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Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh

Associate Professor

School of Law
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 52218

Overview

Associate Professor Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is a constitutional law scholar and Editor of the University of Queensland Law Journal at the TC Beirne School of Law. Her research focuses on courts, national security and press freedom and she has published widely in these fields, including more than 25 journal articles, two edited collections and a monograph. Her present research focuses on the nature of courts under the Constitution, and the protection of press freedom.

Rebecca's research in national security, press freedom and fair trial principles has been recognised in an Academy of Social Sciences in Australia’s Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research and a UQ BEL Faculty award. Her book 'The Tim Carmody Affair: Australia's Greatest Judicial Crisis' (co-authored with Profs Gabrielle Appleby and Andrew Lynch), was shortlisted for a Queensland Literary Award and her Sydney Law Review article 'The Inherent Jurisdiction of Courts and the Fair Trial' has been shortlisted for the 2020 Article of the Year in the Australian Legal Research Awards.

Prior to joining UQ, Rebecca held positions at UNSW Law with the Laureate Fellowship Project 'Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge' and the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law's Terrorism & Law Project, as a litigation solicitor at DLA Piper, and as a legal officer with the Federal Attorney-General's Department.

Research Interests

  • National Security Law and Policy
  • Courts and judges
    The judicial branch, fair trial rights, open justice, and the interpretation and application of Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
  • Press freedom
    Particular focuses on the impact of counter-terrorism and national security law on press freedom, including: source protection, data privacy, the 'chilling effect', law enforcement and intelligence powers, and options for maximising both security and democracy.

Research Impacts

Rebecca contributes to the development of constitutional law, institutional integrity and academia through involvement in numerous committees. Her present positions include:

  • Council of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law;
  • Australian Judicial Officers Association Inaugural Standing Committee on Judicial Independence;
  • Centre for Public Integrity, Accountability Institutions Committee; and
  • The inaugural Executive Committee of the SHAPE Futures Network (a joint initiative of the Australian Academies of the Humanities and Social Sciences to support early and mid-career researchers).

Rebecca writes regularly for The Conversation, has given evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Australian Law Reform Commission and other federal and state inquiries, and has contributed to numerous submissions to government with respect to national security and constitutional issues.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Wollongong
  • Bachelor of Law Honours, University of Wollongong
  • Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, University of Wollongong
  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • Preventive Justice and Cyber-Surveillance

    Master Philosophy

  • A Critical Analysis of the Deployment of Indonesian Military Forces in Domestic Counterterrorism Operations

    Doctor Philosophy

  • An Examination and Reconsideration of Fair Collection under the Australian Privacy Act in the Context of Retail Analytics and Big Data

    Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Constitutional Law

    Potential projects may concern:

    • Courts, Tribunals and Judges
    • Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
    • The separation of powers
    • Judicial and Non-Judicial Detention and Sanctions
    • Jurisdiction
    • Procedural fairness and due process
    • Implied rights and freedoms
    • Constitutional theory and interpretation

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

  • National security law

    Potential projects may concern:

    • Public law and human rights challenges presented by national security law
    • The migration, normalisation and impacts of national security laws

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

  • Press Freedom

    Potential projects may include:

    • Legal protections and threats to press freedom, including by national security law and policy

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

View all Available Projects

Publications

Featured Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Journalism on Ice - National Security Laws and The Chilling Effect in Australian Journalism

    Murray, Richard, Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Greste, Peter (2021). Journalism on Ice - National Security Laws and The Chilling Effect in Australian Journalism. Counter-Terrorism Laws and Freedom of Expression: Global Perspectives. (pp. 295-317) edited by Workneh, Tewodros and Haridakis, Paul. Lanham, MD United States: Lexington Books.

  • Counter-terrorism and the exclusion of refugees and refugee-citizens from Australia

    Billings, Peter and Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2020). Counter-terrorism and the exclusion of refugees and refugee-citizens from Australia. Terrorism and asylum. (pp. 175-214) edited by James C. Simeon. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Nijhoff. doi: 10.1163/9789004295995_008

  • A fair trial for accused terrorists

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). A fair trial for accused terrorists. The legal protection of rights in Australia. (pp. 313-333) edited by Matthew Groves, Janina Boughey and Dan Meagher. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing. doi: 10.5040/9781509919857.ch-016

  • Crimmigration-counterterrorism in the war on foreign terrorist fighters

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2019). Crimmigration-counterterrorism in the war on foreign terrorist fighters. Crimmigration in Australia: law, politics and society. (pp. 173-195) edited by Peter Billings. Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-9093-7_8

  • National security: a hegemonic constitutional value?

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and McGarrity, Nicola (2018). National security: a hegemonic constitutional value?. Australian constitutional values. (pp. 267-286) edited by Rosalind Dixon. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

  • If at first you don't succeed...: effectiveness and the evolution of preventive organised crime measures

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2017). If at first you don't succeed...: effectiveness and the evolution of preventive organised crime measures. Regulating preventive justice: principle, policy and paradox. (pp. 177-194) edited by Tamara Tulich, Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Simon Bronitt and Sarah Murray. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315620978-10

  • Introduction

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Introduction. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 1-6) edited by Crowe, Jonathan and Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca. New South Wales: Federation Press.

  • Judicial independence in an age of terror

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2016). Judicial independence in an age of terror. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 241-254) edited by Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and Jonathan Crowe. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press.

  • State judges as lieutenant-governors

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Williams, George (2016). State judges as lieutenant-governors. Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. (pp. 194-207) edited by Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and Jonathan Crowe. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press.

  • Secrecy, procedural fairness and state courts

    Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2015). Secrecy, procedural fairness and state courts. Secrecy, law and society. (pp. 120-135) edited by Greg Martin, Rebecca Scott Bray and Miiko Kumar. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

  • Anti-terror preventive detention and the independent judiciary

    Welsh, Rebecca (2013). Anti-terror preventive detention and the independent judiciary. Preventive detention: asking the fundamental questions. (pp. 137-158) edited by Patrick Keyzer. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Intersentia.

  • Secrecy and control orders: the role and vulnerability of constitutional values in Australia and the United Kingdom

    Lynch, Andrew, Tulich, Tamara and Welsh, Rebecca (2013). Secrecy and control orders: the role and vulnerability of constitutional values in Australia and the United Kingdom. Secrecy, national security, and the vindication of constitutional law. (pp. 154-172) edited by David Cole, Federico Fabbrini and Arianna Vedaschi. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781781953860.00018

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Preventive Justice and Cyber-Surveillance

    Master Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • A Critical Analysis of the Deployment of Indonesian Military Forces in Domestic Counterterrorism Operations

    Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • An Examination and Reconsideration of Fair Collection under the Australian Privacy Act in the Context of Retail Analytics and Big Data

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • The Nature of Constitutions: A Theory of Genuine and Pseudo Constitutions

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Representative Democracy and Political Constitutionalism in Practice: Opposition to Indigenous Representative Bodies in Australia

    Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Constitutional Law

    Potential projects may concern:

    • Courts, Tribunals and Judges
    • Chapter III of the Australian Constitution
    • The separation of powers
    • Judicial and Non-Judicial Detention and Sanctions
    • Jurisdiction
    • Procedural fairness and due process
    • Implied rights and freedoms
    • Constitutional theory and interpretation

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

  • National security law

    Potential projects may concern:

    • Public law and human rights challenges presented by national security law
    • The migration, normalisation and impacts of national security laws

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

  • Press Freedom

    Potential projects may include:

    • Legal protections and threats to press freedom, including by national security law and policy

    For further information contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, e: rebecca.aw@law.uq.edu.au

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Constitutional Law, National Security Law, Public Law, courts, Press freedom, counter-terrorism, judges, human rights

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ORCID: 0000-0002-6624-9189

Personal Profile: Link

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