Rate My Professor Sarah Sorial

Sarah Sorial is Professor of Law at Macquarie Law School and Deputy Dean (Research and Innovation) in the Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. She earned a BA LLB (Hons) Class 1 from Macquarie University and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of New South Wales in 2006. From 2008 to 2011, she held an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, first at Macquarie University and then at the University of Wollongong. Between 2011 and 2018, she served as Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Wollongong, where she also acted as Associate Dean (Education), Deputy Head of School, and Head of Postgraduate Studies.

Her research specialisation lies at the intersection of philosophy and law, with a focus on speech regulation, including section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, hate speech, and the constitutional implied freedom of political communication. She investigates procedural justice, foreign interference legislation, misinformation and disinformation, and strategies to enhance public deliberation and trust in law and policy reform, such as through citizens’ assemblies. Sorial has developed a systematic account of harm in relation to speech and the role of speaker authority, applying it to hate speech, pseudo-scientific speech, and emotionally charged public discourse. Recent publications include 'Combatting Mis and Disinformation in the Digital Age: Challenges and Opportunities for Australia' (Griffith Law Review, 2025, with J. Roberts and S. Morris), 'Mini-publics and the Legitimacy Dilemma: How Theoretical Tensions are Resolved in Practice' (Public Law, 2025, with S. Morris), 'Farm Transparency and the Problem of Statutory Purpose in the Implied Freedom Test' (Public Law Review, 2024, with S. Morris), and her book Sedition and the Advocacy of Violence: Free Speech and Counter-terrorism, which provides a philosophical analysis of sedition laws in Australia and the UK offence of glorifying terrorism. At Macquarie, she was Associate Dean, Research Training and Performance (Faculty of Arts, 2022-2024) and Research Director, Macquarie Law School (2019-2022). She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.