Legal expert Meena Singh returns to Monash Law as Professor of Practice
Monash University
Distinguished legal practitioner, advocate, and public leader Meena Singh will commence as Professor of Practice in Monash University’s Law Faculty on Monday 7 September. A proud Yorta Yorta and Indian woman and a graduate of Monash Law, Ms Singh brings over 20 years of experience in legal practice, advocacy and organisational leadership dedicated to advancing human rights and social justice.
Returning to Monash Law continues a deep family history for Ms Singh. Her mother, Aunty Diane Singh, studied and later worked at Monash, including serving as Elder-In-Residence at the William Cooper Institute. Ms Singh’s sisters also studied at the University, with Ms Singh herself completing her law degree at Monash University.
“Monash has always been part of my family life so I’m proud to be back and looking forward to working with bright, young minds ready to learn,” Ms Singh said.
“After years spent examining what is failing within systems, I’m looking forward to an environment focused on learning and possibility, bringing students on this journey with me.”
Professor Steven Vaughan, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Monash, welcomed Ms Singh to the Faculty, highlighting the value she brings to the University and its students.
“Meena's appointment matters to us for reasons well beyond her record, considerable as that is. She has spent her career in the rooms where the law's promises get tested against people's actual lives. Having that perspective inside the Faculty, available to our students week in and week out, is a genuine privilege.
"When Meena gave the keynote at our Gala Ball last year, she spoke about fifty years of clinical legal education and the roughly 100,000 Victorians our clinics have assisted. What has stayed with me is how she read that number. She treated it as 100,000 separate stories, each told by someone who needed a person on the other side of the desk to actually listen to them. That is the standard she sets, and it is the standard we want our graduates to hold themselves to.
"Our students will learn a great deal of law from Meena. I suspect what they will carry with them is her conviction that justice has to be made real for particular people in particular circumstances, or it isn't yet justice. If they leave Monash holding onto that, we have done our job."
Throughout a distinguished career dedicated to placing First Nations voices at the centre of systemic change, Ms Singh has led vital programs at Victoria Legal Aid, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and the Human Rights Law Centre. Having recently completed a landmark term as Victoria’s Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, including appearing before the Yoorook Justice Commission and campaigning to raise the age of criminal responsibility, her advocacy has always been grounded in the belief that the law is intertwined with storytelling.
Her relationship with storytelling is informed by both her Indigenous and migrant heritage.
"For First Nations communities, for migrant communities, our stories were handed down, and they were the stories that reinforced law and reinforced values. They reinforced our relationships with country and with each other,” Ms Singh said.
“Our role in advocating for our clients is to convey them as a real life person. Explain the circumstances that got them here and suggest the most appropriate response, telling their story. Without somebody using storytelling and someone listening, the law can reflect a single worldview. Better outcomes require lawyers and decision-makers to engage with a wider range of experiences and stories.”
Ms Singh will be based in the Monash Law clinics, working on key clinical program objectives including expanding the number and breadth of clinical offerings and increasing the wider social impact of the clinical program. She will also develop a progressive research agenda and contribute to the Faculty’s broader teaching program beyond the clinics.
Through her appointment, Monash Law solidifies its commitment to social justice, clinical excellence, and community-led education, offering students an unparalleled opportunity to learn from one of Australia's foremost advocates.
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