Catherine Hastings

Dr. Catherine Hastings is a Macquarie University Research Fellow (MQRF) in the Macquarie Law School and Academic Casual in the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Office. She leads the Legal Needs Project, examining legal needs among marginalized populations in Australia using critical realism. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on social justice, homelessness, and international student welfare. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Macquarie University (2020) and has received prestigious awards including the 2024 Arts Faculty Early Career Researcher Prize.

Her qualifications include a Doctor of Philosophy (Macquarie University, 2020), Master of Policy and Applied Social Research (Macquarie, 2013), and Master of Arts in International Studies (University of Technology Sydney, 2009). She has extensive applied research experience with governments and NGOs, particularly in the legal assistance sector.

Research interests span critical realism methodology, homelessness causes (especially for families and older women), and international student housing/financial precarity. Recent work includes analyzing accommodation precarity’s impact on academic performance and policy inaction on student housing. She co-supervises PhD candidates on topics like incarcerated parents’ education and sustainable housing for elderly migrants.

Her projects include Developing Critical Realist Empirical Research (2023-2026) and Understanding Legal Need (2022-2026). She serves on leadership boards for the International Association for Critical Realism and the Journal of Critical Realism. Key awards include the Vice-Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence (2020, 2013) and the DVC-Research Postgraduate Award (2017).

Her research bridges philosophy and empirical practice, emphasizing transformative findings through critical realism. Recent activities include presentations on institutional gaslighting, housing affordability, and realist methodologies.