Kristian Hollins is a PhD candidate at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) and a 2024 Sir Roland Wilson Scholar. His research interrogates how administrative decision-makers navigate uncertainty when determining refugee protection claims, focusing on how discretionary reasoning shapes findings of fact in the absence of verifiable evidence.

Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, Kristian examines refugee status determination as a field structured by institutional logics, professional habitus, and narratives of credibility. His work explores how discretionary judgment is performed, justified, and constrained within the Australian asylum system, revealing how seemingly neutral decision-making practices are embedded in broader power dynamics.

Dual-trained in journalism and law, Kristian’s broader research agenda seeks to bridge critical theory, doctrinal law, and public policy to foster more reflexive and accountable governance. Before commencing his PhD, Kristian worked across multiple roles in the Department of Home Affairs, specialising in protection assessment, administrative law, and institutional reform. He was previously a Research Fellow with the Migration and Border Policy Project at the Lowy Institute, focusing on comparative approaches to establishing identity in undocumented asylum seekers. His background in both journalism and law informs a commitment to rigorous analysis and clear communication of complex institutional issues.