Terry Carney, Whose Research Helped Expose Robodebt, Wins CALD Lifetime Award
Emeritus Professor Terry Carney AO, an Associate Investigator at ADM+S and the University of Sydney, has received a 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Australian Law Deans (CALD). The award recognises more than five decades of contribution to legal scholarship, legal education and law reform in Australia.
- Emeritus Professor Terry Carney AO received a 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Australian Law Deans.
- The award recognises more than five decades of work in legal scholarship, education and law reform.
- The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme cited his research and publications 118 times.
- His output includes nearly a dozen books and more than 250 refereed journal publications.
- The award was presented at the Australasian Law Academics Association Conference Gala Dinner in Melbourne.
A career honoured for sustained contribution
According to the ADM+S Centre, the CALD Lifetime Achievement Award honours individuals with a career spanning 25+ years who have made a significant and sustained contribution to legal education and/or research. Professor Carney's career runs to more than five decades.
The award was presented at the Australasian Law Academics Association Conference Gala Dinner in Melbourne.
Professor Carney is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He has written extensively on social security, administrative, disability, health and mental health law. He also served for nearly 40 years as a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and its predecessor, the Social Security Appeals Tribunal.
Research on automated decision-making and Robodebt
His work with ADM+S focuses on the legal and social implications of automated decision-making. The areas covered include social security administration and tribunal review, the administration of the NDIS, and automated debt recovery.
According to the centre, his scholarship on social security law and administrative decision-making played a significant role in exposing the illegality of the Robodebt scheme. The Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme cited his research and publications 118 times in its findings.
His research also covers disability rights and supported decision-making. This includes the 2023 monograph Diversity, Dignity, Equity and Best Practice: A Framework for Supported Decision-Making, prepared for the Disability Royal Commission.
Publications, law reform and international roles
Professor Carney's body of work spans nearly a dozen books, more than 40 book chapters, 50 reports and more than 250 refereed journal publications.
He has also contributed to Australian law reform. He chaired inquiries into child welfare, adult guardianship and health law, served as Chair of the Australian Institute of Family Studies and led the National Advisory Council on Social Welfare.
Internationally, he has served as President of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health. He is also the longstanding Australian Reporter to the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, contributing to international debates on mental health law, guardianship, disability rights and supported decision-making.
What the award signals
The recognition links a long legal career with current questions about how automated systems are used in government services. The source describes his research on automated debt recovery and decision-making in social security and the NDIS as central to his work at ADM+S, and says the Robodebt Royal Commission relied heavily on it.
ARC Centre of Excellence for ADM+S: Emeritus Professor Terry Carney AO honoured with CALD Lifetime Achievement Award
