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Professor Graeme Orr
Professor

Graeme Orr

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 53014

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

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

  • Law of politics: parliamentary law and electoral law

  • Non-instrumental approaches to Law and Politics (ritual, symbols, language)

  • Labour and employment law

Works

Search Professor Graeme Orr’s works on UQ eSpace

226 works between 1995 and 2024

141 - 160 of 226 works

2011

Book Chapter

Justifications for regulating party affairs: Competition not public funding

Orr, Graeme (2011). Justifications for regulating party affairs: Competition not public funding. The funding of political parties: Where now?. (pp. 245-260) edited by Keith Ewing, Jacob Rowbottom and Joo-Cheong Tham. Abingdon, England, U.K.: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203802939-23

Justifications for regulating party affairs: Competition not public funding

2011

Book

Electoral democracy: Australian prospects

Joo-Cheong Tham, Brian Costar and Graeme Orr eds. (2011). Electoral democracy: Australian prospects. Carlton, VIC, Australia: Melbourne University Press.

Electoral democracy: Australian prospects

2011

Journal Article

Political daze: 2010 election diaries

Orr, Graeme (2011). Political daze: 2010 election diaries. Alternative Law Journal, 36 (2), 137-138.

Political daze: 2010 election diaries

2011

Book Chapter

Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects

Tham, Joo-Cheong, Costar, Brian and Orr, Graeme (2011). Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects. Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects. (pp. xi-xvii) edited by Tham, Joo Cheong, Costar, Brian and Orr, Graeme. Australia: Melbourne University Press.

Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects

2011

Journal Article

Paid parental leave: welfare or workplace right?

Orr, Graeme (2011). Paid parental leave: welfare or workplace right?. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 18 (4), 193-197.

Paid parental leave: welfare or workplace right?

2011

Journal Article

Compulsory voting: Elections, not referendums

Orr, Graeme (2011). Compulsory voting: Elections, not referendums. Pandora's Box, 18, 19-30.

Compulsory voting: Elections, not referendums

2011

Other Outputs

Modernising the Electoral Act: legislative form and judicial role

Orr, Graeme (2011). Modernising the Electoral Act: legislative form and judicial role. Sydney, NSW, Australia: NSW Electoral Commission.

Modernising the Electoral Act: legislative form and judicial role

2011

Book Chapter

Legal conceptions of political parties: through the lens of anti-discrimination law

Orr, Graeme (2011). Legal conceptions of political parties: through the lens of anti-discrimination law. Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects. (pp. 120-139) edited by Joo-Cheong Costar, Tham Brian and Graeme Orr. Carlton, Vic., Australia: Melbourne University Press.

Legal conceptions of political parties: through the lens of anti-discrimination law

2010

Journal Article

Public money and electioneering: A view from across the Tasman

Orr, Graeme (2010). Public money and electioneering: A view from across the Tasman. Policy Quarterly, 6 (3), 21-25.

Public money and electioneering: A view from across the Tasman

2010

Journal Article

The Australian Experience of Electoral Bribery: Dealing in Electoral Support

Orr, Graeme (2010). The Australian Experience of Electoral Bribery: Dealing in Electoral Support. Australian Journal of Politics and History, 56 (2), 225-241. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2010.01551.x

The Australian Experience of Electoral Bribery: Dealing in Electoral Support

2010

Journal Article

Academics and the media

Orr, Graeme (2010). Academics and the media. Australian Universities' Review, 52 (1), 23-31.

Academics and the media

2010

Journal Article

A fetishised gift: the legal status of flags

Orr, Graeme (2010). A fetishised gift: the legal status of flags. Griffith Law Review, 19 (3), 504-526. doi: 10.1080/10383441.2010.10854686

A fetishised gift: the legal status of flags

2010

Conference Publication

Voting preferences? The legal consequences of the alternative vote (AV or IRV)

Orr, Graeme and Ewing, K. D. (2010). Voting preferences? The legal consequences of the alternative vote (AV or IRV). World Congress of the International Association of Constitutional Law, Mexico City, Mexico, 6-10 December 2010. Pretoria, S.A.: International Association of Constitutional Law (IACL); Instituto de Investigacciones Juridicas de la UNAM.

Voting preferences? The legal consequences of the alternative vote (AV or IRV)

2010

Journal Article

Natural justice in dismissals

Orr, Graeme (2010). Natural justice in dismissals. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 18 (1), 14-19.

Natural justice in dismissals

2010

Book

The law of politics: Elections, parties and money in Australia

Orr, Graeme (2010). The law of politics: Elections, parties and money in Australia. Annandale, N.S.W., Australia: The Federation Press.

The law of politics: Elections, parties and money in Australia

2009

Journal Article

The Fair Work Act and other names of shame

Orr, Graeme and Tham, Joo-Cheong (2009). The Fair Work Act and other names of shame. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 16 (3), 74-76.

The Fair Work Act and other names of shame

2009

Journal Article

Work and employment

Orr, Graeme and Tham, Joo-Cheong (2009). Work and employment. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 16 (4), 196-199.

Work and employment

2009

Journal Article

Electoral malapportionment: Partisanship, rhetoric and reform in the shadow of the agrarian strong-man

Orr, Graeme and Levy, Ron (2009). Electoral malapportionment: Partisanship, rhetoric and reform in the shadow of the agrarian strong-man. Griffith Law Review, 18 (3), 638-665. doi: 10.1080/10854659.2009.10854659

Electoral malapportionment: Partisanship, rhetoric and reform in the shadow of the agrarian strong-man

2009

Conference Publication

Spin Doctoring in Legislative Titles

Orr, Graeme (2009). Spin Doctoring in Legislative Titles. Faculty Seminar, UCLA Law School, 30 Nov 2009.

Spin Doctoring in Legislative Titles

2009

Journal Article

The people's choice: The prisoner franchise and the Constitutional protection of voting rights in Australia

Orr, Graeme and Williams, George (2009). The people's choice: The prisoner franchise and the Constitutional protection of voting rights in Australia. Election Law Journal, 8 (2), 123-139. doi: 10.1089/elj.2008.0016

The people's choice: The prisoner franchise and the Constitutional protection of voting rights in Australia

Funding

Past funding

  • 2017
    Comprehensive free access to Australian industrial and workplace law (ARC LIEF project administered by University of Technology Sydney)
    University of Technology Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2015
    The Law of Deliberative Democracy: Theory and Reform
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    Dollars and Democracy: The dynamics of Australian political finance and its regulation (ARC Discovery Project Administered by The University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant

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

  • 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

  • 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

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

Need help?

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

communications@uq.edu.au