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
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
2013
Journal Article
Twenty-one years of the Judicial Review Act 1991: enhancing access to justice and promoting legal accountability?
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony E. (2013). Twenty-one years of the Judicial Review Act 1991: enhancing access to justice and promoting legal accountability?. University of Queensland Law Journal, 32 (1), 65-101.
2013
Journal Article
Irregular maritime migration and the Pacific Solution Mark II: back to the future for refugee law and policy in Australia?
Billings, Peter (2013). Irregular maritime migration and the Pacific Solution Mark II: back to the future for refugee law and policy in Australia?. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 20 (2), 279-305. doi: 10.1163/15718115-02002007
2013
Journal Article
Statutory judicial review in Australia: a comparative analysis of the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Tasmanian schemes
Cassimatis, Anthony E. and Billings, Peter (2013). Statutory judicial review in Australia: a comparative analysis of the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and Tasmanian schemes. Journal of Judicial Administration, 23 (2), 73-129.
2013
Book Chapter
Irregular migration, refugee protection and the 'Malaysian Solution'
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony (2013). Irregular migration, refugee protection and the 'Malaysian Solution'. Protection of refugees and displaced persons in the Asia Pacific Region. (pp. 135-169) edited by Angus Francis and Rowena Maguire. Farnham, United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing. doi: 10.4324/9781315602691-12
2011
Other Outputs
Indigenous programs: protecting the vulnerable and promoting well-being?
Billings, Peter (2011, 04 12). Indigenous programs: protecting the vulnerable and promoting well-being? The Conversation 1-1.
2011
Journal Article
Income management in Australia: Protecting the vulnerable and promoting human capital through welfare conditionality
Billings, Peter (2011). Income management in Australia: Protecting the vulnerable and promoting human capital through welfare conditionality. Journal of Social Security Law, 18 (4), 167-191.
2011
Book
Judicial review in Australia: submission to the Administrative Review Council
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony E. (2011). Judicial review in Australia: submission to the Administrative Review Council. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Administrative Review Council.
2011
Other Outputs
Reform of judicial review in New South Wales: written submission discussion paper
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony E. (2011). Reform of judicial review in New South Wales: written submission discussion paper. Sydney, NSW, Australia: NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General.
2011
Journal Article
Conditioning social welfare payments: securing liberty for vulnerable children and adults?
Billings, Peter (2011). Conditioning social welfare payments: securing liberty for vulnerable children and adults?. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 7 (22), 13-17.
2011
Journal Article
Juridical exceptionalism in Australia: Law, nostalgia and the exclusion of others
Billings, Peter (2011). Juridical exceptionalism in Australia: Law, nostalgia and the exclusion of others. Griffith Law Review, 20 (2), 271-309. doi: 10.1080/10383441.2011.10854699
2010
Journal Article
Social welfare experiments in Australia: More trials for Aboriginal families?
Billings, Peter (2010). Social welfare experiments in Australia: More trials for Aboriginal families?. Journal of Social Security Law, 17 (3), 164-197.
2010
Journal Article
Mind the gap: Public power, accountability and the Northern Territory emergency response
Billings, Peter (2010). Mind the gap: Public power, accountability and the Northern Territory emergency response. Australian Journal of Administrative Law, 17 (3), 132-158.
2010
Journal Article
The Family Responsibilities Commission: facilitating socially responsible standards of care in Cape York?
Billings, Peter (2010). The Family Responsibilities Commission: facilitating socially responsible standards of care in Cape York?. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 7 (16), 3-7.
2009
Journal Article
School enrolment and attendance measures: more trials for Aboriginal families
Billings, Peter (2009). School enrolment and attendance measures: more trials for Aboriginal families. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 7 (14), 3-6.
2009
Conference Publication
Reforming Social Welfare In Australia: More Trials for Aboriginal People?
Billings, Peter (2009). Reforming Social Welfare In Australia: More Trials for Aboriginal People?. Australian Institute for Administrative Law (Qld Chapter), Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office, Brisbane, August 19 2009.
2009
Journal Article
Still paying the price for benign intentions? Contextualising contemporary interventions in the lives of Aboriginal peoples
Billings, Peter (2009). Still paying the price for benign intentions? Contextualising contemporary interventions in the lives of Aboriginal peoples. Melbourne University Law Review, 33 (1), 1-38.
2009
Journal Article
Re-designing the Northern Territory emergency response - Social welfare reform and non-discrimination
Billings, Peter and Cassimatis, Anthony E. (2009). Re-designing the Northern Territory emergency response - Social welfare reform and non-discrimination. Law in Context, 27 (2), 58-89.
2008
Journal Article
'Complementary protection in international refugee law', by Jane McAdam
Billings, Peter (2008). 'Complementary protection in international refugee law', by Jane McAdam. Legal Studies, 28 (1), 143-148. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-121x.2007.00082_2.x
2007
Journal Article
The treatment of asylum seekers in the UK
Billings, Peter W. (2007). The treatment of asylum seekers in the UK. The Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, 29 (1), 49-65. doi: 10.1080/09649060701423198
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
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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: Professor Justine Bell-James
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Doctor Philosophy
Immigration Detention & The Separation of Powers: A First Principles Approach to Improved Governance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh
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Doctor Philosophy
Children as Facilitators of Migrant Smuggling: International Law and Domestic Contexts
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Joseph Lelliott
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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