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Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh
Dr

Rebecca Ananian-Welsh

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 52218

Overview

Background

Associate Professor Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is a constitutional law scholar, Executive Director of Public Law with the Centre for Public International and Comparative Law (CPICL), and Chief Editor of the University of Queensland Law Journal. Her research focuses on courts, national security and press freedom and she has published widely in these fields, including more than 25 journal articles and 4 books. At present, she is pursuing research projects around: the nature and future of courts; the intersections between the press, government and security; and the meaning of 'terrorist act' - all while watching and waiting for the latest case on the separation of judicial power.

Rebecca has been a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and is an Honorary Senior Fellow at Melbourne Law School. Prior to joining UQ, She 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 with global law firm DLA Piper, and as a legal officer with the Federal Attorney-General's Department Canberra.

Availability

Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is:
Not available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

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

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's research has been cited by the High Court and Federal Court of Australia, and has been recognised in numerous Faculty and School awards, as well as in an Academy of Social Sciences in Australia Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research. 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' was shortlisted for the 2020 Article of the Year in the Australian Legal Research Awards.

Rebecca is dedicated to community engagement and impact, and has held positions with organisations including:

  • Australian Association of Constitutional Law National Executive Council and Queensland Chapter Committee.
  • Australian Judicial Officers Association Inaugural Standing Committee on Judicial Independence;
  • Centre for Public Integrity, Accountability Institutions and Transparency Committees.

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.

Works

Search Professor Rebecca Ananian-Welsh’s works on UQ eSpace

69 works between 2011 and 2025

1 - 20 of 69 works

Featured

2017

Book

Regulating preventive justice: principle, policy and paradox

Tamara Tulich, Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Simon Bronitt and Sarah Murray eds. (2017). Regulating preventive justice: principle, policy and paradox. New York: Routledge.

Regulating preventive justice: principle, policy and paradox

Featured

2016

Book

Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions

Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and Jonathan Crowe eds. (2016). Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions. Annandale, Australia: Federation Press.

Judicial independence in Australia: contemporary challenges, future directions

Featured

2015

Journal Article

Preventative detention orders and the separation of judicial power

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2015). Preventative detention orders and the separation of judicial power. University of New South Wales Law Journal, 38 (2), 756-791.

Preventative detention orders and the separation of judicial power

Featured

2015

Journal Article

Kuczborski v Queensland and the Scope of the Kable Doctrine

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2015). Kuczborski v Queensland and the Scope of the Kable Doctrine. University of Queensland Law Journal, 34 (1), 47-71.

Kuczborski v Queensland and the Scope of the Kable Doctrine

Featured

2014

Journal Article

The new terrorists: The normalisation and spread of anti-terror laws in Australia

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Williams, George (2014). The new terrorists: The normalisation and spread of anti-terror laws in Australia. Melbourne University Law Review, 38 (2), 362-408.

The new terrorists: The normalisation and spread of anti-terror laws in Australia

Featured

2012

Journal Article

A path to purposive formalism: interpreting Chapter III for judicial independence and impartiality

Welsh, Rebecca (2012). A path to purposive formalism: interpreting Chapter III for judicial independence and impartiality. Monash University Law Review, 39 (1), 66-105.

A path to purposive formalism: interpreting Chapter III for judicial independence and impartiality

2025

Journal Article

A new era in administrative power over undeportable migrants

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2025, 01 17). A new era in administrative power over undeportable migrants Border Criminologies

A new era in administrative power over undeportable migrants

2024

Conference Publication

Federalismo e a Separação do Poder Judiciário Federal / Federalism and the Separation of Federal Judicial Power

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2024). Federalismo e a Separação do Poder Judiciário Federal / Federalism and the Separation of Federal Judicial Power. Federalismo Comparado: Austrália e Brasil / Comparative Federalism: Australia and Brazil, Online, 3 October 2024.

Federalismo e a Separação do Poder Judiciário Federal / Federalism and the Separation of Federal Judicial Power

2024

Conference Publication

Benbrika II, Jones and Punishment by Post- Conviction Citizenship Revocation

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2024). Benbrika II, Jones and Punishment by Post- Conviction Citizenship Revocation. Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law Constitutional Law Conference, Gilbert + Tobin Lawyers, Sydney, Australia, 9 February 2024.

Benbrika II, Jones and Punishment by Post- Conviction Citizenship Revocation

2024

Book

Blackshield and Williams Australian constitutional law and theory: commentary and materials

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca, Brennan, Sean, Lynch, Andrew, Stephenson, Peta and Williams, George (2024). Blackshield and Williams Australian constitutional law and theory: commentary and materials. 8th ed. Alexandria, NSW, Australia: The Federation Press.

Blackshield and Williams Australian constitutional law and theory: commentary and materials

2024

Book Chapter

The separation of judicial power and national security

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2024). The separation of judicial power and national security. National Security Law in Australia. (pp. 76-93) edited by Danielle Ireland-Piper. Sydney, NSW, Australia: The Federation Press.

The separation of judicial power and national security

2024

Conference Publication

Updates and trends in Australian national security law (Panel 2: legal updates on Indonesia's new criminal code: implications for legal frameworks and justice systems)

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2024). Updates and trends in Australian national security law (Panel 2: legal updates on Indonesia's new criminal code: implications for legal frameworks and justice systems). The Legal Updates Conference, Jakarta, Indonesia, 13 November 2024.

Updates and trends in Australian national security law (Panel 2: legal updates on Indonesia's new criminal code: implications for legal frameworks and justice systems)

2023

Other Outputs

David McBride is facing jailtime for helping reveal alleged war crimes. Will it end whistleblowing in Australia?

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2023, 11 20). David McBride is facing jailtime for helping reveal alleged war crimes. Will it end whistleblowing in Australia? The Conversation

David McBride is facing jailtime for helping reveal alleged war crimes. Will it end whistleblowing in Australia?

2023

Conference Publication

AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (What is a Matter?)

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2023). AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (What is a Matter?). Constitutional Law Speed Dating: Four Cases in Forty Minutes, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 8 November 2023.

AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (What is a Matter?)

2023

Conference Publication

AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (what is a matter?)

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2023). AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (what is a matter?). Constitutional law speed dating: four cases in forty minutes, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 8 November 2023.

AZC20 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (what is a matter?)

2023

Other Outputs

Is a terrorist’s win in the High Court bad for national security? Not necessarily

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2023, 11 02). Is a terrorist’s win in the High Court bad for national security? Not necessarily The Conversation

Is a terrorist’s win in the High Court bad for national security? Not necessarily

2023

Conference Publication

What is a Court? (And why do constitutional lawyers care so much?)

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2023). What is a Court? (And why do constitutional lawyers care so much?). The International Society of Public Law 9th Annual Conference, Wellington, New Zealand, 3-5 July 2023.

What is a Court? (And why do constitutional lawyers care so much?)

2023

Other Outputs

Submission on the Review into the Operation and Effectiveness of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth)

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Whitsed, William (2023). Submission on the Review into the Operation and Effectiveness of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth). https://www.inslm.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/7-dr-rebecca-ananian-welsh-and-william-whitsed.pdf: INSLM.

Submission on the Review into the Operation and Effectiveness of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth)

2023

Other Outputs

Submission on the Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023

Ananian-Walsh, Rebecca, Billings, Peter, Cassimatis Am, Anthony, Larkin, Dani and Lino, Dylan (2023). Submission on the Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023 . Submission Number 77. Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum .

Submission on the Constitutional Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023

2023

Journal Article

Protecting the Press from Search and Seizure: Comparative Lessons for the Australian Reform Agenda

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Bosland, Jason (2023). Protecting the Press from Search and Seizure: Comparative Lessons for the Australian Reform Agenda. Melbourne University Law Review, 46 (3), 602-655.

Protecting the Press from Search and Seizure: Comparative Lessons for the Australian Reform Agenda

Funding

Past funding

  • 2019 - 2024
    Journalistic Freedom in Australia
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2017
    A fair go: Achieving fair process in Australian courts
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Immigration Detention & The Separation of Powers: A First Principles Approach to Improved Governance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Peter Billings

  • Doctor Philosophy

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

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Rain Liivoja

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Responsive Informality in Australian State and Territory Combined-Jurisdiction Tribunals

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Anthony Cassimatis, Professor Rick Bigwood

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Informality in State and Territory Combined Jurisdiction Tribunals

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Anthony Cassimatis, Professor Rick Bigwood

  • Master Philosophy

    Preventive Justice and Cyber-Surveillance

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Wallis

  • Doctor Philosophy

    A National Indigenous Representative Body in Australia: Reception and Rejection of an Enduring Institutional Concept

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Dylan Lino, Professor Graeme Orr

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh directly for media enquiries about:

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

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au