Caron Beaton-Wells

Professor Caron Beaton-Wells is an honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, recognized as a Professor in Competition Policy and Law. She currently serves as Dean and CEO of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. Previously, she was Dean, Internal at the Melbourne Business School and, from 2002 to 2019, held multiple leadership positions at Melbourne Law School, including Director of the Competition Law and Economics Network, Co-Director of the Global Competition and Consumer Law Program, Associate Dean of undergraduate and masters programs, member of the School's executive management team, and Founding Program Director of the world's first award-winning online masters program in global competition and consumer law. Earlier in her career, she practiced as a solicitor at King and Wood Mallesons.

Beaton-Wells' academic interests center on competition policy, law, and regulation, extending into institutional, political, and sociological dimensions. Her research projects have examined competition and privacy in digital platforms, competition and fairness in concentrated industries, challenges in cartel law and enforcement, and the interface between competition and consumer law. Key publications include the book Australian Cartel Regulation: Law, Policy and Practice in an International Context (Cambridge University Press, 2011, co-authored with Brent Fisse). She received the 2019 Academic of the Year Award in the Women in Law Awards by Lawyers Weekly. Beaton-Wells contributes significantly to public discourse through her podcast Competition Lore on competition in the digital economy. She has consulted for the OECD, ASEAN, and the New Zealand Government, served as a non-governmental advisor to the International Competition Network, and represented Melbourne Law School on UNCTAD's Research Partnership Platform. Her committee roles have included Lay Member of the Australian Competition Tribunal, Deputy Chair of the MSPACE Academic Programs Committee, and membership on the Competition and Consumer Committee and Small Business Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

Professional Email: c.beaton-wells@unimelb.edu.au