Kim Rubenstein ( ; born 1965) is an Australian legal scholar, lawyer and political candidate. She is a professor at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

. She is a Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Law The Australian Academy of Law (AAL) is a permanent, non-government organisation devoted to the advancement of the discipline of law. According to its Constitution, the Australian Academy of Law comprises individuals of exceptional distinction from a ...

and Fellow of the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

. Rubenstein won the 2013 Edna Ryan award for Leadership for "leading feminist changes in the public sphere" and is a gender equity advocate. In 2020 she became the inaugural Co-Director, Academic of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation at the University of Canberra and a Professor in the University's Faculty of Business, Government and Law. Rubenstein is one of Australia’s leading experts on citizenship, having written the major text, ''Australian Citizenship Law'', acting as a consultant to government including being appointed a member of the Independent Committee that reviewed the

Australian citizenship test The Australian citizenship test is a test applicants for Australian citizenship who also meet the basic requirements for citizenship are required to take. In order to be able to take the test, one must be a permanent resident of Australia and one ...

in 2008 and appearing as legal counsel in citizenship matters before the Administrative Review Tribunal, Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia. She comments on citizenship and gender matters in print, radio and TV media. At the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

, she was an independent candidate in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

for the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

, but was not elected.

Early life and education

Rubenstein was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1965, the older of daughters of Leigh and Susan Rubenstein. She attended Mount Scopus College and Presbyterian Ladies' College, becoming school captain of the latter. She was involved in

Netzer Olami Netzer Olami is the worldwide youth movement of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) and is affiliated to Arzenu (the Zionist arm of the WUPJ). "Netzer" is an acronym in Hebrew for Reform Zionist Youth (''Noar Tsioni Reformi'', נוער ...

as a teenager and spent a year in Israel after graduating high school, attending a youth leadership course in Jerusalem and living on

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

im. Rubenstein studied arts and law at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, graduating in 1989. She was president of the Melbourne University Jewish Students' Society and joint editor of the ''Melbourne University Law Review'', also representing the university in national mooting competitions. She subsequently worked as a solicitor at Corrs from 1989 to 1991. In 1991–1992 Rubenstein undertook an LLM at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

with the support of the Sir Robert Menzies Scholarship, a

Fulbright award The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

, and a Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Trust award.

Career

Rubenstein spent 13 years (1993–2006) teaching at the

in constitutional and administrative law, migration law and citizenship law, promoted to Associate Professor in 2005, before moving to the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

to take up a professorship in 2006. During her tenure at the Australian National University Rubenstein taught citizenship law and administrative law, and from 2006-2015 was Director of the Centre for International and Public Law in the

ANU College of Law The ANU College of Law is the law school at the Australian National University and one of the seven academic Colleges of the ANU. It is located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. This provides the College with opportunities to connect with ...

. In 2011 she was appointed the inaugural Convenor of the ANU Gender Institute, a role she held for two years in addition to her Directorship of the Centre for International and Public Law. In 2012 she was appointed an ANU Public Policy Fellow. Rubenstein became an Honorary Professor at the Australian National University in 2020 after her move to the University of Canberra to take up the position of Co-Director, Academic of the 50/50 by 2030 Foundation.

International appointments

* Visiting Professor at Tel Aviv Law School in 2017 and 2018 teaching comparative citizenship law course. * Lady Davis Visiting Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, October 2018 to January 2019.

Political career

On 17 August 2021 Rubenstein announced her intention to run as an independent senate candidate for the Australian Capital Territory in the

and established the Kim for Canberra party. In January 2022 the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

approved Rubenstein's application to form the political party called Kim for Canberra. The party received 4.43 percent of primary votes, representing 0.1328 of a Senate quota, in the 2022 federal election.

Prizes, awards and honours

* Fulbright 1991 Australian Postgraduate Scholar. * Sir Robert Menzies Scholarship to Harvard, 1991–1992. * Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Trust award. * Fulbright 2002 Senior Scholar. * In 2008 Rubenstein presented the

Dymphna Clark Memorial Lecture The Dymphna Clark Memorial Lecture is presented in honour of Dymphna Clark, an Australian linguist and educator, and wife of historian Manning Clark. The first Dymphna Clark Memorial Lecture was presented on 2 March 2002 at Manning Clark House ...

on the topic ''From Suffrage to Citizenship: the creation of a Republic of Equals''. * In 2012 she won a Westpac '100 Women of Influence' ''Australian Financial Review'' award for her work in public policy. * Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia(FASSA) in 2018 in the discipline of Law, with specialisations in citizenship, nationality, oral history, archives and law, gender and the Constitution. * Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law (FAAL).

Publications

Rubenstein has over 100 publications on a wide range of issues surrounding law, citizenship and gender. Some of her most prominent works include:

Citizenship

Gender and public law

Oral history and women lawyers

As editor

Rubenstein co-edited a Cambridge University Press 5 volume series ''Connecting International Law with Public Law''.

Research grants

Rubenstein has been a Chief Investigator on several

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

grants: * LP100200596 – Small mercies, big futures: enhancing law, policy and practice in the selection, protection and settlement of refugee children and youth * LP120200367 – The Trailblazing Women and the Law Project * DP130101954 – The court as archive: rethinking the institutional role of federal superior courts of record

References

External links

*ANU College of Law
Professor Kim Rubenstein FAAL
*University of Canberr
Kim Rubenstein
*50/50 by 2030 Foundatio
Kim Rubenstein & Trish Bergin - Co-DirectorsKim For Canberra
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenstein, Kim Living people 1965 births Academic staff of the Australian National University University of Melbourne alumni University of Melbourne women Harvard Law School alumni Australian legal scholars Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Jewish Australian academics Academic staff of the University of Canberra Australian feminists People educated at Mount Scopus Memorial College