2025 Research Conference of the Disability, Law and Society Network of Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand
10-12 December 2025
Online via Zoom and In person at University Technology Sydney (Australia)
The Conference is a forum for those involved in disability law research and practice. It focuses on exploring relationships between disability, law and society, culture and politics. Papers focused on Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Asia Pacific contexts and foregrounding lived experiences, human rights and Disability Justice activism and advocacy are particularly welcome.
Keynote panel
Rosemary Kayess (Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission)
Professor Scott Avery (Professor of Indigenous Disability, Health and Wellbeing, University of Technology Sydney)
Professor Sheila Wildeman (Director, Dalhousie Health Justice Institute, Dalhousie University, Canada)
About the conference
The Conference is open to everyone involved in disability law research and practice, including students, researchers, activists and advocates. People with disability are encouraged to participate. Priority will be given to presenters based in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region, or whose work focuses on disability-related law in the region. When submitting your abstract please identify if your presentation is focused on a disability law research audience or disability law practitioner audience.
The Conference will include a half-day workshop for Higher Degree Researchers and Early Career Researchers.
The event is hybrid. Please specify accessibility requirements when submitting your abstract. We are currently exploring the possibility of travel support for people who are unwaged or do not have access to travel funding. Please indicate if required and we will update you once funding is confirmed.
There is no registration fee to attend the conference. Conference registration will open once the program is confirmed in October. You can indicate your interest in registering as a non-presenting attendee via the ‘Conference Attendance only’ link below.
The Conference is organised by Linda Steele (University of Technology Sydney), Piers Gooding & Chris Maylea (La Trobe University) and Anna Arstein-Kerslake (The University of Melbourne).
The Disability, Law and Society Network of Australia & Aotearoa New Zealand is a network of scholars, including Higher Degree Research students, and advocates primarily based in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The Network was first convened by Donna McNamara and Linda Steele in 2020 and has evolved into a broad and diverse network of individuals who wish to bring critical attention to law concerning disability.
