Luke McNamara

Professor Luke McNamara is a faculty member in the School of Law, Society & Criminology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), within the Faculty of Law and Justice. He holds a PhD from the University of Wollongong, an LLM from the University of Manitoba, and a BA/LLB from UNSW.

His research focuses on criminalisation as a public policy tool, including studies of sexual offence trials and historical criminal law reforms addressing violence prevention. Notable works include Regulating Racism: Racial Vilification Laws in Australia and co-authored texts like Criminal Laws: Materials and Commentary on Criminal Law and Process of New South Wales.

Research Interests: Criminalisation frameworks, racial vilification, sexual offence adjudication, homelessness and criminal justice interaction, and policy impacts of legal frameworks. His projects often intersect law with social policy, human rights, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Grants & Collaborations: He leads or co-leads major grants including ARC-funded projects on criminalisation of poverty, intoxication evidence in sexual assault trials, and historical criminal law reform. Recent collaborations address homelessness criminalisation and drug policy intersections.

Awards: 2014 Australian Political Studies Association Mayer Journal Article Prize for work on racial vilification discourse.

Professional Activities: Contributed to NSW Law Reform Commission submissions, parliamentary scrutiny analyses, and over 50 peer-reviewed publications across criminal law, human rights, and policy journals. Active in submitting expert reports to governmental inquiries on antisemitism, road safety, and sexual consent laws.