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What is RegNet?
RegNet is the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University: an academic centre for research and teaching on how societies regulate themselves and govern shared problems. Its stated focus spans climate change, conflict and injustice, disruptive technologies, economic and health inequality, and geopolitical contestation, and it describes its approach as deliberately interdisciplinary.
What it does
- Research: a community of scholars and practitioners working on regulation and governance, organised around expertise areas and research centres.
- Postgraduate and doctoral study: degrees for people who want to research or work in regulation, policy and governance.
- Professional education: shorter courses aimed at practitioners rather than full degrees.
- Public engagement: news, media commentary and events, including workshops and visiting-researcher programmes.
Who it suits
- A policy officer who needs to understand how rules are made, enforced and contested across sectors.
- A graduate student weighing a research degree on governance topics such as climate politics, restorative justice or technology regulation.
- A journalist or analyst looking for academic commentary on current regulatory debates.
How to use the site
Start with the expertise areas and centres pages if you want to know whether your topic is covered, then check the study pages for the programme that matches your level. The news and media sections show what the school is currently working on, which is often the fastest way to judge fit before contacting anyone.
For comparison, regulation and governance work also appears at other institutions, such as Australian National University more broadly and London School of Economics and Political Science, but RegNet's distinguishing feature is that it treats regulation itself as the subject of study rather than as a sub-topic of law or public policy.
What postgraduate or doctoral degrees can I study at RegNet?
RegNet (the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University) offers postgraduate and doctoral study rather than undergraduate degrees. Its teaching is built around regulation and governance as an interdisciplinary field, so you would typically be working across law, politics, sociology, economics and public policy rather than within a single discipline.
What is on offer
- Postgraduate study — coursework programs at master's level, aimed at people who want to specialise in regulation, governance and public policy. Suited to policy officers, regulators, lawyers, NGO staff and graduates moving into governance work.
- Doctoral study — a research degree (PhD) for candidates pursuing an original thesis. Suited to those aiming at academic careers, senior policy research or expert advisory roles.
- Professional education — shorter, practitioner-oriented offerings for people already working in regulation or governance who want targeted upskilling without committing to a full degree.
How to choose
The deciding factor is usually whether you want to apply existing knowledge or produce new knowledge. Coursework postgraduate study gives you structured teaching and a recognised credential; a doctorate is a multi-year independent research project supervised by an academic, with the thesis as the output. Professional education sits in between: shorter, more immediately applicable, and often taken alongside full-time work.
A concrete next step
Before applying, check the current program list and entry requirements directly on the school's site, since specific degree names, durations and admission criteria change. You can start at RegNet and look under "Study with us", which breaks the options into postgraduate, doctoral and professional education. Then contact the school or a potential supervisor to confirm whether your background and research interests fit what they supervise — this matters most for doctoral applicants, where a supervisor's willingness to take you on is often the real gate.
As general advice (not a description of RegNet specifically): if you are unsure between a master's and a PhD, a coursework master's is the lower-risk way to test whether the field holds your interest before committing years to a thesis.
How does RegNet's research on regulation and governance apply to climate change policy?
RegNet approaches climate change as a governance problem, not just a scientific or technical one. Its research community explicitly names climate change among society's greatest concerns, alongside conflict, disruptive technologies and inequality, and the school's stated method is interdisciplinary work on regulation and governance. For climate policy, that means studying the rules, institutions and accountability mechanisms that translate climate goals into action.
The clearest concrete example on the site is a workshop hosted at RegNet and led by Christian Downie and Bill Kakenmaster, which examined Australia's changing approach to climate change and the forces shaping climate action. That framing is the useful part: rather than asking only what target to set, it asks which political, economic and institutional forces accelerate or block action, and how regulation can respond.
Related strands show how the same lens extends to environmental harm. A RegNet professor joined a webinar on restorative justice for crimes against nature, covering accountability, repair and Traditional Owners' participation — a reminder that climate and environmental governance includes enforcement, remedies and affected communities, not only emissions rules.
Who this suits:
- Prospective postgraduate or doctoral students wanting supervision on regulation, governance and climate politics.
- Policy analysts and public servants looking for research framing on how climate commitments are implemented and contested.
- Practitioners in NGOs, law and advocacy interested in accountability and justice dimensions of environmental harm.
A practical next step: if you are weighing study or collaboration, look at the expertise areas and centres listed on the site, then match your question — for example, climate politics, restorative justice, or technology regulation — to the people publishing on it. As a decision criterion, prefer a supervisor or centre whose recent work addresses the specific mechanism you care about (carbon pricing, approval processes, litigation, or community participation) rather than climate governance in general.
For broader context on Australian climate policy institutions, compare with Australian National University and Climate Change Authority.
What professional education or short courses does RegNet offer for practitioners?
RegNet's professional education sits alongside its postgraduate and doctoral programs, aimed at people already working in regulation, governance, policy or related fields who want structured, research-informed short study rather than a full degree. The school describes itself as an interdisciplinary academic centre focused on regulation and governance, with research spanning climate change, conflict and injustice, disruptive technologies, economic and health inequality, and geopolitical contestation — so expect professional offerings to be framed around those themes rather than generic management training.
A practical way to judge fit:
- If you need a credential for career progression, a postgraduate or doctoral pathway is the more natural route; professional education is usually the shorter, more focused option.
- If you need to apply ideas to a current problem — designing a regulatory approach, working on climate or technology policy, or handling justice and accountability issues — a short course is the better match.
- If your interest is comparative or international, RegNet's visitor and collaboration activity (for example, work on restorative justice across legal systems) suggests courses and events with cross-jurisdictional perspectives.
Next step: browse the "Professional education" section of RegNet for current course names, formats and dates, since offerings change each term. Then compare two or three against your own gap — a specific skill, a sector lens, or a network you want to join — before committing.
If you are weighing a short course against a degree, a useful criterion is time-to-application: choose the short course when you can name the decision or project you will use it for within the next six months.
How can I apply for a job or research opportunity at RegNet?
Apply directly through the pathways RegNet publishes on its own site: postgraduate and doctoral study, professional education, and staff or project roles. RegNet is the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, and its landing page groups "Study with us" (postgraduate study, doctoral study, professional education) alongside news items that include job openings, such as a Project Officer role supporting research on community rule-making, peacebuilding and violence prevention.
H3 Practical routes
- Research degree (PhD or similar): the doctoral study pathway is the main route for a funded research project. You generally need a supervisor and a research proposal before you apply, so identify a RegNet scholar whose work matches yours first.
- Postgraduate coursework: use the postgraduate study pathway if you want taught training in regulation and governance rather than a thesis.
- Professional education: short courses suit regulators, public servants and practitioners who are not enrolling in a degree.
- Employment: staff and project roles are advertised as news items and on the university's jobs pages. The Project Officer listing is an example of research support work rather than an academic appointment.
- Visiting researchers: the page notes a doctoral researcher from Masaryk University visiting the Centre for Restorative Justice, which shows visiting arrangements exist, though you would need to confirm the current process with the relevant centre.
H3 A concrete next step Pick two or three RegNet expertise areas or centres that match your topic — the page names climate change, conflict and injustice, disruptive technologies, economic and health inequality, and geopolitical contestation. Then email the named academic with a one-page proposal: your question, method, timeframe and what you would need (supervision, desk space, funding). For a job, tailor your application to the specific project described in the advertisement rather than to RegNet in general.
H3 Choosing between the routes
| Goal | Route | What it usually requires |
|---|---|---|
| Become a researcher | Doctoral study | Supervisor agreement, proposal, funding or scholarship |
| Change career into governance | Postgraduate coursework | Admission to a degree program |
| Upskill while working | Professional education | Short course enrolment |
| Work on a funded project | Staff or project role | Application against the advertised selection criteria |
| Short research stay | Visiting arrangement | Host academic and centre agreement |
For official requirements, deadlines and current vacancies, check RegNet and the university's central admissions and jobs pages, since eligibility rules and closing dates change each cycle.
What events and seminars does RegNet host for the public or researchers?
RegNet hosts public-facing and research-oriented events across regulation, governance, climate politics, technology and justice. Its site highlights workshops, webinars, seminars and visitor programs, with a mix of open public sessions and academic or practitioner gatherings.
Types of events
- Workshops and research meetings — for example, a workshop hosted at RegNet on “Explaining Climate Politics in Australia,” led by Christian Downie and Bill Kakenmaster.
- Webinars and public discussions — such as a webinar with Professor Miranda Forsyth on restorative justice for environmental harm.
- Seminars and visiting researcher talks — RegNet hosts visiting doctoral researchers and visitors, including Stanislava Ochranova from Masaryk University, exploring comparative restorative justice.
- Policy and technology discussions — events where researchers translate work on AI regulation and emerging technologies for engineers and policymakers.
- News-adjacent public commentary — “In the media” items are not events, but they often reflect the same public and policy themes.
Who they suit
- Researchers and doctoral students looking for interdisciplinary work on regulation, governance, justice and climate.
- Policymakers and practitioners interested in applied discussions on AI regulation, environmental harm and peacebuilding.
- Members of the public who follow public webinars and media analysis on immigration, climate and governance.
How to choose
If you want to attend, check the Upcoming events section first, then look at News and stories for event write-ups and speaker names. If you are a researcher, the workshop and visitor formats are likely more relevant than general public webinars.
For context on the school, see RegNet.
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