Experience

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  Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford

  • Oxford, England, United Kingdom

  • Academic Visitor

    • Apr 2024 - Present
    • Oxford, England, United Kingdom

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  University of Canberra

  • Australia
  • Higher Education
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Associate Professor Environment & Human Rights

    • Jul 2022 - Present

    As an Associate Professor at the Canberra Law School, I teach Constitutional Law, Human Rights Law and Property Law within the LLB and JD programs.My research focuses on the intersection of human rights and the environment, including the human right to water, legal geography, Indigenous water governance and rights of nature. My research and expertise are significant to the complex policy questions around land use regulation and water governance, as well as developments in human rights at the international and domestic levels (such as the United Nations Human Rights Council's 2021 declaration on the right to a healthy environment and the ACT government’s recent announcement of an intention to include this right in the Human Rights Act). I am the co-author of 'The Lawful Forest: A critical history of property, protest and spatial justice'.

  • Deputy Head of School

    • Jan 2023 - Present

  • Program Director

    • Dec 2020 - May 2023

    As the Law Program Director, I was responsible for overseeing curriculum development and accreditation, supporting students, and chairing our working group on Indigenising the curriculum.

  • Deputy Director Learning and Teaching

    • Nov 2022 - Dec 2022

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  University of Canberra

  • Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

  • Senior Lecturer

    • Jun 2020 - Jun 2022
    • Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    As a Senior Lecturer with the Canberra Law School, I was the Unit Convenor for a range of units, including Property Law and Constitutional Law within the LLB and JD programs. From December 2020, I also worked as the Law Program Director and was responsible for leading the Course Review and Reaccreditation process, in addition to chairing our working groups on Indigenising the curriculum and inclusive legal education.

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  Eureka Street

  • Columnist (environment & human rights)

    • Nov 2018 - Feb 2022

    Monthly columnist

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  ACT Government

  • Senior Project Officer

    • Dec 2019 - May 2020

    Human Rights & Policy, Civil LawJustice and Community Safety Directorate

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  DEPARTMENT OF THE SENATE

  • Principal Research Officer for the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights

    • Jul 2019 - Dec 2019

    As a principal research officer within the secretariat, I was responsible for undertaking significant research and writing tasks to support the work of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. This included high-level legislative scrutiny, analysis and research to determine the compatibility of new bills and legislative instruments with international human rights, as well as the preparation of reports and briefs for consideration by the chair and committee. In this role, I was also responsible for the supervision of junior colleagues.During my time with the committee, I took a lead role in supporting the committee’s inquiry into the Quality of Care (Minimising the Use of Restraint) Principles 2019, including the organisation of the public hearing, and the preparation of the background brief and final report.

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  Feminist Writers Festival

  • Co-Founder and Co-Chair

    • Jan 2016 - Jul 2019

    The Feminist Writers Festival (FWF) was established in 2016 to support and promote feminist writers in Australia by hosting a biennial feminist writers festival and a range of one-off events throughout Australia. The FWF builds on existing themes and voices around feminism and women’s writing by offering a space for critical engagement and practical support for all feminist writers and readers.In my role as Chair and Co-Founder of the Feminist Writers Festival, I worked with a small team to oversee the running of all festival events, including the highly successful inaugural festival in 2016 held in partnership with the Melbourne Writers Festival. I established our governance structure and worked with the Management Committee and Board to take strategic decisions about the direction of the festival. This role required highly developed interpersonal skills, as it involved liaising with government institutions such as the Victorian government, ASIC and ACNC, and with our partner organisations, festival artists, volunteers, donors, attendees and the media. I stepped down from the position of Chair in late 2018 and remained an active board member until July 2019.

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  Southern Cross University

  • Australia
  • Higher Education
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Lecturer

    • Mar 2015 - Jul 2019

    As an academic with the School of Law and Justice, I developed a strong record of innovative interdisciplinary research that focuses on the intersections of human rights, governance, environmental justice and the commons. It engages with both international human rights law and the emerging field of legal geography, and is published widely in high quality academic journals and books, professional journals, The Conversation and the mainstream media.As a lecturer, I taught and coordinated International Human Rights, Human Rights, Competition and Consumer Law, Equity, and Finance Law within the undergraduate and graduate LLB program. I also developed the curriculum for, and coordinated, the online units in Consumer Law and Competition Law for the Master of Business Law and LLM programs. Throughout my time as a lecturer, I received consistently positive results across all fields in formal anonymous student feedback surveys conducted by the University and in peer review. I also received seven Teacher Commendations and was shortlisted for the 2015 Vice-Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.During my time with SCU, I took an active role in the administration of the university and law school, and served in wide variety of roles including:• School Representative to Academic Board (2017-2019)• Member of the Academic Board Working party on student involvement in academic governance (2018)• Early Career Research Representative to the Research Committee of Academic Board (2017-2019)• Editor of the Southern Cross University Law Review (2016-2019)• Deputy Chair of School Board (2015-2019)• Director of the Distinguished Visitors Program (2016-2017)• Academic Integrity Officer (2016)• Coordinator of the Work in Progress Seminar series (2016)• Participant in the Rising Stars Early Career Research Development Program (2015)• School Representation to the SCU Sustainability Policy Advisory Group (2014-2015)

  • Associate Lecturer

    • Jan 2014 - Mar 2015

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  University of New South Wales

  • Sydney, Australia

  • PhD in Human Rights Law

    • Feb 2005 - Mar 2013
    • Sydney, Australia

    My PhD dissertation entitled ‘Resolving the crisis of access: a case for the recognition of the human right to water’ passed with minor amendments in 2013. During my candidature I was based in the Australian Human Rights Centre at the UNSW Faculty of Law and supervised by Professors Andrea Durbach and Rosemary Rayfuse. My thesis focused on the status and content of the human right to water and contained two case studies – one focused on the privatisation of Manila’s water and sanitation system and the other on the introduction of prepaid water meters into Soweto and the litigation in the Constitutional Court of South Africa that was initiated in response (Mazibuko v City of Johannesburg (2009) 28 ZACC). Examiners comments include: Cristy Clark has carried out a very impressive work of research and analysis. ... the candidate notes that “the inherent tension between the economic values of good governance and the social values of the right to water is the reason why debate over the substantive content of the right to water continues”. The great merit of this thesis is that it lays out both sides of this tension with exceptional clarity, and thus brings real weight to the question of “substantive content”, which is tackled with refreshing frankness and feeling, as well as intelligence and insight. [Associate Professor Stephen Humphreys, London School of Economics and Political Science]]The thesis addresses a highly relevant topic, the crisis affecting millions of humans in the Global South who do not have access to basic water and sanitation services. It engages with a current debate around the implications of the sanction of the “human right to water” by the UN in 2010, and of the different attempts made by governments in several countries to implement this right ... It provides a very well-crafted and detailed analysis of the legal aspects, solidly backed with relevant references and empirical evidence. [Professor José Esteban Castro, Newcastle University, UK]

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  The Australian National University

  • Canberra, Australia

  • Tutor

    • Apr 2006 - Nov 2008
    • Canberra, Australia

    Between 2006 and 2008, I taught tutorial groups of 25 students Corporations Law, Contracts and Equity at the ANU College of Law. This position involved teaching unit content and legal analysis, and marking assignments and examination papers.

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  The University of New South Wales

  • Research Assistant

    • Mar 2005 - Aug 2005

    In this position I assisted Professor Eileen Baldry with research and editing work, and with marking assignments from a range of courses from within the Masters in International Social Development and Social Work programs.

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  State Government of New South Wales

  • Policy Officer

    • Sep 2004 - Feb 2005

    As a project officer for Families First, a NSW government initiative to support families with young children, I undertook social research into the capacity of the community in southeast Sydney to support families with young children. This was a community capacity building method of research that involved linking members of the community together with each other and service providers, and empowering them to have a voice in the decision making processes of the NSW government. At the conclusion of the research, I prepared a comprehensive research report for the NSW Premier’s Department in consultation with a range of stakeholders and government departments, which summarised the needs of families with young children in southeast Sydney and made recommendations regarding the kind of services that required additional funding and support.This position gave me the opportunity to extend my research skills, particularly in the area of social research and to increase my communication and interpersonal skills with people from a very wide range of backgrounds from both within the community, and from within government and non-government agencies. Finally, this position developed my ability to work both independently and within a team, as my research was primarily self-directed with the periodic assistance of a management committee.

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  Combined Community Legal Centres Group (NSW)

  • Sydney, Australia

  • Locum Policy Officer (Human Rights)

    • Apr 2004 - Sep 2004
    • Sydney, Australia

    As a locum policy officer with the Combined Community Legal Centre’s Group (CCLCG) I was responsible for organising a workshop for the National Community Legal Centre’s Conference on Litigating to Promote Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This involved legal research into the promotion of socioeconomic rights in Australia, drafting a proposal and abstract for the workshop, and securing and co-ordinating the participation of a group of solicitors from around Australia. In this position, I also conducted research and drafted policy submissions to government agencies and UN bodies on human rights issues in Australia, including; the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination for Indigenous peoples, and freedom of assembly.This position enabled me to further develop my liaison and organisational skills. I also enhanced my policy analysis and legal research skills, particularly in relation to human rights. This position gave me a stronger understanding of the structure, role and value of community legal centres across Australia.

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  Freehills

  • Sydney, Australia

  • Solicitor

    • Jan 2003 - Jan 2004
    • Sydney, Australia

    As a graduate solicitor in the Environment and Planning section of the Projects Group in Freehills, my work included legal research; drafting advice, letters, contracts and court documents; general conveyancing; and briefing Counsel in the Land and Environment Court. During my time with Freehills, I worked on a number of significant litigation matters in the Environment and Planning Court as an instructing solicitor, completed a range of property transactions and planning applications, and worked on several large commercial environmental due diligence projects.This position helped me to develop professional skills in legal research, litigation, and client communication, and enabled me to enhance my presentation, negotiation and organisational skills. I also developed my computer skills by undertaking further training in Microsoft Word, Lotus Notes, electronic legal research tools and legal precedents.