Melissa Castan

Professor, Faculty of Law melissa.castan@monash.edu

Core expertise

Indigenous Legal Issues
Constitutional law
Public law
Human Rights law
Legal Education

Biography

Melissa is the Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, at the Faculty of Law. Melissa’s teaching and research interests are in Australian public law, constitutional law, Indigenous legal issues and legal education. She's co-author, with Professor Sarah Joseph, of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Cases, Commentary and Materials (OUP, 2013), and The Global Lawyer (2020, Lexis Nexis) with Kate Galloway and John Flood, as well as numerous scholarly articles and chapters. She's also national convenor of the Alternative Law Journal, and co-hosts legal podcast Just Cases, with James Pattison.

articles

Protestors holding a sign that reads: 'Every human has rights'

How many deaths will it take before Australia has a Human Rights Act?

The tragic deaths of two First Nations women highlight systemic failings, and the urgent need for a Human Rights Act in Australia.

Politics and society

Globe-shaped Australian flag surrounded by many words realting to democracy

Why Australia needs to legislate a Human Rights Act

A parliamentary committee has recommended a dedicated act to protect human rights. Here’s how it could work.

Politics and society

Illustration depicting a blackboard with YES written in white chalk

‘The referendum to entrench it in the Constitution is unequivocally in the national interest’

In a new book, Melissa Castan and Professor Lynette Russell write that the proposed Voice to Parliament will enhance, not damage, our democratic institutions.

Politics and society

Judge's gavel and scales of justice on a desk with the Australian flag in the background

Human rights and election campaigns: Never the twain shall meet?

It’s time to ask our politicians the hard questions about what they intend to do to strengthen human rights protections if elected to government.

Politics and society

Paper cutouts of different-coloured heads, representing diversity

Connecting the dots: What really lies beneath the 'lucky country'

While stories of human rights violations, and dire warnings about pandemics and an uncertain economic future seem unconnected, research reveals common roots in systemic inequality and discrimination in Australia.

Politics and society

The Australian identity debate (ep11)

Australia once identified itself as the “lucky country”, a place where the “Aussie battler” was given a fair go, but can it still lay claim to this?

A Different Lens