Jacinta Dharmananda

Dr Jacinta Dharmananda is a Senior Lecturer in the Law School at the University of Western Australia. She holds a PhD from the Australian National University, where her doctoral research focused on the relationship between the legislative process and statutory interpretation, a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Honours), and Graduate Certificate in Arts from UWA. Admitted to practise in Western Australia, Victoria, and New York State, she accumulated over twelve years of legal practice experience prior to academia, working in private practice and in-house roles in oil and gas, finance, and corporate/commercial law. Her positions included Corporate Associate at Milbank in Singapore and Tokyo, Corporate Associate at Covington & Burling in New York City, Senior Counsel in the Petroleum Division at BHP Billiton in Melbourne, Solicitor and Senior Associate at Herbert Smith Freehills in Perth, and Legal Counsel at Nisseki Mitsubishi in Tokyo.

A nationally recognised scholar on statutory interpretation, legislative drafting, and the legislative process, Dharmananda has published extensively and co-authored the book Modern Statutory Interpretation: Framework, Principles and Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Key articles include 'Sliding Doors: Harvey and the Dual Legal Gateways to Extrinsic Materials' (Public Law Review, 2024), 'What Parliament Didn't Say: The Effect of Silence During Legislative Scrutiny on Statutory Interpretation' (Australasian Parliamentary Review, 2025), and 'Context, the Crown and Circularity: Recent Statutory Interpretation Developments' (NSW LSJ Online, 2025). She teaches core and elective units on statutory interpretation, the legislative process, mining and energy law, and legal ethics, and supervises higher degree by research students. Her service includes membership on the Law School Research Committee, UWA Research Data Committee, and serving as Deputy Head of School (Community & Engagement) from 2021 to 2023. In early 2025, she was appointed Legal Scrutiny Advisor (Bills) for the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs of the ACT Legislative Assembly. Awards received include the Fay Gale Fellowship (2024), ARF/LIEF grant for Digitizing the Drafting of the Australian Constitution (2023), Australian Parliamentary Library Summer Research Scholarship (2017), and Excellence in Teaching Award (2016). She has delivered public lectures such as 'Scrutinising the Scrutiny of Legislation in Parliament' (2025) and contributed submissions to parliamentary committees and the Australian Law Reform Commission.

Professional Email: jacinta.dharmananda@uwa.edu.au