![Professor Graeme Orr](/sites/default/files/profiles/1781.jpeg)
Overview
Background
The law of politics, in particular electoral law, is Professor Graeme Orr's primary research expertise. He has authored The Law of Politics (1st edn 2010, 2nd edn 2019) and Ritual and Rhythm in Electoral Systems (2015), co-authored The Law of Deliberative Democracy (2016), co-edited Realising Democracy (2003), Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects (2011) and The Cambridge Handbook of Deliberative Constitutionalism (2018) and edited 3 symposia on the law of politics. His doctoral thesis explored the nature and regulation of electoral bribery. In the field of the law of politics, he does consultancy and pro bono work, and regular media commentary. Graeme has published over 100 commentary pieces in both the traditional press and online outlets.
Graeme has also published extensively in labour law, the law of negligence and on issues of language and law. Currently he is the legal adviser on the NSW Electoral Commission’s iVote panel and was recently part of the Australian Republican Movement’s Constitutional Advisory Board that drafted a model for an elected Head of State.
An Associate to two judges in the Federal Court of Australia and solicitor of the Queensland Supreme Court, prior to joining UQ Graeme was also an Associate Professor at Griffith University, where he taught for 13 years. In recent times he has been international editor of the Election Law Journal and board member of the Australian Journal of Labour Law. He was formerly managing editor of the Griffith Law Review, columnist with the Alternative Law Journal on sport's links to law, and employment law columnist with the Australian Journal of Administrative Law. He currently authors the entry on Australia for The Annual Register, a 257 year old almanac of world affairs.
He has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law (2014) and the Australian Academy of Social Sciences (2020).
Availability
- Professor Graeme Orr is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Law, The University of Queensland
- Masters (Coursework) of Law, University College London
- Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Griffith University
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Research interests
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Law of politics: parliamentary law and electoral law
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Non-instrumental approaches to Law and Politics (ritual, symbols, language)
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Labour and employment law
Works
Search Professor Graeme Orr’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2019
Journal Article
Is My Foreign Yours? The Concept of Foreignness in the Regulation of Political Finance
Orr, Graeme (2019). Is My Foreign Yours? The Concept of Foreignness in the Regulation of Political Finance. Representation: Journal of Representative Democracy, 55 (2) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00344893.2019.1645038, 179-195. doi: 10.1080/00344893.2019.1645038
Featured
2019
Book
The law of politics: elections, parties and money in Australia
Orr, Graeme (2019). The law of politics: elections, parties and money in Australia. 2nd ed. Leichhardt, N.S.W., Australia: Federation Press.
Featured
2018
Book
The Cambridge handbook of deliberative constitutionalism
Ron Levy, Hoi Kong, Graeme Orr and Jeff King eds. (2018). The Cambridge handbook of deliberative constitutionalism. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108289474
Featured
2016
Book
The law of deliberative democracy
Levy, Ron and Orr, Graeme (2016). The law of deliberative democracy. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315890159
Featured
2015
Book
Ritual and rhythm in electoral systems: a comparative legal account
Orr, Graeme (2015). Ritual and rhythm in electoral systems: a comparative legal account. Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom: Ashgate. doi: 10.4324/9781315606620
2024
Journal Article
An election-funding first, but at what cost?
Orr, Graeme (2024). An election-funding first, but at what cost?. Inside Story.
2024
Book Chapter
Australia
Orr, Graeme (2024). Australia. The annual register: world events 2023. (pp. 356-358) Ann Arbor, MI, United States: ProQuest.
2023
Book
Special Voting Arrangements: The International IDEA Handbook
Barrat, Jordi, Ellis, Andrew, Orr, Graeme, Vashchanka, Vasil and Wolf, Peter (2023). Special Voting Arrangements: The International IDEA Handbook. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). doi: 10.31752/idea.2023.84
2023
Journal Article
Hot country, frozen document: Would voluntary voting on referendum proposals help thaw the Constitution?
Orr, Graeme (2023). Hot country, frozen document: Would voluntary voting on referendum proposals help thaw the Constitution?. Inside Story.
2023
Journal Article
Referendum turnout: compulsory or voluntary?
Orr, Graeme (2023). Referendum turnout: compulsory or voluntary?. King's Law Journal, 34 (2), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/09615768.2023.2245120
2023
Journal Article
The Voice is a simple and enduring idea with a past - and a promise
Fox, Laurel, Larkin, Dani and Orr, Graeme (2023, 08 04). The Voice is a simple and enduring idea with a past - and a promise The Conversation
2023
Journal Article
The Voice as Politics
Fox, Laurel and Orr, Graeme (2023). The Voice as Politics. Public Law Review, 34 (2), 129-138.
2023
Conference Publication
Cohesive or divided: federalism and the demos in the pandemic
Orr, Graeme (2023). Cohesive or divided: federalism and the demos in the pandemic. Islands and Oceans: Public Law in a Plural World (iCON-S 2023 International Conference), Wellington, New Zealand, 3-5 July 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Citizens or denizens: nationality, residency and the right to vote
Orr, Graeme (2023). Citizens or denizens: nationality, residency and the right to vote. Islands and Ocean: Public Law in a Plural World (2023 iCON-S International Conference), Wellington, New Zealand, 3-5 July 2023.
2023
Book Chapter
Elections as rituals
Orr, Graeme (2023). Elections as rituals. Routledge handbook of election law. (pp. 101-111) edited by David Schultz and Jurij Toplak. Oxford, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429401800-9
2023
Other Outputs
Proposed spending and donations caps may at last bring genuine reform to national election rules
Orr, Graeme (2023, 06 20). Proposed spending and donations caps may at last bring genuine reform to national election rules The Conversation
2023
Book Chapter
Australia
Orr, Graeme (2023). Australia. The Annual Register: World Events 2022. (pp. 359-361) edited by D.S. Lewis and Wendy Slater. Ann Arbor, MI, United States: ProQuest.
2023
Journal Article
'King Oath
Orr, Graeme (2023). 'King Oath. Inside Story.
2022
Conference Publication
Citizens or Denizens: Defining the Right to Vote
Orr, Graeme (2022). Citizens or Denizens: Defining the Right to Vote. 7th Biennial Electoral Regulation Research Network Workshop, Canberra, ACT Australia, 8-9 December 2022.
2022
Journal Article
It’s my party: the enforceability of political party rules
Orr, Graeme (2022). It’s my party: the enforceability of political party rules. Alternative Law Journal, 47 (4), 248-252. doi: 10.1177/1037969x221132303
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Graeme Orr is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Representative Democracy and Political Constitutionalism in Practice: Opposition to Indigenous Representative Bodies in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Dr Dylan Lino
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Doctor Philosophy
Proposed PhD - Disability within the judiciary: An analysis of the barriers for lawyers with visual disabilities to be appointed to the judicial branch of government in New Zealand and Australia.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Paul Harpur
Completed supervision
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2023
Master Philosophy
Forward with fairness: conceptualising just transition for Australian labour law and the coal-fired power generation industry
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Justine Bell-James
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Securing Freedom of Information in Vietnamese Government and Law
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Billings
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Constitutional Transformations: Failure and Opportunity in Post-Independence South Sudan
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Caitlin Goss
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Locating the Public in Australian Public Enterprise: Reinforcing the Public Objectives and Public Accountability of Australian Government-Owned Businesses
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ross Grantham
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
A Government for a Sovereign People: The Expectations and Intentions of the Framers of the Australian Constitution regarding Responsible Government
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Nicholas Aroney
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Graeme Orr directly for media enquiries about:
- constitutional law
- Employment and labour law
- Language and law
- Law of elections
- Law of politics
- Political Parties and Finance
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