Its invasion and increasingly intense bombardment is generating a dire humanitarian crisis. Over 3 million people have fled across borders to Poland and other surrounding countries since February 24.
News • 08 Mar 2022
Why banning men from leaving Ukraine violates their human rights
As Ukraine scrambles to defend itself from Russia’s illegal invasion, men aged 18 to 60 have been banned from leaving the country.
News • 01 Mar 2022
The Centre for Law and Social Justice hosts first event!
The Centre for Law and Social Justice has hosted its first online event. The webinar titled, 'The Djokovic Visa Controversy, Human Rights and Australian Law,' took place on the 1st of March 2022.
News • 18 Feb 2022
Welcoming students from refugee backgrounds to study at Newcastle Law School
Newcastle Law School and the Centre for Law and Social Justice are celebrating the commencement of four new students of refugee background in the undergraduate Law program.
News • 16 Feb 2022
The Government's bid for an enhanced 'character test' is unnecessary
The Migration Amendment (Strengthening the Character Test) Bill will pass the House of Representatives by the end of this week. The bill would enhance the immigration minister’s powers to cancel the visas of people convicted of certain crimes.
News • 04 Feb 2022
The University of Newcastle Law School launches new Centre for Law and Social Justice
The Centre for Law and Social Justice, has started soft launch activities with its first panel event scheduled for 1st of March 2022.
News • 10 Jun 2021
Newcastle Law School is contributing to public debate on climate change
Given the scientific consensus that an urgent and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is required to avoid catastrophic environmental and economic consequences, Newcastle Law School encourages its students, alumni and staff to support efforts to promote immediate and sustained action t
News • 18 May 2021
Accountability and alleged war crimes, the Israel-Palestinian conflict
The latest outbreak of conflict in Gaza and Israel is escalating rapidly. Associate Professor Amy Maguire discusses why accountability for alleged war crimes is so hard to achieve in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
News • 15 Jan 2021
Pop-up legal clinic returns to support the Newcastle community
After a challenging 2020, the University of Newcastle Legal Centre’s pop-up clinic at Merewether beach is returning to offer free legal advice to individuals struggling with any law-related matters.
News • 03 Dec 2020
The ‘Torres Strait 8’ versus Australia: Law Professor delivers presentation at Human Rights Day
Purai member and University of Newcastle’s Law school Professor, Amy Maguire will talk about a world-first claim by Indigenous people which connects climate change impacts to human rights on Human Rights Day.
Past Events & Recordings
Next Steps for Human Rights Protection in Australia
On Monday 16 November 2024, The Australasian Human Rights Scholars' Network (AHRSN) hosted its inaugural event. The webinar explored proposed reforms to Australia's human rights system and offered insight into the Australian Human Rights Commission Free and Equal project, findings of a major parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s human rights system, and next steps for the reform agenda.
Justice Kirby Lecture
On Monday 29 July 2024, the Centre for Law and Social Justice hosted The Hon. Michael Kirby for a public lecture titled, 'What it is like being on the High Court of Australia' at Newcastle City Hall.
The Right to Education in Australia
On 22 February 2024, The Centre for Law and Social Justice in collaboration with the Human Rights Law Centre launched the 'Right to Education in Australia' report. The launch discusses the right to education, who is missing out on that right in the Australian context, and the difference a Human Rights Charter would make.
Human Rights & Climate Change
On Tuesday 8 August 2023, the Centre for Law and Social Justice hosted an online webinar with Dr Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart: Information Session
On 15 May 2023, The Centre for Law and Social Justice hosted an information session on the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The session explored the background and context to Constitutional recognition, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the Voice to Parliament. The session was led by Kishaya Delaney, a proud Wiradjuri woman.
The Human Rights of Young People
On 4 May 2023, the Centre for Law and Social Justice in collaboration with the Human Rights Law Centre hosted an online webinar exploring the challenges that young people face realising their human rights.
Compensation Owed to Victims of Alleged Australian War Crimes
On 28 April 2023, The Centre for Law and Social Justice hosted an online webinar exploring the reality of the legal, practical, and logistical issues in constructing state compensation schemes for war crimes. The webinar explored; legal problem solving, victim advocacy, and the tension between international and domestic law.
Wrongful Conviction & the Structural Analysis of Innocence Cases
On March 27 2023, The Centre for Law and Social Justice supported a seminar delivered by Dr. Makoto Ibusuki, Professor of Criminal Procedure Law at Seijo University, Tokyo. The seminar provided a comparative analysis of wrongful convictions and the structural analysis of innocence cases, using Japanese case examples.
Empowering Communities in a Context of Regulatory Capitalism and Capture
On 28 March 2023, The Centre for Law and Social Justice supported a seminar exploring the practical concepts and application of a multidisciplinary regulatory capture test synthesised by Dr Tony Brown. The test provides communities and others with a better ‘real world’ appreciation of the symptoms and impact of the systemic and intensifying infiltration of private commercial interests into the alleged impartial, transparent and objective government-based legal framework, the determinative processes and supporting narrative.
Medicare in Prisons: Lobbying for reforms in custodial healthcare
On 5 December 2022, the Centre for Law and Social Justice supported a round-table event discussing the need for Medicare in prisons. Most people are surprised to hear that incarcerated people lack access to Medicare, Australia’s ‘universal’ health care system. The lack of Medicare access causes many issues not only for people in prison themselves, but also for the general community.
The International Criminal Court in Ukraine and Georgia
On 29 November 2022, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Aloka Wanigasuriya reflected on the findings of their PhD thesis titled ‘The Impact Conundrum: The International Criminal Court and the Impact of its Interventions in Georgia and Ukraine’, which was successfully defended in May 2022. The webinar focused on the ICC’s continued impact in the two countries and how these two situations may have an impact on the Court and the larger international criminal justice project.
The Russia-Ukraine War: Contemporary Developments and Challenges
On 17 October 2022, a panel of experts explored issues connected to the armed conflict including the recent case initiated by Ukraine at the International Court of Justice (ICJ): Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation) and accountability efforts for the alleged international crimes committed during the Russia-Ukraine war from an International Criminal Law and Ukrainian perspective.
World Day Against the Death Penalty
Who Is Missing out on The Right To Health?
On the 27 September 2022, in collaboration with the Human Rights Law Centre, a panel of experts discussed the right to health. Learn more about how a Charter of Human Rights can make a difference.
Michael Kirby Public Lecture: Russia, Ukraine and the Peoples' Right of Self Determination.
On the 5th of May 2022, The Honourable Michael Kirby hosted a public lecture at Newcastle Law School titled, 'Russia, Ukraine and the Peoples' Right of Self Determination.' The thought provoking speech had three central thematic areas.
International Human Rights Law - Lessons in the Era of COVID-19
On the 23rd of May 2022, a panel of international human rights experts explored rights of vulnerable individuals and communities who have experienced disproportionate impacts from both the pandemic itself and measures that constrain the exercise of human rights.
Legal Practice for First Nations Rights
On the 12th of May 2022, a panel of legal experts discussed the diversity of legal practice for First Nations Rights exploring themes such as intellectual property, Native Title, criminal and civil law and public interest advocacy.
The Djokovic Visa Controversy, Human Rights and Australian Law
On the 1st of March 2022, an eminent panel of legal experts explored the legal controversies emerging from the cancellation of Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa. Learn more about the ‘godlike’ powers of the Immigration minister, Australia’s immigration and border policies, expedited access to courts and the relationship between sport and human rights in Australia.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.