Justin McCaul is descendent of the Mbarbarum Traditional Owners of far north Queensland. He joined ANU College of Law as a Research Associate/PhD Candidate in February 2019. He completed a Masters in Global Media Communication at the University of Melbourne in 2018.

Justin has more than 20 years experience in Indigenous policy and advocacy and international development, having worked with a number of international and national organisations including the World Bank and UNDP  on rural development and biodiversity conservation projects with Indigenous groups in northeast Cambodia; and with environmental groups the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Bush Heritage Australia and their respective work across northern Australia supporting native title holders establish and fund Indigenous ranger groups. More recently Justin was the National Manager of Oxfam Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Program focusing on policy development and advocacy campaigns on Indigenous health and incarceration between 2014-17. Justin was also a researcher at the National Native Title Council looking at the challenges registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBC) face in utilising their native title rights for economic development.