Justine Nolan

Professor Justine Nolan serves as the Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute and a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW Sydney. With over 25 years of experience, she is an internationally recognized expert in modern slavery and human rights issues relating to business practices. Her career has included significant advisory roles with business, civil society, government, and the United Nations, and she has been a key driver of the Australian and global business and human rights movement.

Professor Nolan holds an MPP from the University of California, Berkeley, and both an LLB(Hons) and BSc from the Australian National University. Her educational background provides a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary approach to human rights and business issues.

Nolan's research focuses on the intersection of business and human rights, particularly supply chain responsibility for human rights and modern slavery. Her work is noted for both conceptual clarity and practical application, setting strategic paths to address significant business and human rights challenges. She has led major research projects, including one on 'transformative business practices' funded by the Laudes Foundation, which identifies and tests replicable business practices for just transitions in global supply chains. Her influential publications include the 2019 co-authored book Addressing Modern Slavery, The International Law of Human Rights (OUP, 2017), and Business and Human Rights: From Principles to Practice (Routledge, 2016).

Professor Nolan's scholarly output reveals consistent focus on modern slavery legislation, supply chain transparency, human rights due diligence, and corporate accountability. Her work demonstrates a progression from theoretical frameworks to practical applications, with increasing emphasis on remediation mechanisms and regulatory effectiveness in recent years.

• UNSW Arc Postgraduate Outstanding Research Supervisor Award (2020)
• Academic of the Year, Australian Law Awards (2019)
• UNSW Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (2018)
• UNSW Plus Alliance Fellow (2019-2020)

Professor Nolan has supervised numerous doctoral students on topics including human rights protection in manufacturing supply chains, extraterritorial processing of refugees, the lithium extractive sector and corporate human rights compliance, and remedying corporate human rights violations. She has secured substantial research funding, including grants from the Laudes Foundation (EUR238,033), Freedom Fund (US$72,727), and Australian Government programs. Her teaching portfolio includes International Human Rights Law and Advocacy, Business and Human Rights, and Human Rights Law in Practice.

As Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute, Nolan leads a major research center focused on business and human rights issues. She has held significant leadership roles including Deputy Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre (2006-2017) and Associate Dean Academic at UNSW Law (2016-2019). She continues to influence policy through appointments to the Australian Government's Modern Slavery Expert Advisory Group (2020, reappointed 2024) and other expert panels.