Hub Staff
Professor Nicole Watson
Director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Professor Nicole Watson is a Birri Gubba and Munanjali woman with extensive experience in law and policy affecting Indigenous communities and Indigenous peoples’ participation in legal education. She holds a Doctor of Creative Arts from the University of Technology Sydney, a Master of Laws from Queensland University of Technology, and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland.
In May 2024, she was awarded a major ARC grant and serves as Chief Investigator and DAATSIA Fellow for the project Raising the Bar: Learning from the Life Stories of Indigenous Lawyers (2024‑2027) – work highlighting the experiences of Indigenous legal professionals and providing insights toward a more inclusive legal education and practice. Professor Watson is also a David Unaipon Award winning author for her 2011 crime novel, The Boundary, and a former columnist for the National Indigenous Times. Most recently she served as Professor at the University of Technology Sydney. Prior to that, she served as Director of the Academic Unit at the Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs at the University of New South Wales, and as Associate Dean (Indigenous) at the University of Sydney Law School.
Professor Lee Godden
Deputy Director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Lee Godden (PhD, MA, B.Leg S, BA Hons) is the Deputy Director of the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub. Lee's research and teaching around Indigenous Peoples’ rights spans several decades. Her scholarship has considered the legal intersections between native title, Indigenous land and water rights, cultural heritage and property/environmental law. At the University of Melbourne, she was part of the Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project for 9 years. From 2013-15, Lee led the Australian Law Reform Commission Review of the Native Title Act 1993. An ‘Eminent Environmental Lawyer Award’ from the Australian Law Council included recognition of my research on Indigenous water rights. In late 2024, she returned to Melbourne Law School after a time as Dean, Law Faculty, Victoria University of Wellington.
Jaynaya Dwyer
Lecturer - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Jaynaya is a non-Indigenous lawyer of Anglo-Indian and Irish heritage, who grew up on Wurundjeri Country. She is lucky to be learning about First Nations justice and decolonisation of legal practice at the Hub, where she undertakes broad work on the review to Indigenise and decolonise the MLS Juris Doctor Curriculum, hosts the White Noise podcast and teaches a range of innovating elective subjects on First Nations Rights. Jaynaya is passionate about developing the capacity of MLS graduates to support First Nations justice movements. Jaynaya was previously a Research Assistant at MLS Clinics, and brings a strong drive to enhance interpersonal skills, empathy and reflective practice in future-lawyers.
Prior to joining the Hub, Jaynaya was living on Ngunnawal Country, working as a Legal Policy Officer in the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department. During this time Jaynaya took on the role of the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, leading the development of the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, as well as other organisational strategy, policy and initiatives to restructure government’s ways of doing business and centre voices traditionally excluded from policy development.
Tyson Holloway-Clarke
Lecturer - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Tyson is a Njamal man, PhD candidate and lecturer with the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub. Tyson earned his Juris Doctor at Melbourne Law School and Bachelor of Arts with Honours in History at the University of Melbourne. Since moving to Narrm in 2013 Tyson has been involved in student advocacy and representation in service to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students alike. From 2016-2020 Tyson served as a member on University Council at the highest levels of the University of Melbourne's governance.
Since 2020 Tyson has also worked as a teacher in different roles, including as a tutor in the Faculty of Arts, lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science and subject coordinator in the Faculty of Education, highlighting his interdisciplinary approach. With a passion for truth and justice Tyson hopes to bring his experience in different fields to MLS classrooms and support the research and other activities of the Hub.
Elyse Keyser
Program Coordinator - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Elyse joined the Law School in 2021 where she worked with the Melbourne School of Government and as Executive Officer before moving to the Hub in 2023. Prior to that, Elyse was at a not-for-profit for a number of years working in Government Relations and Advocacy, primarily for small businesses and industry. She now coordinates across the Hub's many initiatives and areas, including events, research, education, engagement, projects, strategy and governance.
Elyse has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in International Relations and Political Science at the University of Queensland, and a Masters in Public and Social Policy from Macquarie University. She is a non-Indigenous woman with anglo-european heritage who grew up on Turrbal-Yuggera land, and now lives and works on Wurundjeri Country.
James Griew
Research Assistant - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
James joined the University in 2024, as a Students@work intern, currently completing a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and International Studies. With a background in data management and analysis, and consultation in Indigenous issues with multiple Indigenous and non-Indigenous non-government organisations including Rumbalara FNC, NACCHO, QATSICCP and Health Equity Matters (formerly AFAO). Prior to working at the Hub, James worked as a junior consultant in Think Change Resolve, a consultation firm deeply focused on organisational and governance development, capability building and strategy. He now assists in the production of the White Noise podcast. James is passionate about the translation of Indigenous advocacy into public education initiatives for improved awareness for the improvement of Indigenous outcomes.
James is a Minang Noongar man from Southwest WA, he has grown up on Gadigal Country in Sydney and Wurundjeri Country in Melbourne.
Caitlin Hull
Administrative Officer - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Caitlin is a proud Wiradjuri woman who grew up on Ngunnawal Country and moved to Narrm in 2020, where she then completed a Bachelor of Science followed by a Master of Environment here at the University of Melbourne. Her Masters research focused on the rights and agency of non-human kin, and the intersections between their extraction and abstraction from Place with that of the historical and ongoing experiences of First Nations peoples.
Caitlin joined the Indigenous Law and Justice Hub in 2026. Her role at the hub will assist in coordinating events, as well as establishing the Indigenous Law Journal, and assisting students and academics in the publishing process.
Claire Bredenoord
Research Assistant - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Claire is a non-Indigenous Juris Doctor student who grew up on Ohlone land in the US, and has been lucky to live and work on Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Country for the last 10 years. She works as a research assistant for the Hub, contributing to the Indigenous Curriculum Review with the aim of amplifying Indigenous voices, content and presence in the JD core curriculum. Claire is excited to be learning from the Hub's work and put her interest in educational praxis to use in the Curriculum Review.
Claire has a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) from UC Santa Barbara and a Master of Arts and Community Practice from the VCA, and will be completing the Juris Doctor in 2024. Her professional background is primarily in education design and socially engaged community arts practice.
Dr. Sahiba Maqbool
Research Assistant - Indigenous Law and Justice Hub
Dr. Sahiba Maqbool is a legal scholar specializing in international law, with a particular focus on self-determination, decolonization, and the Kashmir. She was conferred doctorate degree by La Trobe University, Melbourne, in 2025. Her doctoral research critically examined Kashmir’s legal status under British and Indian colonial rule and applied international law doctrines to argue that Kashmir constitutes a case of incomplete decolonization. Dr. Maqbool has taught law in Australia and India, including courses on international law, human rights law, contract law, and torts law.
Beyond her research, Dr. Maqbool has contributed to legal policy work, including drafting India’s periodic report for the UN Human Rights Committee and co-authoring a report on the “Outer Limits of the Outer Continental Shelf” under UNCLOS. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Sri Lankan Journal of International Law, where she analyzed the United States' use of drones in Pakistan under international law.
Dr. Maqbool regularly engages with international law scholars and contributes to leading academic forums. Her forthcoming blog in CIL Dialogues critiques India’s use of international legal doctrines to claim sovereignty over Kashmir, building on Antony Anghie’s work on imperialism and sovereignty. Passionate about justice and legal scholarship, Dr. Sahiba Maqbool remains committed to advancing the study of international law, particularly in its intersections with colonial history, sovereignty, and self-determination.