McKay's work has centered on water law and governance in Australia,offering policymakers insights into the effects of water policies on diverse user groups and proposing reforms aimed at sustainable management and building trust within the sector.[2] With over 180 publications in environmental and natural resources management law,her research has been published academic journals such as Environment and Development Economics and Water Policy.[3] Over the years,she has proposed several law reforms,with a later focus on advocating for the inclusion of the human right to a clean,healthy environment in a potential Human Rights Act for South Australia.[4] Additionally,she has received funding for her research from national and international organizations,including the Australian Research Council,the National Groundwater Centre of Excellence,UNESCO,the OECD,and the World Bank.[5] In 2021,she as given the peer recognition by being was awarded a distinguished fellow of the International Water Resources Association (France) and in 2022 a fellowship of International Water Association UK.[2] In 2023,she was recognized as a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the legal profession.[6]
McKay's career spans over four decades in academia,law,environmental policy,and community service. She served as assistant dean at St. Mark's College from 1981 to 1983,later joining the University of South Australia as a Lecturer in 1992 and becoming Professor of Business Law in 2000.[7] She held international positions,including at the University of Fiji,served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Australian National University,and worked as a Research Officer at the University of Adelaide from 1983 to 1988,as well as at the University of Melbourne from 1986 to 1988. From 1995 to 2017,she served as a Part-Time Commissioner at South Australia's Environment,Resources and Development Court. During this time,she held a senior Fulbright position at UC Berkeley in 2008. Her involvement with the Law Society of South Australia began in 1990,where she continues to serve on committees focused on business,human rights,and environmental law. She has also contributed to international organizations,including the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Commission on Environmental Law since 2016,[8] as a Strategic Council Member of the International Water Association from 2007 to 2010,and as a Fellow since 2022.[9][10]
McKay was nominated by Fulbright for a TedX presentation in Adelaide. Moreover,she is an editorial board member of the Journal of Environmental Law and Australasian Journal of Environmental Management.[11]
In 2019,McKay was invited to give a TedX talk,which she called Duty to Cooperate:Making Messy Mosaic Laws into Jigsaw Laws.[12]
Research
McKay's body of research comprises book chapters and articles. In 2000,she examined Australia's fragmented water quality regulations,advocating for mandatory,enforceable standards to ensure safe drinking water across states,beyond the existing voluntary guidelines and limited urban licensing schemes.[13] Her 2005 study,published in the journal Water Policy,reviewed Australia's water institutional reforms since 1995,highlighting the comprehensive changes,ongoing challenges like regional diversity and public-private conflicts,and offering case studies to present perspectives on the theory and practice of such reforms.[14] Two years later,she investigated community attitudes and willingness to pay for recycled water in Mawson Lakes,South Australia,emphasizing the significance of attributes such as color,odor,salt content,and price for non-potable domestic uses.[15]
In 2008,McKay analyzed community satisfaction with recycled water use in Mawson Lakes,highlighting the importance of communication,trust,fairness,quality,financial value,and perceived risks,and offered guidelines to enhance community support for future projects.[16] In her research on storm water harvesting in Salisbury,South Australia,she explored public perceptions and health concerns surrounding treated storm water use. Her findings revealed that attitudes were shaped by the proximity of the end use and the perceived quality of the water.[17] In 2014,she authored a chapter in the book Water and the Law. The chapter detailed the evolution of Australian water management laws from 1788 to 2009,highlighting shifts from riparian rights to licensing systems and the incorporation of Ecologically Sustainable Development in response to water scarcity and environmental challenges.[18]
McKay's 2015 publication is a book chapter included in the Handbook of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Research. The book chapter analyzed freshwater allocation conflicts in Australia,emphasizing ecological sustainability policies,community involvement in regional water plans,and the importance of sustainability policy entrepreneurs in addressing challenges from changing water allocations.[19] In 2018,she contributed a chapter to the book Reforming Water Law and Governance:From Stagnation to Innovation in Australia. Focusing on governance in the water supply sector,the chapter highlighted the need for unified laws,harmonized organizations,and stronger civil society,while comparing urban water supply strategies between Australia and China's evolving governance models.[20] Most recently,in 2022,her study on environmental law education used automated assessment to evaluate student presentations,demonstrating that structured self-reflection fosters deeper learning and improves educational outcomes in legal studies.[21]
2025 –Academic Researcher of the Year Women in Law awards November 2025[24]
Bibliography
Books
An Evaluation of the Corporate Governance Arrangements of Australian Irrigation Water Providers (2007) ISBN 9780980498578
Natural Resources and Environmental Justice:Australian Perspectives (2017) ISBN 9781486306374
Selected articles
McKay,J. (2005). Water institutional reforms in Australia. Water policy,7(1),35–52.
Hurlimann,A. C.,&McKay,J. M. (2006). What attributes of recycled water make it fit for residential purposes? The Mawson Lakes experience. Desalination,187(1–3),167–177.
Hurlimann,A.,&McKay,J. (2007). Urban Australians using recycled water for domestic non-potable use—An evaluation of the attributes price,saltiness,colour and odour using conjoint analysis. Journal of Environmental Management,83(1),93–104.
Hurlimann,A.,Hemphill,E.,McKay,J.,&Geursen,G. (2008). Establishing components of community satisfaction with recycled water use through a structural equation model. Journal of Environmental Management,88(4),1221–1232.
Keremane,G. B.,&McKay,J. (2011). Using PhotoStory to capture irrigators' emotions about water policy and sustainable development objectives:A case study in rural Australia. Action Research,9(4),405–425.
McKay,J.,Barthakur,A.,&Joksimovic,S. (2022). Self-reflection on presentation skills and on the law in environmental law teaching:An Australian example. IUCN AEL Journal of Environmental Law,12,123–138.
↑Hurlimann, A.; McKay, J. (2007). "Urban Australians using recycled water for domestic non-potable use--an evaluation of the attributes price, saltiness, colour and odour using conjoint analysis". Journal of Environmental Management. 83 (1): 93–104. Bibcode:2007JEnvM..83...93H. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.02.008. PMID16678338.
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