Rate My Professor Lisa Young

Professor Lisa Young serves as Professor in the School of Law and Criminology at Murdoch University. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Bachelor of Jurisprudence (BJuris) from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Cambridge. Prior to transitioning to academia in 1990, Professor Young practiced family law and commercial property law at two large firms in Perth, accumulating substantial professional experience in these areas. She has been a faculty member at Murdoch University since 1993, advancing to her current professorial position. With more than 30 years of combined practice, teaching, and research experience, her primary academic expertise lies in family law.

Professor Young's research interests encompass parenting disputes, family property matters, spousal and child maintenance, child support systems, and family violence within the family law context. She is a co-author of the leading Australian textbook Family Law in Australia, currently in its 11th edition published in 2025, and co-editor of Children and the Law in Australia (2nd edition, 2017). From its inception until early 2017, she held the role of Editor of the Australian Journal of Family Law, Australia's premier family law journal. She continues as the Australian contributor to the International Society of Family Law's annual survey of international family law developments. Key publications include the journal article 'Australian family property law reform: will the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 deliver real benefits for families?' (2025); the book chapter 'Teaching Family Law: Reflections on Pedagogy and Practice' (2024); 'Child sexual abuse allegations and s 60CC(2A): A new era?' (with Sandeep Dhillon and Laura Groves); 'The Kennon "factor": Issues of indeterminacy and floodgates' (with Patricia Easteal and Catherine Warden); 'The relevance of the quality of the parent-child relationship to adult child maintenance awards' (with Stephanie Baxter); and 'Child Support System of Australia' (2012). Additionally, since December 2018, she has chaired the Care Plan Review Panel for the Department of Communities Western Australia. Her extensive body of work has made significant contributions to family law scholarship and policy in Australia, particularly regarding children's rights, safety in family proceedings, and reforms to property and support obligations.