Overview
Background
Dr Peter Billings is a Professor at the School of Law, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His research interests are in particular areas of public law: administrative law, immigration and refugee law, social welfare law and human rights law. In 2016 he received an Australian Award for University Teaching - Award for Programs that Enhance Learning (Pro Bono Centre). Since 2010 he has received five teaching excellence awards within the School of Law for outstanding course/teacher evaluations, and in 2011 was awarded the Vice Chancellor's Equity and Diversity Award (UQ) for the Asylum and Refugee Law Project.
Recently, he has published several papers on 'crImmigration' law, policy and practice in Australia, including a chapter, "International crimes, refugee 'prisoner' swaps and duplicity in Australia's refugee admissions", in J Simeon (ed) Serious International Crimes, Human Rights and Forced Migration (Routledge, 2022). And he authored chapter one in his own edited collection, Regulating Refugee Protection through Social Welfare: Law, Policy and Praxis (Routledge, 2023). Most recently, he has authored a chapter on the corrosive effect of immigration detention laws on officialdom, in M Peterie, Immigration Detention and Social Harm: The Collateral Impacts of Migrant Incarceration (Routledge) forthcoming.
Availability
- Professor Peter Billings is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Law, University of Southampton
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Southampton
Research interests
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Refugee Law
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Crimmigration
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Administrative Law
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Administrative Justice
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Social Welfare Law
Research impacts
Peter's submission, on migration law reform, to the Australian Law Reform Commission for its project, Where next for law reform?, was cited in the final report: The Future of Law Reform: A Suggesdted Program of Work 2020-25, published on 2 December 2019. His submission to the Inquiry into a Possible Human Rights Act for Queensland: written submission no 468, Report No. 30, 55th Parliament, Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee (June 2016). was cited on several occasions in the final parliamentary committee report. His written submission (with A/Prof Cassimatis) to the Administrative Review Council: Judicial Review in Australia, Administrative Review Council (Consultation Paper - Administrative Review Council, Canberra, ARC 2011) was cited throughout the ARC Report (No.50), Federal Judicial Review in Australia Sept. 2012. His research into crimmigration law and policy informed an expert panel discussion held at the Queensland Supreme Court (Banco Court) - "Unlawful Non-citizens: the Rise in Character Visa Cancellations" (Oct 5, 2017) chaired by Paul Barclay for ABC Radio National. The discussion was aired on on 8 December 2017. He regularly provides expert legal commentary on radio and features in print and online media; most recently in The Guardian (Australia) in May and September 2019.
Works
Search Professor Peter Billings’s works on UQ eSpace
2019
Book Chapter
Characters of concern, or concerning character tests?: regulating risk through visa cancellation, containment and removal from Australia
Billings, Peter and Hoang, Khanh (2019). Characters of concern, or concerning character tests?: regulating risk through visa cancellation, containment and removal from Australia. Crimmigration in Australia: law, politics and society. (pp. 119-148) edited by Peter Billings. Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-9093-7_6
2019
Conference Publication
Characters of concern or concerning character tests?
Billings, Peter (2019). Characters of concern or concerning character tests?. Immigration Law Seminar - Law Council of Australia, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 18 September 2019.
2019
Book
Crimmigration in Australia: law, politics and society
Peter Billings ed. (2019). Crimmigration in Australia: law, politics and society. Singapore, Singapore: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-9093-7
2018
Journal Article
Refugee protection and state security in Australia: piecing together protective regimes
Billings, Peter (2018). Refugee protection and state security in Australia: piecing together protective regimes. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 24 (4), 222-233.
2018
Journal Article
Regulating 'Fake' Assistance Animals - A Comparative Review of Disability Law in Australia and the United States
Harpur, Paul, Bronitt, Simon, Billings, Peter, Verreynne, Martie-Louise and Pachana, Nancy (2018). Regulating 'Fake' Assistance Animals - A Comparative Review of Disability Law in Australia and the United States. Animal Law, 24, 77-97.
2018
Conference Publication
Regulating crimmigrants through the 'character test' - a case of double punishment?
Billings, Peter (2018). Regulating crimmigrants through the 'character test' - a case of double punishment?. Understanding the causes and consequences of the criminalisation of migration, The Peace Institute/Institute of Criminology in the Faculty of Law, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 17-18 May 2018.
2018
Conference Publication
Going soft on crimmigrants? Examining the relevance of prospective deportation as sentencing considerations in Australia
Billings, Peter (2018). Going soft on crimmigrants? Examining the relevance of prospective deportation as sentencing considerations in Australia. CINETS IV: Mobility and Security in an Era of Globalization: Crimmigration at a Crossroads?, London, United Kingdom, 5-6 October 2018.
2018
Conference Publication
Exploring the consequences of visa cancellations on the rights of non-citizens
Billings, Peter (2018). Exploring the consequences of visa cancellations on the rights of non-citizens. Crimmigration in Australia: Law Politics and Society, Faculty of Law, University of Queensland, 19 July 2018.
2018
Conference Publication
Operation sovereign borders - the Australian experience of maritime border policing
Billings, Peter (2018). Operation sovereign borders - the Australian experience of maritime border policing. Interdisciplinary Conference on Migration: Vulnerability, Protection, and Agency, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, 24-25 May 2018.
2017
Journal Article
Evaluating the pedagogic value of mooting and nooting at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Billings, Peter (2017). Evaluating the pedagogic value of mooting and nooting at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Monash University Law Review, 43 (3), 687-722.
2017
Conference Publication
The Tradition and Trajectory of Procedural Fairness
Billings, Peter (2017). The Tradition and Trajectory of Procedural Fairness. Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Members' Training, Brisbane, 3 February 2017.
2016
Other Outputs
Human Rights Inquiry: Submission to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. The promotion and protection of human rights: how best to accommodate the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Queensland?
Billings, Peter (2016). Human Rights Inquiry: Submission to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. The promotion and protection of human rights: how best to accommodate the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms in Queensland?.
2016
Journal Article
Disability assistance animals or not? Problems in policy and practice workshop
Harpur, Paul David, Verreynne, Martie Louise, Bronitt, Simon, Pachana, Nancy, Billings, Peter and Ritchie, Brent (2016). Disability assistance animals or not? Problems in policy and practice workshop. SSRN Electronic Journal doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2856824
2016
Conference Publication
'Stopping the Boats': Australia's punitive responses to irregular maritime migration
Billings, Peter (2016). 'Stopping the Boats': Australia's punitive responses to irregular maritime migration. Rethinking Forced Migration and Displacement: Theory, Policy and Praxis: International Association for the Study of Forced Migration, Poland, 12-15 July 2016.
2016
Conference Publication
Operation Sovereign Borders: maritime interdiction, deflection and detention at sea
Billings, Peter (2016). Operation Sovereign Borders: maritime interdiction, deflection and detention at sea. The Future of Refugee Law: 1st Annual Conference, Refugee Law Initiative, London, United Kingdom, 29 June - 1 July 2016.
2016
Journal Article
Operation sovereign borders and interdiction at sea: CPCF v minister for immigration and border protection
Billings, Peter (2016). Operation sovereign borders and interdiction at sea: CPCF v minister for immigration and border protection. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 23 (2), 76-101.
2016
Book
Thomson Reuters Guide to Mooting
Cassimatis, Anthony E. and Billings, Peter (2016). Thomson Reuters Guide to Mooting. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Lawbook Co.
2015
Conference Publication
Evaluating Income Management in Australia: Inequality Before the Law?
Billings, Peter (2015). Evaluating Income Management in Australia: Inequality Before the Law?. Examining Income Management Programs in Australia (Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia), Melbourne, Australia, 16-17 July 2015.
2015
Conference Publication
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Income Management: Administrative Injustice?
Billings, Peter (2015). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Income Management: Administrative Injustice?. Examining Income Management Programs in Australia (Academy of the Social Sciences Australia), Melbourne, Australia, 16-17 July 2015.
2014
Book Chapter
Australia's codification of judicial review: has the legislative effort been worth it?
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony (2014). Australia's codification of judicial review: has the legislative effort been worth it?. Modern administrative law in Australia: concepts and context. (pp. 180-204) edited by Matthew Groves. Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781107445734.011
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Peter Billings is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Crimmigration
- Topics that explore socio-legal issues related to the intersection or intermingling of immigration/refugee law/policy with criminal law/policy
- Topics that explore the socio-legal issues relating to the criminalisation of asylum seekers
- Topics that related to the detention or containment of asylum seekers and refugees
- Topics that relate to refugee protection and regulation of risks to national/border security
For further information contact Professor Peter Billings, e: p.billings@law.uq.edu.au
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
A labour market regulatory approach to employment integration for refugees and asylum seekers in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rose Stambe
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Doctor Philosophy
Sustainable protection of fish biodiversity in the Mekong River: the role of international environmental law and lessons from Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Justine Bell-James
Completed supervision
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
The Smuggling of Unaccompanied Minors: International Law and Domestic Contexts
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Andreas Schloenhardt
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
Securing Freedom of Information in Vietnamese Government and Law
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Graeme Orr
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Peter Billings directly for media enquiries about:
- Administrative Justice
- Administrative law
- Crimmigration
- Government legal decision making
- Human rights law
- Immigration law
- Judicial Review
- Operation sovereign borders
- Refugee law
- Social welfare law
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