Profiles
Robin Banks
Robin Banks
PhD Candidate
Room 1.01, Faculty of Law
613 6226 7504 (phone)
Biography
Robin holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of NSW (1999). In 2000 she was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor in the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia.
Robin grew up in Tasmania and has worked in government, private and not-for-profit legal roles, including most recently as Tasmania's Anti-Discrimination Commissioner (2010-17). Immediately before returning to Tasmania to take up this statutory appointment, Robin held the position of CEO of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (NSW) and Director of the Public Interest Law Clearing House (NSW). Robin worked for a year with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (1999-2000) and was a lawyer then Senior Associate with the Sydney law firm, Henry Davis York (2000-2005). Robin has been involved in a broad range of human rights advocacy activities and has a strong background in disability rights in particular.
Memberships
Robin is a member of:
- The Advisory Board to the Melbourne Social Equity Institute
- The Disability Access to Justice Consortium
- The Board of the Women's Legal Services Tasmania Inc
- The Board (Chair) of Chatter Matters Tasmania Inc
- The Tasmanian Human Rights Act Campaign
- A Patron of A Fairer World and Soroptomists International Hobart
- Member of the Commonwealth Group of Experts on reform of sexual offences, hate crimes and related laws to eliminate discrimination against women and girls and LGBT people working with the Equality and Justice Alliance
- Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law
- Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group
Robin commenced her PhD candidature in February 2018.
Thesis
An examination of whether and how discrimination law could use a conceptual framework that incorporates learnings from other disciplines, such as those of prejudice and unconscious bias from psychology, and what effect this might have on prevention and resolution.
Supervisors
Research focus areas
Discrimination law, human rights law, stigma and prejudice.
Other research interests
Public interest legal practice, clinical legal education, disability rights and access.