Dr Joanna Howe (Mascarenhas, 2000) is an Associate Professor in Law at the University of Adelaide and a consultant with Harmers Workplace Lawyers.

She holds a PhD in Law from the University of Oxford where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. In 2019 Joanna was appointed as the Australian representative to an International Labour Organization (ILO) working group on temporary labour migration. In 2021 she was appointed by the Minister for Immigration to the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration.

Joanna is a leading expert on the legal regulation of temporary labour migration. She is project leader on a number of significant national research grants, including one for the horticulture industry and another for the Fair Work Ombudsman examining the experience of international students in the Australian workplace. Joanna is also a chief-investigator on an Australian Research Council Discovery Project investigating the incidence of unpaid work experience and internships in Australia; and a chief-investigator on a Commonwealth National Research Grant investigating the experience of refugee women in the workplace. Joanna is a research collaborator on a grant from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council examining gender, migration and the work of care in Oceania.

Her three books are internationally recognised as the gold-standard on labour law. Joanna’s edited collection Temporary Labour Migration in the Global Era (with Prof Rosemary Owens) is the seminal international work on the regulation of transnational migration flows between countries on a temporary basis, and her monograph Rethinking Job Security provides a three country study of unfair dismissal law. In 2015 Joanna received a grant from the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Spain with Prof Rosemary Owens to convene a workshop on temporary labour migration bringing together international experts.

Joanna is regularly invited to present evidence to Australian parliamentary inquiries and reviews into Australia’s temporary labour migration program. Her recommendations regarding the 457 visa program have been accepted by successive federal governments and inquiries. Joanna is a regular media commentator having given expert evidence on the ABC’s Four Corners and 7.30 and is regularly commissioned to write for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Melbourne Age and The Australian newspapers.

In 2015, Joanna was the recipient of the University of Adelaide's Women's Research Excellence Award.

A Message from Joanna

'I was raised by a remarkable single mother who was dedicated to giving her children the best education. She chose MLC School, a decision I'll forever be grateful for as it was the perfect school for me. I had standout teachers who helped me discover what my gifts were, incredible opportunities to develop them through extra-curricular activities and a beautiful group of close friends.'