About the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness The Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness (PMCS) is an expert centre at the University of Melbourne’s Law School that undertakes research, teaching and engagement activities aimed at reducing statelessness and protecting the rights of stateless people in Australia, the Asia Pacific region, and as appropriate more broadly. PMCS is home to the Australian Stateless Legal Clinic (SLC), a unique service that partners with the community legal sector and Australian legal industry to provide legal education and support to stateless children and adults in Australia, offering Melbourne Law School students the opportunity to gain legal work experience. PMCS acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of the unceded lands on which we work, learn and live.1 PMCS pays respect to Elders past, present and future and acknowledges the importance of Indigenous knowledge in the Academy at Melbourne Law School and the University of Melbourne. PMCS acknowledges the Australian stateless community’s lived expertise on issues discussed throughout this report which directly informs our recommendations. Cover artwork: ‘My Shadow’ by Asma, formerly stateless artist, 2026. ‘My Shadow’ is a representation of a woman without a state, her identity rejected and isolated by the world around her. This rejection warps her self-perception, causing her shadow to take on a life of its own, radiating a vibrancy that eclipses her physical form. Photo credits: All images are courtesy of Katie Robertson unless otherwise noted.