Overview
Key publications
Research funding
Supervising & teaching
Career
Section: Overview
Overview
Key publications
Research funding
Supervising & teaching
Career

Key details

Areas of expertise

  • Criminology
  • Legal history
  • Multiculturalism and the law
  • Legal education and training
  • Courts & tribunals

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

About Kathy Laster

Professor Laster took up her position as Director of the Sir Zelman Cowen Centre in January 2015, and successfully gained funding for the Centre's Courts and Tribunals Academy shortly after. The main specialisation of the Centre is in 'law and cultural diversity'.

After more than a decade in various leadership roles throughout the public sector, Professor Laster resumed her academic career in 2011. She has published an extensive range of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the field of criminology, legal history and gender and multiculturalism in relation to the law. Many of these contributions have been highly influential in both the public and legal sectors, as has her work on improving access to justice.

Professor Laster completed her LLB and Master of Arts at the University of Melbourne and went on to postgraduate study in New York obtaining her Doctorate of Juridical Sciences degree from Columbia University.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD), Columbia University, US
  • MA, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • LLB, University of Melbourne, Australia
  • Admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria

Key publications

Kathy has over 26 publications, with a selection listed here.


A more comprehensive list of Kathy's publications is available in the VU Research Repository.

Year Citation
2021 Laster, K., & Erez, E. (210101). Gender and Terrorism (pp. 119-150).
2020 Erez, E., Jiang, J., & Laster, K. (200101). From Cinderella to Consumer: How Crime Victims Can Go to the Ball (pp. 321-357).

doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-42288-2_13
2017 Erez, E., & Laster, K. (171215). Capital punishment in Jewish law (pp. 218-230).

doi: 10.4324/9781315624723
2017 Laster, K., & Kornhauser, R. (170101). The Rise of DIY Law: Implications for Legal Aid (pp. 123-140).

Year Citation
2021 Kathylaster. (210101). Epilogue: Courts as Low Trust' Environments: Repurposing Francis Fukuyama. International Journal for Court Administration, 12(3), (1-11).

doi: 10.36745/IJCA.423
2021 Laster, K., & Wallace, A. (210101). Foreword by the Editors. International Journal for Court Administration, 12(3), (1-6).

doi: 10.36745/IJCA.424
2021 Wallace, A., & Laster, K. (210101). Courts in Victoria, Australia, During COVID: Will Digital Innovation Stick?. International Journal for Court Administration, 12(2), (1-19).

doi: 10.36745/IJCA.389
2020 Erez, E., & Laster, K. (200401). Palestinian Women in Terrorism: A Double-Edged Sword?. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 64(5), (443-469).

doi: 10.1177/0306624X19862429
2017 Laster, K. (170101). Remembering Ronald Ryan. Law Institute Journal, 90(13), (19-21).
2016 Laster, K. (160901). Future of the law: Doomsday prophet or optimist? Susskind predicts the end of the professions. The Bulletin, 38(8), (28-29).

Research funding for the past 5 years

Please note:

  • Funding is ordered by the year the project commenced and may continue over several years.
  • Funding amounts for contact research are not disclosed to maintain commercial confidentiality.
  • The order of investigators is not indicative of the role they played in the research project.

An Intergenerational Oral History of the Koori Courts
From: ARC - Special Research Initatives, Court Services Victoria
For period: 2021-2023
 $293,160

Governing Shules: Professional Development for Boards of Synagogues
From: Besen Family Foundation
For period: 2020-2021
 $10,000
Just-in-time: Pre-Marital Primary Prevention Training Package for Muslim Communities
From: Department of Social Services, Benevolence Australia
For period: 2020-2022
 $470,114

Trusting Legal Information: A Community Development Model of Peer to Peer Legal Education for Migrant Communities in Melbourne's West
From: Department of Home Affairs
For period: 2019-2020
 Not disclosed
Devolving Aspire: Muslim Young Woman's Governance and Leadership
From: Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation (LMCF)
For period: 2019-2022
 $300,000

Supervision of research students at VU

Available to supervise research students

Available for media queries

Completed supervision of research students at VU

No. of students Study level Role
1 PhD by Publication Principal supervisor
1 PhD Principal supervisor

Completed supervision of research students at VU

Students & level Role
PhD by Publication (1) Principal supervisor
PhD (1) Principal supervisor

Key academic roles

Dates Role Department / Organisation
Jan 2011 - Present
Associate Professor
Monash University
Dates Role & Department/Organisation
Jan 2011 -
Present
Associate Professor
Monash University

Key industry, community & government roles

Dates Role Department/Organisation
Jan 2007 - Dec 2011
Chief Executive Officer
IPAA Victoria
Jan 2002 - Dec 2007
Executive Director
Victoria Law Foundation
Dates Role & Department/Organisation
Jan 2007 - Dec 2011
Chief Executive Officer
IPAA Victoria
Jan 2002 - Dec 2007
Executive Director
Victoria Law Foundation