Rate My Professor Esther Erlings

Esther Erlings is a Senior Lecturer at Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, where she contributes to teaching and research in key areas of law. She holds an LLB from Utrecht University, an LLM from Maastricht University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Laws from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Prior to her current role, Erlings was a Lecturer in the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University, where she received Early Career Research Seed Funding to study children's competency outcomes in family mediation situations. At Macquarie, she is a member of the Lifespan Health and Wellbeing consilience centre and the Smart Green consilience centre. She convenes and teaches units including LAWS8021 Health Law, LAWS8022 Family Law, LAWS8006 Applied Legal Ethics, and LAWS1100 Law, Lawyers and Society for LLB students, as well as contributing to JD and LLM programs.

Erlings' research focuses on intersections of human rights, family law, children's rights, religious freedom, and health law. Her peer-reviewed publications include 'Delimiting Detention' co-authored with Laura Grenfell in the University of New South Wales Law Journal (2025), addressing detention of persons in residential care; 'Of welfare, sacred places, and "rice Christians": freedom of religion and multiple religious belonging' in the Journal of Law, Religion and State (2024); 'Religious rights within the family: from coerced manifestation to dispute resolution in France, England and Hong Kong' (2020); 'Who cares? International recognition of a human right to care' (2026); 'Don't Ask, Do(n't) Tell: Homeschooling in Hong Kong' in the Asian Journal of Law and Society (2019); 'Is Anything Left of Children's Rights?' in The International Journal of Children's Rights (2016); and 'The law and practices of ritual male circumcision: time for review' (2016). She serves as President of the Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand (LSAANZ) and has delivered guest lectures internationally, including at Airlangga University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Erlings' scholarship influences discussions on legal protections for vulnerable groups, religious practices, and family dynamics.