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Ema Moolchand
Ema Moolchand, Lawyer / PhD (Law) Candidate at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia
ChainGE Lab Research Fellow
Ema Moolchand is a legal scholar and lawyer specialising in finance law, corporate governance, and workplace law. Ema has completed her BA (Hons) in Law Management in Mauritius. She was offered a scholarship to pursue her LL.M in Global Business Law and Juris Doctor at La Trobe University, where she graduated with First Class Honours. Ema was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria as a Lawyer in 2020. Her current research as a PhD(Law) candidate at RMIT University centers on modern slavery and gender issues within Australian supply chains, where she applies a socio-legal approach to highlight vulnerable workers' experiences. Her scholarly achievements, including a book chapter and several peer-reviewed journal articles and reports, have been recognised with prestigious awards such as the RMIT Excellence Scholarship, CRIMT Scholarship from the University of Montreal, and first place in the KPMG Asia-Pacific Legal Essay Competition organised in 2023.
Ema’s professional background includes significant experience as a Senior Lawyer at KPMG, where she provided legal advice on a range of complex matters involving banking and finance law, corporate governance, risk management, ASIC compliance and employment law . Her work has also involved extensive research and policy analysis at the Fair Work Commission, contributing to the development of workplace laws and consolidation of the 121 modern awards in Australia. Ema’s commitment to advancing legal knowledge in her fields of expertise is further evidenced by her active participation in academic and professional communities, including the Victorian Women Lawyers and the RMIT Business & Human Rights Centre.
Ema's research project focuses on the intersection of modern slavery risks, transparency, and labour rights within Global Value Chains (GVC), specifically examining the experiences of migrant workers from small island states. Her work within ChainGE Lab seeks to provide empirical insights into the power dynamics and complexities of contemporary supply chain capitalism, particularly in relation to enforcing workers' rights through participatory action research method that amplify worker voices and re-conceptualise labour governance within GVCs.