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Associate ProfessorMaria O'Sullivan

Associate Head of School, Research (Director of Research)

Faculty of Business and Law/Deakin Law School

Orcid identifier0000-0003-4673-5240 (opens in a new tab)⁠
  • Associate Head of School, Research (Director of Research)
    Faculty of Business and Law/Deakin Law School
  • +61 3 925 17062 (Work)
  • Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125

TEACHING EXPERTISE

 

Overview

 

Maria is an experienced curriculum designer, unit co-ordinator and lecturer in both core law units (Public Law and Statutory Interpretation; Administrative Law; Constitutional Law) and elective courses (Digital Law; Migration and Refugee Law).

 

She is also experienced in designing short courses and online curriculum for government and civil society organisations, having designed an online training course for European refugee law decision-makers (on behalf the European Union Agency for Asylum) and a short course for international government officials (Australia Awards Short Course on Countering Violent Extremism for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs).

 

 

Teaching Specialities

 

Maria is the convenor and unit chair of the specialist elective offered at Deakin Law School - Migration and Refugee Law. This unit offers a comprehensive study of immigration law in Australia, covering migration law  (eg skilled migration and family migration), refugee and humanitarian protection and citizenship law. In addition to equipping students with the legal knowledge and skills needed to work in migration and refugee law, it also provides useful knowledge of the Migration Act for students who wish to work in other areas of law in which migration issues arise (such as workplace or employment law, family law and several areas of public policy).

 

Maria regularly presents at national seminars and international conferences on refugee law and students will also therefore learn about how Australia complies with international standards.

 

You can find out more information about this unit at the following links: Undergraduate: MLL394 - Migration and Refugee Law and Policy:  Postgraduate/JD: MLJ730 - Migration and Refugee Law and Policy.

 

In addition, Maria undertakes coaching and mentoring of students as part of Deakin Law School's flagship Mooting Program. As part of this, she coached the winning team of the Victorian Bar's Equity and Diversity Moot in 2024 and the Deakin team who made the Grand Final of the Baker McKenzie National Moot in 2025. Mooting is a great way to obtain experience in advocacy and communication, as noted in this student testimonial:

 

Mooting participant testimonial:

The mooting program enables students to build on their academic knowledge through advocacy in the courtroom. The program has been immensely valuable – the fact that we had the opportunity to participate in the Grand Final of the Baker McKenzie National Women’s Moot is a testament to its structure and training. - Sasha Deenathayalan - Bachelor of Laws student https://www.deakin.edu.au/faculty-of-business-and-law/deakin-law-school/study-with-us/mooting-program

 

Further information about Deakin Law School's Mooting program can be found here: Mooting program and here: Mooting | DLSS

 

PhD Supervision capacity


Maria welcomes inquiries from students who may be contemplating higher degree research, including students interested in:

 

  • International refugee law (eg temporary protection status issues and the legality of bilaterial refugee 'swap' agreements such as the UK-Rwanda  and Italy-Albania agreements)
  • International human rights law (eg the right to protest; freedom of expression)
  • Public Law (eg government use of automated decision-making; government regulation of mis-disinformation) 

 

At her previous institution, she successfully supervised five PhD students to completion. Currently, she supervises three PhD students on topics ranging from automated decision-making in the public sector, international maritime law and technology and the law.

Further information about Deakin's PhD program can be found here: Find a research degree or PhD

 

 Previous Successful PhD Supervisions

 

  • ‘Soft Law for Hard Decisions: Administrative Appeals Tribunal Guidance Decisions for Protection Visa Determination under the Migration Act, 2022 (SJD) - Monash University
  • ‘Externalisation and Access to Asylum: An Investigation into Australia’s Migration Control Cooperation with Indonesia’ 2023 - Monash University
  • ‘Assigning Liability in the Context of Modern Artificial Intelligence’, 2023 - Monash University
  • ‘Law and Dignity for Refugees in India: Examining the role of the Supreme Court’, 2023 - Monash University
  • ‘Procedural Fairness in a Regulatory Context’, 2025 (SJD)- Monash University

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

  • UNIT CHAIR
    Unit Chair - MLP710 Administrative Law and Policy, T3 2025 (core unit required for Legal Practice)
    27 Oct 2025 - 27 Feb 2026
    I served as Unit Chair of one of the Law School's core units - Administrative Law and Policy. This unit is one of the 11 'Priestley' units that all lawyers wishing to be admitted in Australia are required to study. Its curriculum and assessment structure are highly regulated as it is linked to professional requirements for practice as a lawyer so it is important that the content of the unit is taught consistent with these requirements. As part of my Unit Chair duties, I co-ordinated with the lecturer and seminar leader of the unit to ensure that the unit was taught in line with Deakin Learning Objectives and the Victorian Legal Profession Admission requirements.
  • UNIT CHAIR
    Unit Chair - MLP323 - Constitutional Law T3 2024 (core unit required for Legal Practice)
    27 Oct 2024 - 7 Mar 2025
    I served as Unit Chair of one of the Law School's core units - Constitutional Law. This unit is one of the 11 'Priestley' units that all lawyers wishing to be admitted in Australia are required to study. Its curriculum and assessment structure are highly regulated as it is linked to professional requirements for practice as a lawyer so it is important that the content of the unit is taught consistent with these requirements. As part of my Unit Chair duties, I co-ordinated with the lecturer and seminar leader of the unit to ensure that the unit was taught in line with Deakin Learning Objectives and the Victorian Legal Profession Admission requirements.
  • UNIT CHAIR
    Unit Chair - MLL394 - Migration and Refugee Law and Policy T3 2024 (Elective)
    27 Oct 2024 - 3 Mar 2025
    This unit aims to provide students with a deep, contextualised understanding of migration and refugee law in Australia. The unit analyses the substantive and procedural rules and principles governing this area of law and discusses the policy considerations behind them. This unit equips students with the legal knowledge and skills needed to work in migration and refugee law, as well as proving useful knowledge of the Migration Act for students who wish to work in areas in which migration issues arise (such as workplace or employment law, family law and several areas of public policy). It is informed by my advocacy work on refugee law issues in Australia, my international work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and civil society organisations in Europe, in addition to my scholarly work on the lived experiences of refugees fleeing persecution. It therefore situates Australian migration and refugee law and policy within its relevant institutional and international context.
  • UNIT CHAIR
    Unit Chair - MLJ 730 - Migration and Refugee Law and Policy T3, 2024 (Elective)
    27 Oct 2024 - 3 Mar 2025
    This unit aims to provide students with a deep, contextualised understanding of migration and refugee law in Australia. The unit analyses the substantive and procedural rules and principles governing this area of law and discusses the policy considerations behind them. This unit equips students with the legal knowledge and skills needed to work in migration and refugee law, as well as proving useful knowledge of the Migration Act for students who wish to work in areas in which migration issues arise (such as workplace or employment law, family law and several areas of public policy). It is informed by my advocacy work on refugee law issues in Australia, my international work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and civil society organisations in Europe, in addition to my scholarly work on the lived experiences of refugees fleeing persecution. It therefore situates Australian migration and refugee law and policy within its relevant institutional and international context.
  • UNIT CHAIR
    Unit Chair - MLJ730 Migration and Refugee Law and Policy T3, 2023 (Elective)
    30 Oct 2023 - 29 Feb 2024
    This unit aims to provide students with a deep, contextualised understanding of migration and refugee law in Australia. The unit analyses the substantive and procedural rules and principles governing this area of law and discusses the policy considerations behind them. This unit equips students with the legal knowledge and skills needed to work in migration and refugee law, as well as proving useful knowledge of the Migration Act for students who wish to work in areas in which migration issues arise (such as workplace or employment law, family law and several areas of public policy). It is informed by my advocacy work on refugee law issues in Australia, my international work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and civil society organisations in Europe, in addition to my scholarly work on the lived experiences of refugees fleeing persecution. It therefore situates Australian migration and refugee law and policy within its relevant institutional and international context.
  • UNIT CHAIR
    MLL394 Migration and Refugee Law and Policy (Elective)
    30 Oct 2023 - 29 Feb 2024
    This unit aims to provide students with a deep, contextualised understanding of migration and refugee law in Australia. The unit analyses the substantive and procedural rules and principles governing this area of law and discusses the policy considerations behind them. This unit equips students with the legal knowledge and skills needed to work in migration and refugee law, as well as proving useful knowledge of the Migration Act for students who wish to work in areas in which migration issues arise (such as workplace or employment law, family law and several areas of public policy). It is informed by my advocacy work on refugee law issues in Australia, my international work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and civil society organisations in Europe, in addition to my scholarly work on the lived experiences of refugees fleeing persecution. It therefore situates Australian migration and refugee law and policy within its relevant institutional and international context.
  • UNIT TAUGHT
    Migration and Refugee Law and Policy MLL394 and MLJ730 T3 2024
    28 Oct 2024 - 28 Feb 2025
    Development of curriculum and assessment of Migration and Refugee Law Unit; undertaking in-person, live-streamed lectures and online seminars in the undergraduate and graduate programs (202 students in total)
  • UG, HONOURS OR MASTERS DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Honours Supervision: The Best Interests of Minor Children Under Section 501 of the Migration Act - Beth McDonald (with Distinction - HD)
    1 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025
    I supervised this excellent Honours project in 2025 and also mentored the student. She received an excellent mark and, under my continuing supervision and mentorship, has submitted her paper to a national essay competition run by the Australian Institute for Administrative Law.
  • UG, HONOURS OR MASTERS DEGREE SUPERVISION
    Honours supervision - An Analysis of the Role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Protecting Refugee Rights in Rwanda (Africa): Successes, Failures, and Future Directions - Yom Mading - with Distinction
    1 Jan 2024 - 31 Dec 2024
  • CURRENT DOCTORAL SUPERVISION
    Accountability for Problem Systems: A Case Study of Robodebt and Administrative Law
    Katie Miller - Deakin Law School
  • CURRENT DOCTORAL SUPERVISION
    Sea Embassies - the bridge between legal precedent and emergent technology of uncrewed vessels
    Alison MacGregor Cusack - Deakin Law School
  • CURRENT DOCTORAL SUPERVISION
    Surveillance Law Reform and Digital Constitutionalism: an Australian Case Study
    Angus Robert Murray - Deakin Law School