For 25 years my mother and I struggled to find answers or even understand what statelessness is, and how to fight it. This clinic will give every mother and child currently in this situation a fighting chance.
- Fadi Chalouhy, Stateless Legal Clinic Ambassador
(Video produced by VMLY&R)
The Stateless Legal Clinic (SLC) is a unique service that partners with the community legal sector to provide legal education and support to stateless children and adults, offering Melbourne Law School students the opportunity to gain legal work experience. It is the first stateless legal clinic of its kind in Australia, and one of a few globally.
The SLC was founded following the research project “A Place to Call Home” which uncovered a critical unmet need for legal support for stateless children in Australia. Without nationality, stateless children face barriers in accessing education and healthcare; and in Australia, the threat of immigration detention and removal.
Working with our partner legal organisations, to date the SLC has supported more than 100 stateless children to apply for Australian citizenship, with life changing impact. The SLC recently expanded to assist stateless adults and families.
The SLC Team
Clinic Director and Associate Director of the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness Katie Robertson established the SLC in 2021. Katie is a lawyer with previous experience in acting for stateless children to successfully apply for Australian citizenship.
In 2022 Katie was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to visit international legal services, expert organisations and individuals working on the issue of childhood statelessness to understand how comparative models operate and function.
In recognition of her pioneering work for stateless children in Australia and her innovative work in legal education, Katie was a finalist in the 2023 and 2024 Australian Law Awards (Academic of the Year) and was awarded the Melbourne Law School's 2025 Excellence in Early Career Teaching Award.
Katie is supported in the Clinic by Kowthar Yussuf, Nouda Abdulhak and Arghavan, who provide administrative and paralegal support on work we engage in with our partner legal organisations.
Our History
The Stateless Legal Clinic was established in 2021 at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness as a proud partnership between the Refugee Advice Casework Service (RACS) and the Melbourne Law School (MLS) Clinics at the University of Melbourne.
The Clinic’s establishment was made possible thanks to a generous grant provided by the Cameron Foundation. The grant was named in honour of Clinic Ambassador Fadi Chalouhy’s mother Hiam Chalouhy. Fadi Chalouhy is the first stateless person to be granted an Australian skilled migrant visa through the ‘Talent Beyond Boundaries’ program. He is now an Australian citizen and works closely with the SLC to oversee and support its development and operation.
Partners and Supporters
- Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC)
- Lander & Rogers
- Mallesons
- Refugee Advice Casework Service (RACS)
- Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre (RAILS)
- Refugee Legal
- Russell Kennedy
- The Cameron Foundation
- Igniting Change
Information for Students
The Clinic offers MLS Juris Doctor (JD) students the opportunity to develop practical legal skills and directly assist in the delivery of essential legal services to stateless children in their application for Australian citizenship, with tangible and life changing outcomes.
Visit the SLC page for students
‘The clinic has been one of the most rewarding experiences during law school. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to learn more about statelessness in Australia and recognise the importance of lawyers in this space to assist what is such a vulnerable sector of the community. My experience at the clinic in helping stateless children to obtain citizenship has opened my eyes to the need for reform to ease the process as well as has allowed me to develop meaningful relationships with clients and further develop my legal practical skills.’ – Georgina
Read more
- Statelessness resources: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness
- 'Understanding Statelessness in Australia' (June 2026)
- ‘A Place to Call Home – Shining a Light on Unmet Legal Need for Stateless Children in Australia’ (March 2021)
- Lawyers Weekly, 'Melbourne law students asked to assist stateless children' Naomi Neilson 20 September 2021
- SBS News, ‘We need to do more to help stateless children realise their right to Australian citizenship’ (K Robertson & S Dale) 25 March 2021
- The Guardian, ‘Somewhere to Call Home – helping stateless children realise their right to Australian citizenship’ Ben Doherty, 25 March 2021
- ABC News, ‘Legal Clinic to Count Australia’s Stateless People as it Helps to Give Children a Place to Call Home’ Max Chalmers, 25 March 2021
- ABC Radio National, ‘The Stateless Children Born in Australia’ 20 January 2022
Contact us
For further general enquiries please contact SLC Director Katie Robertson - katie.robertson@unimelb.edu.au.