George Williams

George John Williams is the Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University. He is an Australian academic specialising in Australian constitutional law and formerly held positions at the University of New South Wales including Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Planning and Assurance, Anthony Mason Professor of Law and Scientia Professor, Dean of the Law Faculty, and Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. Williams is a public commentator on public law issues, and writes a regular column in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Early life and education Williams was born in Queenstown, a mining town in Tasmania, to father John Williams, an economic historian and unionist, and mother Shirley Murphy, an academic specialising in tax law at Macquarie University.

Williams' family moved to Sydney when he was a young child, and he attended St Ives High School. After graduating from university he served as an associate to Justice Michael McHugh in the High Court of Australia.

Williams then worked for a year as a solicitor at the law firm Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst Australia), in Sydney.

Williams also appeared (led by Geoffrey Robertson) in Republic of Fiji v Prasad in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Fiji, on the legality of the 2000 coup.

Academic career In 1995, Williams began his academic career as a lecturer at the Australian National University.

In 2000, Williams took up a position at the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales as Anthony Mason Professor of Law. In 2001, Williams helped found the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law at UNSW, and was its Foundation Director until 2008.

In 2008, Williams was a delegate in the governance stream at the Australia 2020 Summit. In 2005, he chaired the Victorian Human Rights Consultation Committee that led to the enactment of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

On 13 June 2011, Williams was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the law in the fields of anti-terrorism, human rights and constitutional law as an academic, author, adviser and public commentator.

In 2012, Williams said he would be "very interested" in being appointed as a judge of the High Court of Australia. News magazine Crikey reported that Williams had published a favourable opinion piece commending then Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, who would later that year need to recommend appointment of a new High Court judge. In 2013 he was elected a fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

From October to December 2015, Williams was a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study at Durham University. He has also held visiting positions at Osgoode Hall Law School and University College London.

In July 2024 Williams commenced as Vice-Chancellor and President of Western Sydney University.

Politics and views

Political affiliations In 2006, Williams was elected head of the Australia Labor Party's legal and constitutional committee. In 2007, Williams unsuccessfully sought pre-selection as the Labor candidate for the Sydney electorate of Blaxland. In 2009, while on sabbatical from UNSW, Williams unsuccessfully sought pre-selection as the Labor candidate for the Canberra electorate of Fraser.

Policy and legal views Williams has been a vocal critic of aspects of anti-terrorism legislation passed following the September 11 attacks, such as control order regimes.

Williams has been a proponent of a national statutory bill of rights.

Family Williams is married to Emma, a UNSW academic working in the field of corporate law. The couple have a son and a daughter.

Published works Williams has published extensively and his notable works include: