Curtin Law School

Regulations and restrictions on the flow of information have an impact on individuals, businesses and society as a whole. Information Governance research at Curtin Law School encompasses several areas of law, including intellectual property, privacy, data protection, communications regulation, corporate governance, competition law and digital finance.

For example, our researchers have considered:

• In the intellectual property, the utility of environmental theory to construct a governance framework for the regulation of information in the 21st century.
• In copyright, how certain exclusive rights of copyright owners such as the ‘making available’ right have a significant impact on the dissemination of valuable information in the digital age.
• In digital finance, how information underpinning digital finance can be thought of through an infrastructure lens, analysed with reference to constitutional and market competition frameworks, as well as intellectual property rights.
• In privacy, children’s rights in respect of their image, in the context of face recognition technologies and social media ‘sharenting’, and how this may affect the developmental rights of children.
• In patent law, the exploitation and enforcement of patents and patent systems and innovation.
• Open access and open science in copyright law and knowledge policy.
• Cybersecurity and cybercrime laws and the norms and values of law and technology.

Researchers

• Professor Robert Cunningham
• Dr Cheryl Foong
• Dr Anna Bunn
• Dr Michael Dizon
• Dr Kelli Larson
• Dr Rami Olwan
• Dr Nikos Koutras

Our team of tax researchers aims to be at the forefront of current state, national and international tax discussions. We are committed to delivering high quality research across a range of tax and transfer topics through policy and legal analysis. We engage with the profession and regulators to apply and assist with our research. We conduct collaborative and interdisciplinary research.

Our research networks include experts and colleagues in taxation law, accounting, economics, policy and technology. We are equipped with substantial practical and academic experiences and produce innovative solutions to current taxation problems.

Current tax research projects include:

• International taxation – monitoring and reviewing the latest international tax developments and country-to-country negotiations
• Australian tax law and policy – evaluating various tax and transfer systems which exist in Australia, including income taxation, goods and services tax, fringe benefits tax, capital gains tax, payroll tax, resources rent tax and superannuation
• Public and social policy – researching in gender, welfare, social security and housing
• Tax and technology – contributing to innovations to tax administration and compliance in this continually evolving and dynamic area, including Digital Finance.
• Tax education – developing tax capabilities in the community with a focus on developing skills in young people
• Tax compliance and development – improving the tax compliance performance of developing countries through better targeted tax audit activities
• Tax teaching and scholarship– building on our practical experiences through our Tax Clinic and Study Tour program

Researchers

• Professor Dale Pinto*
• Professor Helen Hodgson*
• Dr Christina Allen*
• Dr John Minas*
• Dr Jim McMillan
• Annette Morgan
• Dr Saurabh Jain

*Available for higher degree by research (HDR) supervision, including doctoral (PhD) programs. We have supervised PhDs in International Taxation, Tax Compliance, Tax Policy and Commercial Law.

Our researchers have explored both practical and theoretical dimensions of human rights law. Many of us collaborate with leading human rights scholars and practitioners in Australia and globally, and our work has influenced human rights law and policymaking across a range of fields. From refugee rights to that of Indigenous people to the most marginalised communities in the world – our researchers have highlighted the role of human rights to remake a better world.

Our researchers have addressed and advocated on topics such as:

• Australia’s policy and law regarding asylum seeker and refugee children and its inconsistency with Australia’s international legal obligations;
• Aboriginal Family Led Decision Making (AFLDM) as a best practice, in line with principles of Aboriginal human rights;
• Corporate liabilities for human rights abuse in their supply chain and value chain;
• Taser misuse by law enforcement and institutional failures enabling such misuse;
• The right to a fair trial in the context of war crimes;
• Juvenile human rights in the context of juvenile detention.

Researchers

• Professor Robert Cunningham
• Associate Professor Hannah McGlade
• Associate Professor Narrelle Morris
• Associate Professor Margaret Stephenson
• Dr Sharmin Tania
• Dr Mostafa Haider
• Dr Jackie Mapulanga
• Dr Stephen Monterosso
• Dr Rami Olwan
• Dr Peta-Jane Secrett

Curtin Law School’s Clinical and Professional Programs integrate the academic study of law and taxation with real-world clinical practice, connecting law and tax undergraduate and postgraduate students to industry and community through the John Curtin Law Clinic and the Curtin Tax Clinic.

The John Curtin Law Clinic enhances the education of law students and improves access to justice by offering services relating to small business disputes, discrimination and social enterprise to eligible clients in a supervised clinical legal education environment.

The Curtin Tax Clinic, as the first of its kind in Australia, offers students the opportunity to engage in case work directly relevant to their chosen career in taxation while also providing taxation advice and support to the community. The Curtin Tax Clinic has developed specialised community outreach programs including The Prisons Project and the Micro-Enterprise Stream, empowering individuals to make positive contributions to society through financial independence.

Complemented by Work Integrated Learning opportunities through Legal Internships and Legal Work Experience, support of the interdisciplinary Curtin Link service and our special relationship with the Independent Bar at Murray Chambers, Curtin Law School’s Clinical and Professional Programs provide an effective platform for clinical research.

This is because issues identified in the course of real-world case work can, through collaborative research of students, academics and practitioners, be developed into clinical research outputs, including:

• Publication of peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, professional circulars and/or practice notes relevant to the field of practice;
• Law reform submissions;
• Development and advancement of public interest advocacy.

Researchers

• Professor Robert Cunningham
• Professor Dale Pinto
• Katrina Williams
• Annette Morgan
• Jennifer Negus
• Christina Do
• Pnina Levine
• Rebecca Pierluigi
• Rob Lilley