Tamara Walsh

Professor Tamara Walsh holds dual qualifications in Law (Bachelor of Law, UNSW) and Social Work (Bachelor of Arts (Honours), UNSW), with a PhD from Queensland University of Technology. She is a Professor at the TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland and Director of the UQ Pro Bono Centre, established in 2008. Her research focuses on the intersection of law and vulnerable populations, including children, homeless individuals, low-income families, and mothers. Key projects include the UQ Deaths in Custody Project (2016) and the UQ/Caxton Human Rights Project (2020), which track legal trends and human rights cases. She leads an ARC Linkage project on human rights dispute resolution (2023–2025) and previously studied criminalisation of poverty (2017–2021).

• Education:
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Queensland University of Technology
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Queensland University of Technology
  • Bachelor of Law, University of New South Wales
  • Bachelor (Honours), University of New South Wales
• Research Interests:
  • Human rights law, social welfare law, and criminal law policy
  • Access to justice and youth justice reform
  • Legal responses to homelessness and poverty
  • Criminalisation of marginalized groups

Her projects include monitoring deaths in custody and analyzing legal frameworks for human rights. She advocates for law reform through interdisciplinary collaboration and pro bono initiatives. Notable outputs include a 2023 ARC-funded study on human rights dispute resolution and a 2022 analysis of Queensland’s Human Rights Act implementation.

Grants and partnerships include the ARC Linkage projects and collaborations with organizations like the Prisoners' Legal Service. She directs clinical legal education programs at UQ, emphasizing ethical and socially responsive legal practice.

Her work extends to policy advocacy, such as submissions on child protection legislation and housing rights. She co-founded the Pro Bono Centre to bridge academic and community legal needs, fostering student engagement in public interest law.