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Dr Sarah Kendall
Dr

Sarah Kendall

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Overview

Background

Dr Sarah Kendall is a comparative, interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in criminal law and procedure and evidence law. Her work focuses on domestic, family and sexual violence, and emerging and re-emerging national security threats. Sarah uses a range of methods to conduct her research, including empirical (qualitative and quantitative) methods.

Currently, Sarah is researching trauma-informed approaches to the criminal law and criminal justice process. She is also continuing her research into the criminal law response to espionage, foreign interference and sabotage in Australia and other Five Eyes nations (the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States), examining the nature, effectiveness and appropriateness of this response. Sarah's research on espionage law has been recognised by a UQ BEL Faculty award for research excellence.

In addition to her research, Sarah has taught Foundations of Law and Evidence Law at UQ. She frequently gives guest lectures on espionage and foreign interference offences.

Availability

Dr Sarah Kendall is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Qualifications

  • Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Queensland University of Technology
  • Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Law, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy of Law, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • Trauma-informed approaches to criminal justice

    How criminal law, evidence law and the criminal justice system can become more trauma-informed, particularly for victim-survivors, witnesses and defendants.

  • Preventive criminal laws

    The nature and evolution of criminal laws that have a largely preventive focus, such as standalone preparatory crimes.

  • National security crimes

    The nature, effectiveness and appropriateness of the criminal law response to national security threats, including emerging and re-emerging national security threats (such as espionage, foreign interference and sabotage).

Research impacts

Sarah is recognised nationally and internationally as an expert on Australian espionage and foreign interference offences. Her research has been featured in leading national and international peer reviewed journals, such as the Cambridge Law Journal, Sydney Law Review and Melbourne University Law Review. She also regularly writes for The Conversation about national security crimes and makes submissions to government inquiries in Australia and overseas.

In recognition of her expertise, Sarah has been invited to engage with the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor on its reviews of Commonwealth secrecy, espionage, foreign interference and sabotage offences, to contribute to edited collections and special issues, and to be interviewed for local, national and international media (including The New York Times, The Australian and The Guardian).

Sarah currently works at the Queensland Law Reform Commission (QLRC), leading the review of Queensland's non-fatal strangulation offence. Before joining the QLRC, she worked at the Department of Justice and Attorney-General Queensland in Strategic Policy and Legislation where she progressed the Criminal Justice Legislation (Sexual Violence and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2024 (Qld). She has also previously worked at the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) on a number of inquiries, including the Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws inquiry and Justice Responses to Sexual Violence inquiry. Sarah's doctoral research on the non-fatal strangulation offence and trauma-informed criminal trials has informed the work and practices of the QLRC and ALRC.

Works

Search Professor Sarah Kendall’s works on UQ eSpace

43 works between 2018 and 2025

21 - 40 of 43 works

2023

Other Outputs

Could using open-source information online get you arrested for foreign interference?

Walker-Munro, Brendan and Kendall, Sarah (2023, 05 04). Could using open-source information online get you arrested for foreign interference? The Conversation

Could using open-source information online get you arrested for foreign interference?

2023

Other Outputs

Amid warnings of ‘spy hives’, why isn’t Australia using its tough counter-espionage laws more?

Kendall, Sarah (2023, 02 22). Amid warnings of ‘spy hives’, why isn’t Australia using its tough counter-espionage laws more? The Conversation

Amid warnings of ‘spy hives’, why isn’t Australia using its tough counter-espionage laws more?

2023

Other Outputs

Submission to Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, Inquiry into Foreign Interference through Social Media

Kendall, Sarah (2023). Submission to Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, Inquiry into Foreign Interference through Social Media. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media.

Submission to Senate Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, Inquiry into Foreign Interference through Social Media

2023

Other Outputs

Submission to Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Kendall, Sarah (2023). Submission to Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice.

Submission to Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice

2022

Journal Article

The Erosion of Academic Freedom: How Australian Espionage Law Impacts Higher Education and Research

Kendall, Sarah (2022). The Erosion of Academic Freedom: How Australian Espionage Law Impacts Higher Education and Research. Sydney Law Review, 44 (4), 503-535.

The Erosion of Academic Freedom: How Australian Espionage Law Impacts Higher Education and Research

2022

Conference Publication

Support for Non-Fatal Strangulation Victims During Trial: Are Cases Informed by Victim Brain Injury and PTSD?

Kendall, Sarah (2022). Support for Non-Fatal Strangulation Victims During Trial: Are Cases Informed by Victim Brain Injury and PTSD?. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference, Darwin, NT, Australia, 28-30 November 2022.

Support for Non-Fatal Strangulation Victims During Trial: Are Cases Informed by Victim Brain Injury and PTSD?

2022

Conference Publication

Preparatory Offences as a Measure to Prevent Cyber National Security Crime

Kendall, Sarah and Frost, Dominic (2022). Preparatory Offences as a Measure to Prevent Cyber National Security Crime. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference, Darwin, NT, Australia, 28-30 November 2022.

Preparatory Offences as a Measure to Prevent Cyber National Security Crime

2022

Journal Article

Network activity, account takeover and data disruption warrants: how novel law enforcement powers impact media freedom

Kendall, Sarah and Frost, Dominic (2022). Network activity, account takeover and data disruption warrants: how novel law enforcement powers impact media freedom. Australian Journal of Human Rights, 28 (2-3), 249-265. doi: 10.1080/1323238x.2022.2135258

Network activity, account takeover and data disruption warrants: how novel law enforcement powers impact media freedom

2022

Other Outputs

Submission to UK House of Commons Public Bill Committee, National Security Bill

Kendall, Sarah (2022). Submission to UK House of Commons Public Bill Committee, National Security Bill. Brisbane, QLD Australia: UK House of Commons Public Bill Committee.

Submission to UK House of Commons Public Bill Committee, National Security Bill

2022

Other Outputs

Universities must act to prevent espionage and foreign interference, but our national laws still threaten academic freedom

Kendall, Sarah (2022, 03 31). Universities must act to prevent espionage and foreign interference, but our national laws still threaten academic freedom The Conversation

Universities must act to prevent espionage and foreign interference, but our national laws still threaten academic freedom

2022

Other Outputs

Why Australia’s tough national security laws cannot stop foreign interference in our elections

Sarah Kendall (2022, 02 23). Why Australia’s tough national security laws cannot stop foreign interference in our elections The Conversation

Why Australia’s tough national security laws cannot stop foreign interference in our elections

2022

Journal Article

How Australia's foreign interference laws undermine press freedom

Kendall, Sarah (2022). How Australia's foreign interference laws undermine press freedom. Alternative Law Journal, 47 (2), 1037969X2210959-129. doi: 10.1177/1037969x221095915

How Australia's foreign interference laws undermine press freedom

2022

Other Outputs

Foreign interference law and press freedom

Kendall, Sarah (2022). Foreign interference law and press freedom. UQ Press Freedom Policy Papers St Lucia, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland.

Foreign interference law and press freedom

2022

Journal Article

Crimes of communication: the implications of Australian espionage law for global media

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca and Kendall, Sarah (2022). Crimes of communication: the implications of Australian espionage law for global media. Communication Law and Policy, 27 (1), 1-27. doi: 10.1080/10811680.2021.2014293

Crimes of communication: the implications of Australian espionage law for global media

2021

Other Outputs

Espionage is set to overtake terrorism as Australia’s top security concern - are our anti-spy laws good enough?

Kendall, Sarah (2021, 12 08). Espionage is set to overtake terrorism as Australia’s top security concern - are our anti-spy laws good enough? The Conversation

Espionage is set to overtake terrorism as Australia’s top security concern - are our anti-spy laws good enough?

2021

Journal Article

Risk and uncertainty in public interest journalism: the impact of espionage law on press freedom

Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca, Kendall, Sarah and Murray, Richard (2021). Risk and uncertainty in public interest journalism: the impact of espionage law on press freedom. Melbourne University Law Review, 44 (3), 764-811.

Risk and uncertainty in public interest journalism: the impact of espionage law on press freedom

2021

Journal Article

Prosecution and defence strategies in non-fatal strangulation cases: are they influenced by victim brain injury and PTSD?

Kendall, Sarah (2021). Prosecution and defence strategies in non-fatal strangulation cases: are they influenced by victim brain injury and PTSD?. Criminal Law Journal, 45 (5), 297-315.

Prosecution and defence strategies in non-fatal strangulation cases: are they influenced by victim brain injury and PTSD?

2021

Other Outputs

You could break espionage laws on social media without realising it

Kendall, Sarah (2021, 01 13). You could break espionage laws on social media without realising it The Conversation

You could break espionage laws on social media without realising it

2021

Journal Article

Reconceptualising Reforms to Cross-Examination: Extending the Reliability Revolution Beyond the Forensic Sciences

Kendall, Sarah (2021). Reconceptualising Reforms to Cross-Examination: Extending the Reliability Revolution Beyond the Forensic Sciences. Canberra Law Review, 18 (1), 36-59.

Reconceptualising Reforms to Cross-Examination: Extending the Reliability Revolution Beyond the Forensic Sciences

2020

Other Outputs

Submission to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Inquiry into National Security Risks Affecting the Australian Higher Education and Research Sector

Kendall, Sarah and Ananian-Welsh, Rebecca (2020). Submission to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Inquiry into National Security Risks Affecting the Australian Higher Education and Research Sector. Brisbane, QLD Australia: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Submission to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Inquiry into National Security Risks Affecting the Australian Higher Education and Research Sector

Funding

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2023
    Evaluation of the VREC Pilot
    Queensland Police Service
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Dr Sarah Kendall is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Media

Enquiries

Contact Dr Sarah Kendall directly for media enquiries about:

  • espionage
  • foreign interference
  • national security crimes
  • non-fatal strangulation
  • sabotage
  • trauma-informed law

Need help?

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

communications@uq.edu.au