Virginia Marshall

Virginia Marshall is a Research Fellow at the Australian National University's School of Regulation & Global Governance (RegNet). She holds the Inaugural Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellowship (2017–2022) and serves in multiple governance roles, including Deputy Co-Chair of the Committee on Aboriginal Water Interests and Co-Chair of ANU's Indigenous peoples, cultures and knowledges research cluster. Her work bridges Indigenous legal frameworks with environmental governance, focusing on water rights, Traditional Knowledge systems, and climate resilience.

• Education: PhD in Law (Macquarie University), dual LL.M./B.A. from University of Wollongong, and legal qualifications from NSW Law Society.

Research Interests: Dr. Marshall’s scholarship centers Indigenous water law, environmental stewardship, and the commercialization of traditional medicines. She explores intersections between UNDRIP and national policies, particularly in Australia’s water reforms and intellectual property regimes.

Recent articles highlight collaborative research on Indigenous narratives in environmental justice and the valuation of non-market Indigenous values. Her 2015 WEH Stanner Award-winning thesis Overturning Aqua nullius remains foundational in Aboriginal water rights discourse.

• Advising & Grants: Lead Chief Investigator on a 3-year ARC-funded project on Aboriginal medicines with Kimberley traditional knowledge holders, supervised via ANU.

Labs/Teams: Active in ANU’s Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions and Māori Research and Ethics Council, integrating Indigenous knowledge into climate policy.