Dr Laura Smith-Khan

Senior Lecturer , Ethics and Professional practice, Access to Justice, Law and language - School of Law

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Law. Before joining UNE, I was a Chancellor’s Research Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). In 2023 I was a visiting researcher at Ghent University (Belgium) and in 2024, I became the first ever external affiliated member of Ghent’s Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR). My research examines the inclusion and participation of minoritized groups in legal settings, especially migration processes, and seeks to address inequality. My award-winning Fellowship project explored registered migration agents’ and lawyers’ roles in these processes. I was the 2022 recipient of the Max Crawford Medal, Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the humanities.

I am the co-founder and co-convenor of the Law and Linguistics Interdisciplinary Researchers’ Network. Through the network and my research, I aim to ensure that linguistic and interdisciplinary scholarship reaches legal sector audiences in accessible formats to improve participation for linguistic minorities. To this end, I have presented my research to government inquiries and reviews; refugee and migration judges and tribunal members; community legal centres; and barrister and migration practitioner associations. My expertise is recognized and cited widely and internationally, including in EU-level guidance for asylum decision-makers.

My doctoral research, with supervision in both Law and Linguistics, explored language and credibility assessment in Australian asylum procedures and public discourse. Prior to this, I was a full-time research assistant on a project examining disability in forced migration, in refugee camps and urban refugee settings across six countries. With Chief Investigators from the Sydney Centre for International Law, University of Sydney, I have shared the project findings at the United Nations, with UNESCO, at international conferences, with government agencies, and in published reports, peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters, culminating in a pioneering book.

I have been admitted as a lawyer in the NSW Supreme Court and assisted refugees and asylum seekers in paralegal and pro-bono roles. I have worked at multiple universities in both law and linguistics, and I speak several languages with varying degrees of fluency.

Qualifications

(Degree/Institution/Year) PhD (MQ, 2019), MAppLing (Monash, 2014), GradDipLegalPrac (ANU, 2014), GradCertHigherEd (UTS, 2021), LLB(Hons) (USyd, 2012), BA(Languages)(Distinction) (USyd, 2009)

Awards

2022	Max Crawford Medal, Australian Academy of the Humanities Awarded annually to an outstanding early-career scholar whose research and published work have made and continue to make an exceptional contribution to the understanding of their discipline by the general public.
2023	Early Career Researcher Excellence in Publication award (for article ‘Incorporating Sociolinguistic Perspectives in Australian Refugee Credibility Assessments’), Faculty of Law, UTS.
2022	Team Award for Excellence in Teaching and/or the Student Experience (with Christine Giles), Faculty of Law, UTS.
2022	UTS Citation for developing students’ communication skills in the Graduate Diploma of Migration Law and Practice (with Christine Giles and Tom Foran).
2019	Higher Degree Research Excellence Award, Human Sciences Faculty, Macquarie University
2013	Dean’s Recognition Award, Faculty of Arts, Monash University
2010	Pitt Cobbett Scholarship, Faculty of Law, University of Sydney
2009	Walter Reid Memorial Prize, Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney
2008	Dean’s List for Academic Excellence, Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney
2006	BA(Lang) travel scholarship (U. Sydney) and supplementary scholarship (U. Genève)
2005	Garton Scholarship III (French), Faculty of Arts, University of Sydney

Teaching Areas

Asylum and Migration, Access to Justice, Law and Language

Primary Research Area/s

Legal practice, lawyering and the legal profession; Migration, asylum and refugee law; Sociolinguistics

Research Interests

Interdisciplinarity in law: how other research disciplines, especially language-focused research, can contribute to legal research, practice, and decision-making.

The inclusion and participation of minoritized groups in legal settings, especially migration processes.

The experiences of minoritized groups in legal education and legal practice.

Research Grants:

2022-23: UTS International Researcher Development funding for stay at Ghent University, Belgium.
2019-23: Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship project funding, UTS
2015-16: Research Enhancement Funding for conference presentations and participation in the UK and Australia, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University
2014-18: Australian Postgraduate Award/Research Training Program

Publications

Books

Crock, M., Smith-Khan, L., McCallum, R., & Saul, B. (2017) The Legal Protection of Refugees with Disabilities: Forgotten and Invisible? (Edward Elgar).

Reviews: Williams, J. (2019) International Journal of Refugee Law, 31(1), 162-164, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eez013; Mirza, M. (2019) International Migration Review, 53(1),https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918318798578 ; O’Sullivan, M. (2018) Alternative Law Journal, 43(3), 231, https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X18799890.

Book chapters

Smith-Khan, L. (forthcoming). Incredible language and refugee legal processes: Challenging asylum credibility assessments, in J Setter et al (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Language and Prejudice.

Maryns, K., Smith-Khan, L. & Jacobs, M. (2023). Multilingualism in asylum and migration procedures, in McKinney et al (eds), Routledge Handbook of Multilingualism, 2^nd ed, Ch. 26.

Smith-Khan, L. (2022). Inclusive processes for refugees with disabilities: Improving communication for deaf forced migrants, in Handbook of Disability: Critical Thought, Human Rights and Social Change in a Globalizing World (Springer). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1278-7_26-1

Crock, M. & Smith-Khan, L. (2016). Swift and systematic? Identifying and recording disability in forced migration, in B. Altman (Ed.) International Measurement of Disability – Purpose, Method and Application (Springer).

Peer-reviewed journal articles

Piller, I., Torsh, H., & Smith-Khan, L. (2023). Securing the borders of English and Whiteness. Ethnicities, 25(3), 706-725.https://doi.org/10.1177/14687968211052610.

Smith-Khan, L. (2023). Incorporating sociolinguistic perspectives in Australian refugee credibility assessments: The case of CRL18. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 24, 727-743, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-022-00937-2 (invited contribution for special issue).

Grey, A. & Smith-Khan, L. (2021). Linguistic diversity as a challenge and an opportunity for improved legal policy. Griffith Law Review, 30(1), 1-17,https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2021.1996883.

Smith-Khan, L. (2021). ‘I Try Not to Be Dominant, but I’m a Lawyer!’: Advisor Resources, Context and Refugee Credibility. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34(4), 3710-3733,https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa102.

Smith-Khan, L. (2021). ‘Common language’ and proficiency tests: A critical examination of registration requirements for Australian Registered Migration Agents. Griffith Law Review, 30(1), 97-121,https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2021.1900031.

Smith-Khan, L. (2021). Deficiencies and loopholes: Clashing discourses, problems and solutions in Australian migration advice regulation. Discourse & Society, 32(5), 598-621, https://doi.org/10.1177/09579265211013113 .

Grey, A. & Smith-Khan, L. (2021). Developing the interdisciplinary research field of law and linguistics. Alternative Law Journal, 46(1), 64-70,https://doi.org/10.1177/1037969X20962830.

Smith-Khan, L. (2020). Migration practitioners’ roles in communicating credible refugee claims. Alternative Law Journal, 45(2), 119-124,https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1037969X19884205

Smith-Khan, L. (2019). Why refugee visa credibility assessments lack credibility: A critical discourse analysis, Griffith Law Review, 28(4), 406-430,https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2019.1748804.

Smith-Khan, L. (2019). Debating credibility: Refugees and rape in the media. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 42(1), 4-36, https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.18002.smi.

Smith-Khan, L. (2019). Communicative resources and credibility in public discourse on refugees. Language in Society, 48(3), 403-427, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404519000186.

Smith-Khan, L. & Crock, M. (2019). “The highest attainable standard”: The right to health for refugees with disabilities. Societies, 9(2) https://doi.org/10.3390/soc9020033 .

Smith-Khan, L. (2017). Different in the same way?: Language, diversity and refugee credibility. International Journal of Refugee Law, 29(3), 389-416, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijrl/eex038.

Smith-Khan, L. (2017). Telling Stories: Credibility and the representation of social actors in Australian asylum appeals. Discourse & Society, 28(5), 512-534, https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0957926517710989.

Smith-Khan, L. (2017). Negotiating Narratives, Accessing Asylum: Evaluating language policy as multi-level practice, beliefs and management. Multilingua, 36(1), 31-57, https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2015-0072.

Smith-Khan, L., Crock, M., McCallum, R., & Saul, B. (2015) “Up to Now I am Suffering”: Justice, Sexual Violence and Disability amongst Refugees in Uganda. International Journal of Migration and Border Studies, 1(4), 348- 371, https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMBS.2015.07076.

Smith-Khan, L., Crock, M., Saul, B., & McCallum, R. (2015). To “Promote, Protect and Ensure”: Overcoming Obstacles to Identifying Disability in Forced Migration. Journal of Refugee Studies, 28(1), 38-68, https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feu020.

Smith-Khan, L. (2013). Overcoming Barriers to Education for Refugees with Disabilities. Migration Australia, 3, 63-67.

Smith-Khan, L. (2012). Genuine Improvement or Paying Lip Service? Conquering the Communication Complexities in Protection Assessments. Migration Australia, 2, 58-62.

Published conference proceedings

Smith-Khan, L & Grey, A. (2020). Developing research collaboration across law and linguistics. Journal & Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 152(3) 332-337.

Conference presentations (selected)

Invited keynote: Reflecting on the participation of interpreters in migration processes, InDialog4, Ghent University, Belgium, 19 September 2023.

Invited keynote: Believe it or not: Linguistic diversity and credibility in asylum procedures. Language Diversity and Participation Across Generations and Contexts, Next Generation Literacies Network (Hamburg University, Macquarie University and Fudan University), 10-11 December 2021.

Invited public lecture: Communicating credibly in refugee status determination: How beliefs about language can affect decision-making, co-hosted by the Network on Migration and Global Mobility, and the Grammar and Pragmatics, and Government and Law research groups, University of Antwerp, Belgium, 24 November 2023.

Invited seminar: Trust and institutional communication: Australian migration practitioner language, identity, and regulation, Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research, Stockholm University, Sweden, 14 December 2023.

Invited seminar: Understanding communication, evaluating credibility: How sociolinguistics can help improve refugee status determination, Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, Maastricht University, Netherlands, 30 November 2023.

Invited seminar: Language and Legal Assistance in Asylum Procedures, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University, Belgium, 8 November 2023.

Invited seminar: Hyper-visible and invisible all at once? Exploring clashing discourses on migration practitioner language, identity, and regulation, co-hosted by the Law and Language Research Group (Law) and MOSAIC Group for Research on Multilingualism (Education), University of Birmingham, 26 October 2023.

Invited plenary panel presentation: Intercultural communication in migration law practice: Policy problem or special skill? International Association of Forensic and Legal Linguists Biennial Conference, Manila, Philippines, 4 July 2023.

Invited plenary panel speaker: A new Australian civilizational compact. 53^rd Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Ballarat, 17-18 November 2022.

Invited plenary presentation: Integrating sociolinguistic approaches and scholarship in legal research and teaching, Indonesian Community for Forensic Linguistics, 3^rdAnnual Conference, 6 November 2022.

Invited plenary panel presentation: Developing research collaboration across law and linguistics. Conference of the Australian and NZ Associations of von Humboldt Fellows: Sharing knowledge in the spirit of Humboldt, 22-24 November 2019, Macquarie University, Sydney. (with Grey, A)

Invited contribution: Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Response: Case Studies and Good Practices, side event panel, 8th Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 10 June 2015, United Nations, New York. (with Crock, M. & McCallum, R.)

Uncovering injustice and ensuring rights: How linguistic scholarship can improve asylum procedures. Human Rights Research Network Annual Conference, Ghent University, 6-8 December 2023, Ghent, Belgium.

Language and credibility in asylum procedures. The Regional Conference of the Asia Pacific Chapter of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges, 25 November 2022, Newcastle, NSW.

Access to work and English language proficiency requirements for migration agent registration, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network Annual Conference, 11 November 2022, UTS, Sydney.

Using sociolinguistic research to inform the registration requirements of Australian registered migration agents. Australian Linguistic Society Annual Conference: Building Bridges, 14-15 December 2020, Online.

CRL18, Credibility and Language Ideologies in Australian asylum processes. Asylum Encounters – Bridging Different Perspectives on Language, Asymmetries and Identities, 29-30 October 2020, Stockholm University/Online.

The right to health for refugees with disabilities. Children, Migration and the Right to Health, 25-26 July 2019, University of Sydney Law School. (with Crock, M)

Contesting credibility in Australian refugee decision-making, 14^th International Association of Forensic Linguists Biennial Conference, 1-5 July 2019, RMIT, Melbourne.

Refugee discourse, the media and communicative resources: the case of “Abyan”, Beyond the Headlines: The Agency of Muslim Women in the Australian Context, 21-22 February 2018, University of Sydney Law School.

Different in the same way? Accommodating language, culture and disability in refugee assessment procedures and humanitarian assistance, invited lecture, co-hosted by Leicester Migration Network and the Unit for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement, 4 May 2016, Leicester University, UK.

Truly deserving? Credibility assessment in Australia refugee procedures, Nationalism, Migration and Population Change: 26^th Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN), 19-21 April 2016, LSE, UK.

Fair go? Communication and credibility in Australian asylum procedures, Australian Linguistic Society Annual Conference, 9-11 December 2015, Western Sydney University.

Interviewing refugees with disabilities: How context affects communication, Workshop on Developing a Rights-Based Approach to Disability, 24 January 2015, Harvard Law School, USA.

To “Promote, protect and ensure”: Overcoming obstacles to identifying disability in displacement situations, Creating New Futures for All: Children, Youth, Disability and Situations of Forced Migration, 28-30 Nov 2012, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney. (with Crock, M., & Sario, K.)

Consultancy Interests

Language and communication in legal and administrative procedures and lawyer-client consultations

Community and Advocacy Organisation Collaborations

Member of the Access Committee, Clarence Valley Council (North Coast NSW), since 2022, advising on disability rights.

Selected reports, submissions and commissioned work

Language on the Move Research Group (incl. Smith-Khan, L and others), Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Inquiry into ‘Migration, Pathway to Nation Building’, 15 March 2023, https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=8c0d9316-2281-4594-9c7b-079652683f54&subId=735264

Smith-Khan, L. (2020). Submission to Review ‘Creating a world class migration advice industry’ (Department of Home Affairs), 24 July 2020, https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-pubs/files/world-class-submissions/submission-laura-smith-khan.pdf

Smith-Khan, L., & Crock, M. (2018) Making rights to education real for refugees with disabilities. Commissioned background paper for Global Education Monitoring Report 2019, UNESCO, https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000266058.