Jane McAdam

Jane McAdam is a Scientia Professor of Law and Founding Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney. She leads the Evacuations Research Hub and holds an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship.

• BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), DPhil (Oxford)

Her research focuses on international refugee law, forced migration, climate change-related displacement, and disaster evacuations. She examines legal frameworks for mobility in environmental contexts and has developed policy tools like the Kaldor Centre principles on climate mobility.

Her work addresses cross-border displacement, evacuation protocols, and state responsibility under climate change. Key projects include legal analysis of the Sydney Declaration of Principles on sea-level rise and the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility.

Awards include:

• Calouste Gulbenkian Prize for Human Rights (2017)
• Officer of the Order of Australia (2021)
• Royal Society of NSW Award in Humanities, Philosophy and Law (2024)

She serves on international committees like the Platform on Disaster Displacement and the Climate Migration Council, and has advised the UNHCR, IOM, and World Bank.

Her grants include Australian Research Council Laureate and Discovery Projects, and international collaborations with institutions in the UK, US, and Norway.