Belinda Fehlberg

Professor Belinda Fehlberg is a Professor of Law and Deputy Dean at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. She specialises in family law with a particular interest in how law in books is understood, applied, and experienced by professionals and families. Fehlberg graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BA and LLB in 1991. Over the past two decades, she has conducted extensive empirical research on key family law issues, including spousal guarantees, pre-nuptial agreements, the overlapping powers of state children's courts and family law courts, children's contact services, and the interconnections between post-separation parenting arrangements and financial settlements. Her research examines real-world applications of family law principles, contributing to deeper insights into family dynamics following separation and divorce.

Fehlberg is the lead author of the authoritative textbook Australian Family Law: The Contemporary Context (Oxford University Press, 2015), which promotes critical thinking about contemporary Australian family law. Other significant publications include Sexually Transmitted Debt: Surety Experience and English Law (Clarendon Press, 1997), an in-depth study of surety experiences; Child Support Policy in Australia and the United Kingdom (International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2009); Legislating for Shared Time Parenting after Separation: A Research Review (with Bruce Smyth et al., 2011); Post-separation Parenting and Financial Arrangements over Time: Recent Qualitative Findings (with Christine Millward, Family Matters, 2013); Mothers' Understandings of 'Home' After Relationship Separation and Divorce (with Monica Campo et al., International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 2020); and The Meaning of Home for Children and Young People After Parental Separation: Key Insights for Practice (Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2025). She has secured major research funding through Australian Research Council Discovery Projects, including DP0877125 (2008) and DP180102799 (2018). In recognition of her long service, Fehlberg received the University of Melbourne Service Recognition 25 Year Bronze award in 2019. She teaches Family Law in the Melbourne JD program and serves as Deputy Dean.

Professional Email: b.fehlberg@unimelb.edu.au