Contact Details
p: +61 2 9514 3771
f: +61 2 9514 3400
Location
Faculty of Law
Cnr Quay St & Ultimo Road
Haymarket NSW 2007
Room# CM05B.04.10
View map...
Mailing Address
UTS:LAW
P.O. Box 123
Broadway NSW 2007
AUSTRALIA
Areas of Expertise
› Legislation and policy which
better serves Indigenous children
and families.
› The relevance of international law
for Indigenous children's well-being
› Alternative decision-making and
reform to court procedures in
child welfare matters
Current Teaching
70311 Law of Tort
76708 Comparative Issues
in Aboriginal Self-Determination
76068 Indigenous Peoples
and the Law
Academic Profile
Terri Libesman joined the Faculty in 1996. Her teaching at UTS has had a particular focus on the specialist Indigenous law electives.
Terri has conducted research for a number of public inquiries including the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody; the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies' review of the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act; the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Islander children from their families; and the review of the Children and Young Person Act (Vic) 2005.
She is currently working on two projects with the Secretariat for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Care (SNAICC) which is the peak Indigenous organisation representing Indigenous children's interests. Terri has also researched comparative legislative and policy frameworks for the provision of child welfare services in the US, Canada and New Zealand as well as Australia's compliance with the United Nation's Convention on the Rights of the Child (with particular respect to Indigenous children).
Terri serves on the editorial board of the Australian Indigenous Law Reporter and is a member of the University's Board of Studies for Indigenous Education and the University's Human Research Ethics Committee.
Current Research Activities
Research into how Indigenous communities understand the factors which contribute to risk and resilience in their communities.
Comparative legislative and service delivery models for Indigenous children, families and communities well-being
Children's rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Recent Grants, Publications & Conference Papers
"Can International Law imagine the world of Indigenous children?", The International Journal of Children's Rights, 2006 pp 1-27.
Grant: LSF grants (various]: Indigenous children's well-being and the law issues(2006)
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Outcomes Project Report", SNAICC and DHS Victoria, 2005, pp1-250 (with T.Bell)
"An agenda to support smart and strong Indigenous children", presented to the Department of Family and Community Services conference, Canberra, July 2005.
Grant: "Risk and Protective factors specific to Indigenous Communities", Telstra Foundation (2005)
Grant: "A review of outcomes for Indigenous children", Department of Human Services, Victoria (2005)
"Indigenous Children and Australia's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child", Department of Community Services (NSW) Annual Indigenous Workers conference, November, 2004.
"Towards an inclusive agenda for Indigenous children'", International Bar Association conference, Auckland, October, 2004 (with J. Field)
"Child welfare approaches for Indigenous communities: international perspectives", Child Abuse Prevention Issues (2004) pp 1-39.
"Towards an inclusive early childhood agenda", Balayi, Culture, Law and Colonialism 2004 pp1-10.