A review of Melbourne Law School’s Racial Justice (LAWS90320)

By MLS Students | 19th May 2026

What does it mean to study a legal system built on dispossession and inequality? The MLS elective, Racial Justice, invited students to reckon with that question, not as an conceptual exercise, but as a responsibility.

When conversations about “justice” in Australia are often pushed to the margins, or even flattened into doctrine and procedure in classes, Racial Justice, championed by lecturers Maggie Munn and Monique Hurley, asked something much more demanding of its students. It insisted that to learn the law is to confront how it has been used to determine and weaponise race: to enforce categorisation, to monopolise power, and disturb the lives of marginalised communities.

The elective invited students to sit with an uncomfortable truth. The colonial legal system we are being trained in has never been neutral, and was built to perpetuate inequality. For all of its existence, it has been entangled in, and is foundational to, the very prejudices it claims to remedy. However, Racial Justice students were also asked to imagine otherwise: what might the world look like if the law was not anchored in colonial violence? What would it mean to depart from, rather than merely reform, its foundations?

Across Australia, systemic racial inequalities and violences continue to permeate institutions, communities, and everyday life. From over-policing and incarceration to entrenched disparities in health, housing, and education, the law operates within histories and structures of racial power. To treat engagement with these realities as optional, or reducing its domain to an optional elective, is to misunderstand the purpose of legal education itself. Efforts to reform the Priestley 11 to 12, a call to embed Indigenous legal education at the core of every law degree, signals this growing recognition that change is essential.

Racial Justice cultivated a rare and necessary space for this undoing. It asked students not only to think critically, but to listen, reflect, and respond honestly about their place within the legal system. The following reflections are from students who took Racial Justice. Their words mark this shift in how future lawyers must understand their responsibilities within a profession shaped by the colonial regime.

amy alexander

An Overview:
Introduced in semester 2 of 2025, Racial Justice was an elective subject that explored the complexities of race and racism. The course sought to empower students to recognise, deconstruct, and eliminate systems of oppression. Focused on the Australian context, this subject re-centred the voices of First Nations peoples and racialised communities in the justice discourse.

The People:
The subject was co-taught by the inimitable Maggie Munn and Monique Hurley. Hailing from the Human Rights Law Centre, the lecturers brought extensive experience within the legal and activist spaces. Maggie, is a proud Gunggari person and is the Director of the First Nations Justice team. Monique is the Associate Legal Director of the Centre. Each a force in their own right, together they were spectacular. Seminars were delivered collaboratively, and content was thoughtfully delivered in a digestible format. Personal experiences and insights were also shared with the class, enhancing the impact of each week’s content. The mutual respect shown by Maggie and Monique fostered a safe and constructive academic environment, making class an absolute pleasure to attend.

The Course:
The success of the course is a reflection of the extraordinary work of its architects, Professor Eddie Cubillo and Jaynaya Dwyer. Unlike many other available academic offerings, Racial Justice intentionally (re)centred the voices and experiences of First Nations peoples in legal discourse. Drawing on the wisdom of First Nations academics from around the world, this subject embodied the ethos of truth-telling. The course was structured around the anthology, ‘Indigenous Legal Judgments’. [Side note: If you haven’t already read this book, you absolutely should.] Each week, we studied a different re-imagined judgment and reflection. This approach recognised and celebrated the diversity of Indigenous perspectives, rather than perpetuating the artificial (read: white, settler) homogenisation of First Nations people’s perspectives. This learning was supported by journal articles and excerpts of books authored by First Nations scholars, and the lived experience of our lecturers and guest speakers.

The Vibes:
Immaculate. We were all encouraged to show up as our full, authentic selves. Though a simple gesture, its effect was widespread. Without the typical pretence accompanying law school activities, students were allowed to be curious, honest, and vulnerable. To this end, each student contributed to discussion with the utmost respect, intention, and in the spirit of learning. The lecturers also made space for students to explore the intersections of their identities and the course content, further enriching the classroom experience. I don’t think I have ever experienced a more engaged class, truly.

The “Nitty Gritty”:
The three assessments thoughtfully dovetailed into the course’s content and objectives. First, we each wrote a blog post exploring (and critiquing) a seminal Australian legal judgment. Our second assessment was completed in small groups. We were tasked with developing and delivering an interactive class activity based on our designated week’s materials. The assessment schedule culminated in our final piece, a critical judgment and reflection. It was an open invitation to participate in ‘scholarly’ rebellion–one which we all accepted gladly. Permitted to approach this task in any way we chose, we were able to deeply and meaningfully engage with the process of reimagining a legal judgment. This offered a unique opportunity to escape the confines of the settler system, and allowed us to envision a more racially-just future for the law.

Nazli Sevinc

2025 was the final year of my JD. After extensively debating which subjects to add to my last semester rotation (every subject counts, after all) I settled on Racial Justice as my final elective. My expectations were moderate; as a newly established subject, I thought the cohort might experience some growing pains, but I had just enough curiosity to see it through.

Throughout my studies, I perceived Australia’s legal system as overwhelmingly fair. I still do.  Compared to many other legal systems around the world, ours is quite enviable, and our rule of law consistent. Mainstream JD subjects reinforced this perception. After all, we read judgment after judgment where judges made decisions on the basis of fairness. Rarely did I read a decision and think an aggrieved party had been undermined by the court. Put summarily, I believed our judges were generally fair, and our common law generally sound. I had never needed the law to defend me, but I trusted that if I did, it would.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that an issue emerged in nearly every race-based matter. Here, I had the niggling feeling that something was awry. The same legal system which I saw as fair and rational, seemed to lose its fair and rational character in an alarming number of race-based cases. For the first time, I had to consider that the legal system which I could rely on to defend me, couldn’t be relied on by everybody.

I still remember the shock of first reading the High Court’s Al-Kateb decision, and can’t be the only person who couldn’t conceive how unjust the outcome was. This was not the same High Court I had been reading in every other case. That was the first moment I thought to myself, “wow, the system has lost its head”. Principles of justice, it seemed to me, were the first to be discarded in these matters. As the JD progressed, this became all the more obvious in cases where an Indigenous party sought to assert their rights. The same feeling returned, again and again, across Kartinyeri, Walker, Millirpum and the list goes on. I read these judgments with unravelling dread: is this decision going where I think it’s going? And beneath that dread, a simpler, more despondent reaction: that is not fair. This is just not fair.

Australia’s legal system built its legitimacy on principles of fairness and justice, but in case after case, it uses its force to strike down and abuse the Indigenous people of the land upon which it was built. The same system that deploys every tool to achieve fair outcomes for others will bend itself backwards to reach bizarre outcomes for Indigenous Australians who’ve had their lands, laws and rights usurped.

I can’t claim to be omniscient, but it seemed to me that judges often felt the outcome had already been predetermined by anxieties about the legal system’s legitimacy. The judgment then became an exercise in laying out how to restore that legitimacy in the face of a claim that threatened it. In these judgments, it was clear as day that the system did not react kindly to being reminded of its settler colonial character. Now, the brutal and belligerent character of the settler colony is roused from its sleep when reminded of its cruel origins, and it feels compelled to lash out and discipline its detractors in order to protect itself. It seems all too aware that its legitimacy is as fragile as a house of cards.

Despite being aware of this ugly underbelly, I entered the Racial Justice class with faith in the law’s overall fair and justice-minded character. The class proved the perfect forum to battle it out. The three-hour sessions, each week dedicated to a different theme, were split between a lecture, a discussion of assigned articles, and a discussion of the weekly case from the Indigenous Legal Judgments textbook. No doubt to the agitation of some of my classmates, I consistently played devil’s advocate during discussions, trying to understand why our legal system behaved this way rather than only indict its character. For better or worse, I thought, we are students and future practitioners of this legal system. Though we live in a settler colony, we are compelled to participate in it, so it should be our job to make the law as justiciable as possible.

For the final assignment, I sat down to write my own alternative judgment for Walker v New South Wales, expecting to struggle. That’s not what happened, and despite my reservations, the exercise came surprisingly naturally. The Racial Justice class and its many discussions forced me to consider that the original outcome was not necessary. It was a choice, made by a judge who chose to treat Denis Walker’s claim as an affront rather than a provocation worth considering. Someone only had to be willing to leave the door open and test the boundaries, and ask: how far could the law go? That question is in the spirit of the common law system tradition, and we shouldn’t shy away from it.

I encourage anyone reading this to pick up the Indigenous Legal Judgments book and read it with an open mind. It doesn’t throw out the common law or pretend that precedent doesn’t exist. The lawyers and academics who wrote it worked entirely within the confines of the law and arrived at different outcomes that prioritised fairness and justice rather than a legal system’s legitimacy. In doing so, it didn’t sacrifice anything at all.

Once we stop wringing our hands about the skeleton of the legal system, and stop treating the common law as a fragile thing that will shatter if tested, racial justice becomes profoundly achievable. It becomes just like any other justice, which is achieved every day in countless courts across the country. The tools and precedents are already there, but the missing ingredient is the willingness to use them.

I hold the Racial Justice subject in the highest regard. Anyone who approaches it with an open mind, in my view, will become a better legal practitioner by the end of it. The objective isn’t to become an idealist or an anarchist or any other label that’s come to signify the redress of social grievances in Australia. Despite the temptation, we have to resist framing racial justice as outside the norm, or different to any other kind of justice. We simply have to be willing to see what alternatives can be achieved if Australia’s legal system meets racial justice with curiosity instead of contempt.

mia vissenjoux

I am exceptionally grateful that I was able to experience ‘Racial Justice’ in my last semester of law school. As a woman of colour who has come from an inter-racial family, the rights of people in colour have always been close to home. The criminal justice system has been an immense source of violence for Black people all over the world.

In an Australian context, it is impossible to deny the generational harm and destruction that colonial law has created for First Nations peoples. Throughout my studies, I was always drawn to racially charged issues in the law, but it never felt like we were able to give the proper attention to these issues amongst everything else we needed to learn.

‘Racial Justice’ was a subject that explored these issues on a deep and nuanced level. Maggie Munn and Monique Hurley were exceptional tutors who created a space where every member of the class was valued, respected and felt safe to contribute to these important conversations. The class got to know each other on a much deeper level and were much more familiar and comfortable with each other than any other subject I took across my law degree. Further, Maggie and Monique took a genuine interest in each student and fostered collaborative and authentic relationships between tutor and student.

I felt like I was in a room with like-minded people who I was constantly impressed by and I thoroughly enjoyed learning content that aligned with my values, interests and career aspirations. I have profound respect for First People’s Law as a representation of the inherent unceded sovereignty of First Nations peoples and each week I got to learn more about that law, its history and the way it works in practice.

I will carry what I learnt from ‘Racial Justice’ with me as I move forward, and I believe it will make me a better human and a better lawyer. This subject taught us how to engage in discussions about important racial issues which underpin our legal system and society as a whole. It taught us how to articulate our own experiences and opinions, and how to listen to others. More importantly, it taught us to recognise every person in the room and to allow everyone the space to speak and be heard.

The ongoing effects of colonialism and the inherent sovereignty of First Nations peoples creates fundamental issues and tensions in our criminal justice system and legal system as a whole. I truly believe that the only way we will be able to move forward and create real meaningful change is for us to confront the reality of the racial undertones of our legal system. This requires education, critical thinking, deep discussion and most of all, requires us to listen to those more knowledgeable than us and learn from the lived experiences of those around us. This can be uncomfortable, but it is essential. ‘Racial Justice’ allowed us an opportunity to engage in this work as part of our law degree and to hone those skills which will transfer into whatever career pathway we choose. ‘Racial Justice’ was an incredibly worthwhile subject, and I will always be grateful I was able to be part of it.

una šverko

The racial justice subject explored the state of Australian law concerning and affecting First Nations across the continent. Foregrounding Aboriginal scholarship, the subject considered topics such as Aboriginal resistance, citizenship and immigration, carceralism, abolition, and more.

As a student visiting the continent from Tiohtià:ke (“Montréal”) on Kanien’kehá:ka territory (in “Canada”), the subject was an essential tool for understanding the context into which I was entering. It provided not only historical grounding but also a framework for critically engaging with contemporary legal structures and their ongoing impacts on First Nations communities. What distinguished this subject was its commitment to centering Indigenous voices and emphasising discussion and participation. It placed Indigenous voices at the foundation of the subject while encouraging students to engage with these voices and question dominant narratives in every class.

Importantly, the subject created a space for dialogue and critical reflection. It challenged students to situate themselves within the structures being studied and to consider their own roles and responsibilities. For visiting students in particular, this was crucial in avoiding superficial or extractive engagement with Indigenous issues. Overall, the subject is indispensable. It equips students with the foundation necessary to engage with the Australian legal system without overlooking the historical and ongoing impact on First Nations communities.

liam jelley

After having an incredibly enjoyable experience completing Law and Indigenous Peoples, I was encouraged to enrol in Racial Justice.

As someone who had limited insight into Indigenous law prior to my studies, as well as a strong interest in its current relationship with Australian law, Racial Justice was a great opportunity to better understand where we continue to falter as a nation and as a legal system in recognising and integrating First Nations laws, customs and perspectives. Moreover, the deep revision of Australian history that we undertook throughout the subject powerfully highlighted the ongoing harm caused by the rigid British colonial legal system, particularly in relation to judicial outcomes for Indigenous peoples.

Beyond the valuable knowledge I gained through the teachings of Maggie and Monique, it was also exciting to learn how I can become a better advocate for First Nations justice. The space created during the subject was welcoming and allowed for constructive and diverse discourse on a range of topics. Given that those of us who graduate from Melbourne Law School will help shape the trajectory of Australian law over the coming decades, it would be wonderful for many more students to continue engaging in the kinds of conversations we had during Racial Justice.

Even if you have not previously engaged with these issues in depth, I would highly recommend considering Racial Justice as one of your next electives.