Dr Natalia Antolak-Saper is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, specialising in comparative criminal law and criminal procedure. Her research adopts a socio-legal and empirical lens to interrogate pressing issues in criminal justice, with particular expertise in sentencing, gender-based violence, and the challenges faced by unrepresented accused in summary criminal proceedings. Her work combines doctrinal analysis with qualitative and quantitative empirical methodologies to examine the real-world impact of criminal law and policy.

Natalia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Criminology) and a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from Monash University. She completed her legal training with Lander & Rogers Lawyers and was admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. In 2012, she was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award to undertake her PhD, which explored the influence of media discourse on sentencing policy in Australia. In 2017, she was a Visiting Scholar at the William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, USA.

Her scholarly contributions include the monograph The Role of the Media in Criminal Justice Policy: Prisons, Populism and the Press (2023), which critically examines the interplay between media narratives and penal populism. In 2019, she was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to investigate international responses to self-represented litigants in criminal proceedings. Her Fellowship culminated in the publication of Innovative Solutions to Assist Unrepresented Accused in Summary Criminal Matters (2024), which offers reform-oriented insights grounded in global best practices.

Natalia is a frequent contributor to public policy and law reform debates, regularly making formal submissions to government and law reform bodies, and appearing before Parliamentary Inquiries. She is widely recognised for her ability to translate rigorous academic research into impactful law reform outcomes.

Natalia teaches a range of criminal law subjects in the LLB and JD programs at Monash. Her recent publications span topics such as mercy and sentencing, penal populism and parole policies, and lack of legal representation in criminal matters, reflecting a commitment to both doctrinal depth and socio-legal critique.