Laura Schuijers

Laura is an academic researcher and tertiary lecturer in the broad fields of environmental studies and holistic ecological governance. Her principal specialisation is in legal scholarship.

However, she is particularly interested in the way in which law interacts with other social and scientific disciplines - such as ecology, conservation biology, environmental epidemiology, and agroecology. Within this sphere, her research to date has focused on systems theory and its application to environmental regulation, the science-law interface, and the regulation of environmental decision making, for example in relation to major project proposals. Laura's present postdoctoral research with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute explores cross-sectoral policy options for state-, federal- and local-level governments in pursuance of deep decarbonisation and a low-carbon economy. Her PhD looked at environmental decision-making and environmental impact assessment law in the context of energy projects such as natural gas fracking. Laura has a special interest in comparative law, and has spent time as a visiting scholar at Oxford University, Columbia University in New York, and Lewis and Clarke College in Portland Oregon. She also completed part of her undergraduate law studies in Boston, MA. Prior to entering academia, she has worked in the commercial and public interest sectors in Australia, and in international environmental law in Bonn, Germany and Lima, Peru. She is admitted to the Victorian Supreme Court.Laura presently teaches Sustainability Governance and Leadership at Masters level with the Office for Environmental Programs. She has previously taught JD and undergraduate students in the law faculty, and undergraduate students in the former Bachelor of Environments.