Dr Peta Stephenson
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Biography
Dr Peta Stephenson teaches and researches in Australian constitutional law at the School of Law at QUT. Her research explores the scope and limits of the powers that can be exercised by the Federal Executive Government in Australia and the circumstances in which it can act without the authorisation of the Parliament. Peta's current research aims to clarify the legal principles governing the relationship between legislation and executive power, and she was awarded the 2022 Cheryl Saunders Prize for Excellence in Constitutional Law Scholarship for an article that she published on this topic.Peta is the author of Nationhood, Executive Power and the Australian Constitution (Hart, 2022) and is one of the authors of Blackshield and Williams Australian Constitutional Law and Theory: Commentary and Materials (Federation Press, 8th edition, 2024).
Peta was a Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellow with the Laureate Program in Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Melbourne in 2019.
Prior to joining QUT in 2018, Peta worked as a solicitor at a commercial law firm in Brisbane and as a policy officer at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Senior Lecturer
Faculty of Business & Law,
School of Law
Keywords
Constitutional Law, Public Law, Executive Power, Non-Statutory Executive Power, Nationhood, Federalism
Research field
Public law, Law in context
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (University of Queensland)
- Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (University of Queensland)
- Bachelor of Arts (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
- Advisory Council Member, Australia and New Zealand Chapter of the International Society of Public Law (ICON*S)
- Executive Committee Member of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law Queensland Chapter
- Member, Australian Association of Constitutional Law
Teaching
LLB107 Statutory Interpretation
Peta currently teaches LLB203 Constitutional Law and LLB107 Statutory Interpretation. Peta also supervises students undertaking LLH479 Research Thesis Extension.
Experience
Professional Qualifications:
- Admitted (not currently practising) as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and High Court of Australia
- Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice (College of Law)
- Diploma of Government (Australian Institute of Management)
Publications
- Stephenson, P., Ananian-Welsh, R., Lynch, A., Williams, G. & Brennan, S. (2024). Blackshield and Williams Australian Constitutional Law and Theory: Commentary and Materials. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/246267
- Stephenson, P., (2023). Constitutional Issues Arising from Restrictions on Freedom of Movement During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. In B. Bennett & I. Freckelton (Eds.), Australian Public Health Law: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (pp. 62–80). Federation Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/242205
- Stephenson, P., (2022). Nationhood, Executive Power and the Australian Constitution. Hart Publishing. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/232474
- Stephenson, P., Freckelton, I. & Bennett, B. (2021). Public Health Emergencies in Australia. In B. Bennett & I. Freckelton (Eds.), Pandemics, Public Health Emergencies and Government Powers: Perspectives on Australian Law (pp. 69–89). Federation Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/213141
- Stephenson, P., (2021). The Relationship between the Royal Prerogative and Statute in Australia. Melbourne University Law Review, 44(3). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/210524
- Stephenson, P., (2020). Statutory Displacement of the Prerogative in Australia. In J. Boughey & L. Burton Crawford (Eds.), Interpreting Executive Power (pp. 203–221). Federation Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/157527
- Stephenson, P., (2018). Nationhood and Section 61 of the Constitution. University of Western Australia Law Review, 43(2), 149–187. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/119478
- Stephenson, P., (2016). Justice Mason in the Australian Assistance Plan Case (1975): Nationhood, federalism and Commonwealth executive power. In A. Lynch (Ed.), Great Australian dissents (pp. 169–188). Cambridge University Press. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115602
- Stephenson, P., (2015). Fertile ground for federalism? Internal security, the states and Section 119 of the Constitution. Federal Law Review, 43(2), 289–312. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/119477
- Crowe, J. & Stephenson, P. (2014). An express constitutional right to vote? The case for reviving Section 41. The Sydney Law Review, 36(2), 205–230. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/119258
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Peta, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/peta.stephenson
Awards
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2022
- Details
- 2022 Cheryl Saunders Prize for Excellence in Scholarship in Constitutional Law
- Type
- Visiting Professorships/Fellowships
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Kathleen Fitzpatrick Visiting Fellow in the Laureate Program in Comparative Constitutional Law, Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Dr Stephenson was the recipient of the 2016 Research Higher Degree Research Excellence Award during her PhD candidature at the University of Queensland. This awards recognises a PhD Candidate from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law with the potential to make a major contribution in her or his field of research.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2016
- Details
- Dr Stephenson was a joint recipient of the 2016 Owen Fletcher Postgraduate Research Publication Award. This Award recognises the best academic publication or conference paper by a student enrolled in a Research Higher Degree program at the TC Beirne School of Law.
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.