Dr McGaughey (she/her) is Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic Advancement & Diversity.  Fiona previously worked as an Associate Professor of International Human Rights Law in the UWA Law School where she held several leadership roles including Deputy Head of School (Learning & Teaching), Director of Higher Degrees (Coursework), and Director of the Law and Society Major.  She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a socio-legal researcher who has worked closely with stakeholders in business, not-for-profits, and government.  Her primary research areas are: international human rights law, business and human rights (including modern slavery), and higher education / pedagogy.  Fiona has engaged in public policy submissions, consultations, and parliamentary inquiries and her work has been cited in courts, industry reports, Australian Law Reform Commission Reports, and statutory review reports.  She is a Senior Fellow of the UWA Public Policy Institute.  

With a colleague in the Business School, Fiona established UWA's interdisciplinary Modern Slavery Research Cluster in 2017: https://www.uwa.edu.au/able/research/modern-slavery-research-cluster. 

Fiona graduated from the Queen's University of Belfast with a Bachelors degree in Law with French, with honours. She also has a Masters degree in Human Rights and a PhD on the role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in monitoring international human rights law. She initially worked across Europe and Australia in the private sector as a management consultant and project manager.  Shen then moved into Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ('DEI') roles in semi-state and not-for-profit organisations, specialising in racial equality and disability rights, which she did for over ten years in both Australia and Ireland.  During this time she held a number of positions including membership of Government steering and advisory groups. She was the Irish National Focal Point for the European Racism & Xenophobia Network and then the European Fundamental Rights Agency from 2005-2008. 

PVC Academic Advancement & Diversity

Member of Academic Board & Academic Council UWA

Senior Fellow of the UWA Public Policy Institute

1. Law Society of WA, Public Purposes Trust funding of $40,000 for community education on human rights.
2. ACSES large grant of $149,159 on students with invisible disabilities in higher education, 2024.  Led by Dr Stephenson Chow, Western Sydney University.
3. UWA Institute of Advanced Studies funding for Professor Dame Sara Thornton, former UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner, to visit UWA.
4. Minderoo funding of $36,019 for a project on 'Tackling forced marriage in WA', in partnership with Sexual Health Quarters in 2023.
5. Fay Gale Fellowship 2022-2023 for UK - Australian comparative research on modern slavery.
6. 2021-2023 National Action Plan to Combat Modern Slavery 2020-25 Grant Program funding of $177,742 for ‘Improving the Regulation of Modern Slavery and Access to Remedy. Learning from Experience’ awarded to Justine Nolan (UNSW), Shelley Marshall (RMIT), Martijn Boersma (UTS), Fiona McGaughey (UWA), Vikram Bhakoo (University of Melbourne), Keren Adams & Freya Dinshaw (Human Rights Law Centre), Peter Keegan (Baptist World Aid), Mark Zirnsak (Uniting Church) & Amy Sinclair (BHRC). 
7. 2020-2021 Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) Funding of £9,723, with colleagues around the world for research into the effect of COVID19 on academic and student wellbeing. Led by Prof Watermeyer, Bristol University.
8. 2020: Leeds University Business School’s Challenge Fund £16,000 for Compliance cascades in global value chains. Hinrich Voss (University of Leeds), Matthew Davis (University of Leeds), Dave Webb (UWA), Fiona McGaughey (UWA), Donella Caspersz (UWA), Holly Cullen (UWA).
9. 2018-2019 UWA Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education grant of $17,500 for research collaboration on 'Better business and legislative responses to modern slavery' with the University of Leeds.  
10. 2013 Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching grant on social justice simulations. This was in her previous role at the Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, along with partners from six other universities and led by University of Sydney.

• Associate Professor, UWA Law School
• Sessional lecturer, Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University.
• Senior Policy Officer, National Disability Services, WA.
• Director, Equal Measures (consultancy)
• Research & Policy Officer, National Consultative Committee on Racism & Interculturalism, Ireland.
• Project Officer, Equal Opportunity Commission, WA.
• Manager (previously consultant) with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, WA and Accenture, Ireland.

Fiona has extensive experience of working in and consulting to the Not-for-Profit sector on matters relating to equality and human rights. She has particular expertise in reporting to United Nations human rights bodies, both in practice and as a researcher.

Not currently in a teaching position.

- Business and human rights, including modern slavery.

- United Nations human rights mechanisms, and the role of NGOs and other stakeholders in international human rights law.

- Pedagogy / higher education.

Fiona speaks English, French, and Irish.