Holly Doel-Mackaway

Biography

Dr Holly Doel-Mackaway has worked in the children’s rights field for over 25 years as an academic, lawyer and social worker. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on international children’s rights law, children’s participation, Indigenous children’s rights, child protection, girls’ rights and juvenile justice. Her research across several major grant projects spanning five continents seeks to advance children’s rights globally.

Dr Doel-Mackaway is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of Australia’s leading human rights journal, the Australian Journal of Human Rights. She also plays an active role with the legal profession across the Asia-Pacific region in her role as the Expert Counsellor for Children, Indigenous People and Gender for the LAWASIA Human Rights Committee. Additionally, she serves as an elected member of the Macquarie University Academic Senate and co-leads the Children’s Rights, Participation and Protection Research Stream in the Faculty of Arts. Dr Doel-Mackaway collaborates with a range of human rights NGOs and regularly comments on child law matters in the media.

Dr Doel-Mackaway teaches Child and Elder Law, Legal Research Methodologies, International Human Rights Law and Constitutional Law and in 2021 was recognised as an educator of impact winning the student-nominated Vice-Chancellor's Learning and Teaching Award for her teaching excellence. Students nominated her for the same award again in 2024.

Her 2022 book ‘Indigenous Children's Right to Participate in Law and Policy Development’ (Routledge) presents a model for reforming and developing Indigenous-related legislation and policy in Australia and internationally. The model provides guidance about how to seek, listen to and respond to the voices of Indigenous children and young people. This model was employed by the Nossal Institute for Global Health and used by the Australian National Children’s Commissioner in their respective research endeavours. Dr Doel-Mackaway received the Macquarie University Executive Dean's Award for Excellence in Higher Degree Research for the field research with Aboriginal children and young people that underpins the book.  

Before becoming an academic, Dr Doel-Mackaway worked as a lawyer across more than 20 countries for the United Nations and various international non-government organisations, providing specialised advice on international children’s rights law. She held senior legal and managerial positions with a range of child-focused agencies including UNICEF, Save the Children and the NSW Department of Community Services. Dr Doel-Mackaway has also operated a child rights consulting practice for 15 years providing children’s rights research, training, legislative and policy advice nationally and internationally on matters relating to child protection, girls’ rights, the commercial sexual exploitation of children, children engaged in armed conflict and child rights-based approaches to research and development.

Dr Doel-Mackaway holds a PhD in Law (Macquarie University), a Bachelor of Laws (1st class honours from UTS), an honours degree in Social Work (Sydney University) and was admitted as a solicitor to the NSW Supreme Court in 2004. Prior to becoming a lawyer Dr Doel-Mackaway worked as a social worker supporting women and children who had experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse.