As Director of the McCabe Centre, the only centre of its kind in the world, Hayley Jones leads innovative legal approaches that reduce cancer risk and make a real difference to the lives of people affected by cancer globally.
With more than two decades of experience spanning public interest law, environmental and planning regulation, human rights global health, and community legal practice, Hayley brings a distinctive blend of legal expertise, strategic leadership, and commitment to social justice.
Hayley joined the McCabe Centre in 2019, and she oversees all McCabe Centre programs that strengthen legal frameworks for cancer prevention and control in Australia and across the region, while guiding the Centre’s partnerships with governments, civil society, academic institutions, and the World Health Organization. She also serves as Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Law & Noncommunicable Disease, contributing to global efforts to improve legal and regulatory responses to NCDs.
Hayley is Co‑Chair of the Australian Network of WHO Collaborating Centres, helping to foster collaboration, technical exchange, and coordinated action across more than 50 WHO-designated centres nationwide. She was also appointed to the WHO Western Pacific Region Technical Advisory Group on Noncommunicable Disease in 2024 – present.
Hayley previously worked as a lawyer and pro bono manager at corporate law firms in Australia and the UK, advising government and corporate clients on environmental impact assessment, regulatory approvals and ESG and human rights risks. She has managed pro bono referrals and relationships across a global firm’s 44 offices in 31 countries, including establishing active pro bono committees and network of pro bono champions and advising the firm’s foundation on grant making.
Hayley currently serves as a voluntary Board Member of Southside Justice, a community legal centre supporting people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage in her local area.
Hayley holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) / Bachelor of Arts and Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. She is dual qualified as a lawyer in Australia, England and Wales.
Hayley’s research contributions include as an associate investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant on a 3-year project to conduct interdisciplinary research on “Cancer culture: understanding anti-cancer campaigns in Australia”, together with scholars from the University of Melbourne and Cancer Council Victoria (2022-2025). She also participated as an advisor to the Lancet Commission on Women, Power and Cancer (2023) and subsequent educational activities with the Union for International Cancer Control.