- McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Melbourne
Dr Natalie Sheard is a lawyer and McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She has expertise in discrimination by AI systems, particularly those used in employment. Her research investigates how, when and where such discrimination may occur, its impacts and the adequacy of existing Australian and international legal responses.
Natalie is published widely in a range of domestic and international journals and in the media on topics including algorithm-facilitated discrimination, emotion recognition technologies and AI regulation. She has won academic awards and scholarships including the prestigious Nancy Millis Medal awarded by La Trobe University for doctoral theses of exceptional merit.
Natalie is active in law reform and policy development. She is a member of the Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group, the Australian Labour Law Association and the digital equality group of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law.
Natalie also has significant experience as a social justice lawyer, in digital innovation to increase access to justice and in the development of AI.
Experience
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2025–presentMcKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Melbourne
Education
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Australian National University, BA/LLB (Hons)
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2024La Trobe University, Doctor of Philosophy
Publications
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2025Algorithm-Facilitated Discrimination: A Socio-Legal Study of the Use by Employers of Artificial Intelligence Hiring Systems, Journal of Law and Society
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2022Employment Discrimination By Algorithm: Can Anyone Be Held Accountable?, University of New South Wales Law Journal
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2022No Notice and No Explanation: The Incontestability of Hiring Discrimination By Algorithm, Australian Journal of Labour Law
Professional Memberships
- Australian Discrimination Law Experts Group
- Australian Labour Law Association
- Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law
Contact Natalie for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Website
- Article Feed
- ORCID
- Joined
