Ms Carly Whelan

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (Law) candidate, University of Cambridge
• Visiting Doctoral Researcher, Harvard Law School, Harvard University
• Visiting Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Max Planck Law
• Master of Philosophy (Criminology), University of Cambridge
• Master of Laws, University of New England
• Bar Practice Course, Bar Association of Queensland
• Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, The College of Law
• Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Griffith University
• Bachelor of International Business (International Relations), Griffith University

Admissions

• Barrister of the High Court of Australia
• Barrister of the Federal Court of Australia
• Barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland
• Lawyer of the Supreme Court of Queensland

Biography

Carly Whelan is an Australian lawyer and PhD in Law candidate at the University of Cambridge who is committed to fair and principled justice, ensuring vulnerable people have a voice, and the empowerment of women and girls. She has held visiting fellowships at Harvard Law School (2024) and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle (Saale), Germany (2025). Carly has dedicated her career to the practice of criminal law, as well as broader policy and legislative reform of the criminal justice system. She also researches and teaches across key areas of the criminal justice system.

Carly has extensive experience in the administration of justice, having been appointed as a Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Queensland. She has prosecuted serious, complex and high-profile criminal cases across the Supreme, District, Childrens, and Magistrates Courts of Queensland for over 15 years. Carly has conducted hundreds of court hearings including superior court jury and judge-alone trials, pre-recordings of evidence, sentencing hearings, breach hearings, and appeals to the District Court. She has also argued numerous complex legal issues, including in appellate matters, and appeared as junior counsel before the Queensland Court of Appeal.

Carly’s career encompasses justice reform and public policy work, particularly concerning women and girls. As a Principal Legal Officer to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce (2021–22), chaired by The Honourable Margaret McMurdo AC, she provided legal and policy advice on major reforms, including the criminalisation of coercive control; legislative responses to domestic, family, and sexual violence; and the experiences of women and girls across the criminal justice system in Queensland. Carly also undertook the role of Counsel Assisting the Coroner in the Coroners Court of Queensland, handling significant inquests.

As a legal scholar, Carly works on issues at the intersection of criminal law, criminal justice, criminology, socio-legal studies and legal anthropology. Her research has been informed by her professional experience working in the criminal justice system. Carly’s interests encompass criminal law and criminal justice (including comparative perspectives), criminal procedure, evidence law, international criminal law, criminology, and sexual and gender-based violence.

Carly has presented her research internationally at the University of Cambridge, the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, and leading law conferences in the United Kingdom and Italy, including the International Congress on Law and Mental Health. She has taught law and criminology as a Guest Lecturer and Sessional Academic at the University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and Griffith University. Carly has also marked admissions assessment for the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge and has judged mooting competitions, including the Hughes Hall Mooting Competition at the University of Cambridge and the International Criminal Law Moot at the Queensland University of Technology.

Carly was selected for the Australasian Lawyer’s Most Influential Leading Lawyers List in 2023, a national recognition of legal professionals who have had the greatest impact on Australian laws, legal profession and society. It highlights their significant accomplishments in facilitating justice for all and providing a voice to those who otherwise might not be heard.

Carly was a national finalist for Barrister of the Year (2021) and General Counsel of the Year (2022) in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards, Australia. The Women in Law Awards are Australian national awards recognising outstanding women influencing the Australian legal profession, who display key leadership qualities and provide a role model for future female leaders in law. This is in acknowledgement of her work with the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce and as a Senior Crown Prosecutor.

Doctoral Honours and Awards (selected)

• Max Planck Law Scholarship, Max Planck Law, Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (2025)
• Wright Rogers Law Scholarship, Wright Rogers Scholarship Fund (2024, 2025, 2026)
• Freda Freeman Commemorative Fellowship, Graduate Women Queensland, Fellowships Fund Inc. (2024 & 2025)
• Squire Postgraduate Studentship in Law, Rebecca Flower Squire Fund (2024)
• Cambridge Law Journal Partial PhD Studentship, Cambridge Law Journal (2023 & 2024)
• Modern Law Review Scholarship, Modern Law Review (2023 & 2024)
• NCWQ Bursary for a PhD Student, National Council of Women of Queensland (2023)

Other Honours and Awards (selected)

• Advancement of Women Award – Finalist, Zonta Club of Brisbane Inc. (2024)
• Most Influential Leading Lawyers List, Australasian Lawyer, Australia (2023)
• General Counsel of the Year – Finalist, Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly, Australia (2022)
• Barrister of the Year – Finalist, Women in Law Awards, Lawyers Weekly, Australia (2021)
• Winner of the Partnership Award as part of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce Secretariat, Strategic Policy and Legal Services Divisional Excellence Awards, Queensland Government (2022)
• Wakefield Scholarship, The Wakefield Trust, University of Cambridge (2018)
• Golden Key International Honour Society, University of New England (2007)
• Griffith University Award for Academic Excellence 2006, Griffith University (2007)