Professor Julie-Anne Tarr

Chief Investigator

JD (Cornell University), PhD (University of Queensland), LLM (Monash University), Bachelor of Arts (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Before joined QUT as a Professor of Commercial Law in 2010, I have had a diverse background in both academia and industry, including senior academic roles in the US (Indiana University), Australia (UQ, Bond, Monash) and adjunct or visiting professorships at Cambridge, Reading, Murdoch and University of the South Pacific. In industry and government, I have held commercial manager and directorships across a range of organisations including law reform bodies, medical research institutes and health services boards.

My research interest focusses on regulation and incentivisation of disclosure in legal regulation of insurance, emerging technology and risk, and commercial law. Specific bodies of work include:

• commercial law, financial services and consumer protection
• insurance, risk, regulation and audit
• law reform and emerging technology regulation
• health services delivery, biotechnology and medical research governance
• legal philosophy, comparative law and history

Recognised internationally for my research contributions to the fields of insurance and commercial law, I have published100+ journals, reports and articles and authored seven books and treatises. Most recently, my work around the evolving nature of insurance over the coming decade - The Global Insurance Market and Change: Emerging Technologies, Risks and Legal Challenges. Lloyd's Insurance Law Library, Routledge 2024 - was awarded the BILA prize by the British Insurance Law Association for its contribution to literature in the field of law as it affects insurance. Prior work in 2022 around the challenges that regulation of autonomous aerial vehicles brings, Drone Law and Policy: Global Development, Risks, Regulation and Insurance. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, was similarly shortlisted by UK and US insurance law associations for notable contributions to this area.

Recipient of peer, student and industry awards for teaching excellence, I enjoy designing and teaching law and business courses at graduate, undergraduate, and executive levels.  Similarly, I have been fortunate to work with numerous PhD and Masters students over the years, including a number of University Prize recipients.

My QUT Research Affiliations include:

• Centre for Future Enterprise, Chief Investigator
• Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Senior Fellow
• Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Chief Investigator
• Behavioural Economics Studies Centre, Affiliate

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