Dr Mirella Atherton

Mirella specialises in Banking and Finance Law. While advocating for changes that benefit everyone in the community she calls on experience as a volunteer for the Criminal Justice Support Network who assist intellectually disabled people at police stations and at courts. Her current projects include:

Privacy of financial data

Micro decisions that consumers make can be factors in financial records that weigh against them. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is involved in ongoing regulatory enforcement across Australia to reign in unconscionable conduct involving consumers. To increase transparency it is clear that multiple organisations need to collaborate to develop effective consumer protection laws and complementary policies. Mirella's research conducts an innovative and much needed investigation into the legal factors involved in maintaining data privacy.

Gaming and Gambling with credit and other forms of currency

The online gaming and gambling industry has been harnessing the power of immense data sets to drive effective, targeted marketing. Transactional data which is collected through the interactions with websites and platforms provides detailed behavioural insights, allowing a granular digital profile to be constructed for each customer. Data is a powerful tool when utilised by operators to optimise each step of the experience through the use of so-called ‘nudges’. 

Buy Now Pay Later

The Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products are rapidly growing in popularity. Rising costs of living means that BNPL offer consumers an easier way to make purchases. There is a concern that the use of this payment option could lead to consumers spending money they don’t have, incurring financial consequences for choices that they make and spiralling into a debt cycle. Protecting consumers from financial harm without restricting access to new financial technology is a delicate balance. The recent update to the law for BNPL products mean that BNPL is regulated in line with the way other credit products like credit cards are regulated.

Digital scams

While all demographics are vulnerable to scams, the ACCC noted that:
Older people suffered the greatest harm at the hands of scammers. People over the age of 65 were the only age group to experience an increase in reported losses. All other age groups reported a decrease in losses. People over the age of 65 were disproportionately impacted by investment scams. Many reported significant losses to scams resulting from contact initiated on social media.

Cryptocurrency

Digital currencies now allow payments to be made directly to another person online, anonymously, anywhere in the world utilising encryption and bypassing the banking sector. These transactions effectively execute themselves when specified events occur and this raises the question of how these contracts could be adjudicated or varied in the case that a dispute arises. This fast-moving area of financial technology presents risks for consumers and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) media release stated:
Australians reported losing at least $180 million of cryptocurrency in investment scams in just 12 months, with victims now more likely to be under the age of 50 years. 

Financial Crime

An Australian perspective of financial crime dates back in history to the 1800’s and includes new and emerging financial crimes that are rising in the current digital era. Financial crimes such as basic theft, fraud, extortion, money laundering and large-scale criminal operations demonstrate that it is a niche area that is rapidly changing and rising in the digital era. The dark web is the part of the internet that requires specific software or authorisation to access. It is infamous for being a hub for illegal activities and criminal transactions without the risk of being tracked or identified. 

Human simulations helping to solve legal problems

Virtual learning environments have been recognised as an area of particular importance to improve desirable learning behaviours, enhance student experiences and improve student retention. As many of the new generation of law students are technologically savy, launching avatars encourages them to be engaged in learning and develop as work ready graduates. Avatar use in educational contexts is still in its early stage of development and Mirella leads a small team in developing new applications for avatars.

Mirella is available to co-supervise PhD research projects.