Marie’s PhD research examined the migration patterns, processes and factors involved in irregular maritime migration to Australia of Afghan Hazaras between 2008 and 2013. Her research focused on the conceptualisation of international migration, and irregular maritime migration specifically. In 2018, she was awarded the Charles Price prize for outstanding doctoral research in demography for her thesis.

She has published and edited extensively in academic and policy spheres on international migration, serving on the editorial boards of scientific journals Migration Studies, and Migration and Development. From 2021-2025 she was an associate editor of the Harvard Data Science Review. Marie maintains visiting scholar positions at ANU’s School of Demography and the Global Migration Centre at the Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies (Geneva).

Marie directs the Migration Shift Hub at the PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement, and previously served as a senior official in the UN system as the head of International Organization for Migration's (IOM's) Migration Research Division from 2016-2025. She was also editor of the World Migration Report for IOM from 2016 to 2026.  She currently leads migration research and policy initiatives with a wide range of partners, including the MIT Technology Review, the International Institute for Migration and Development and the African Migration and Development Policy Centre as well as several universities.

Marie started work with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) in 2000. She has worked for the department in offices in Canberra, Seoul and Moscow. Marie has led branches and sections in DIBP, the Australian Public Service Commission, and the Department of Workplace Relations. She has consulted to the International Labor Organization as well as in the private sector. For three years Marie managed DIBP’s largest research program as well as a research/analytical function on irregular migration.

Supervisor: Professor James Raymer

Publications

• McAuliffe M, and Martin Galan I (2026) 'Artificial intelligence and disinformation on migration: new challenges and opportunities in the global digital domain', in Beduschi A (ed) Handbook on Migration and Artificial Intelligence, Edward Elgar: Oxford. (accepted, forthcoming)
• McAuliffe M (22 June 2026) ‘10 things migration policymakers need to know about AI’, Agenda, World Economic Forum.
• Herwenger N, McAuliffe M, Moreno C and Dirikgil N (2026) ‘Internal displacement: Trends, responses and solutions’ in McAuliffe M and Ceriani Cernadas P (eds) World Migration Report 2026, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, Irudaya Rajan S, Faal G and Lincango M (2026) ‘Migration and Development: A Strategic Global Asset at Risk’ in McAuliffe M and Ceriani Cernadas P (eds) World Migration Report 2026, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, Bauloz C, Oucho L A and Irudaya Rajan S (2026) ‘A Structured Literature Review of Remittances, Migration and Economic Policymaking in Countries of Origin: Evidence from Kenya, Kerala (India) and Sri Lanka’, Economies, 14(6):205. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies14060205
• McAuliffe M and Ceriani Cernadas P (eds) (2026) World Migration Report 2026. International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M (12 February 2025) ‘Why we urgently need strategic solutions to internal displacement’, Agenda, World Economic Forum.
• McAuliffe M (2025) ‘Displacement’, in Mistri A, Reja S and Das B (eds) Fundamentals of Migration. Routledge, Delhi.
• McAuliffe M (18 December 2024) ‘How AI can help combat mis- and disinformation about migration’, Agenda, World Economic Forum.
• McAuliffe M (8 April 2024) ‘A ‘post-human rights’ era is emerging. Here’s what it means for migrants – and how to stop it’, Agenda, World Economic Forum.
• McAuliffe M, Abel G, Oucho L A and Sawyer A (2024) ‘Growing migration inequality: What do the global data actually show?’ in McAuliffe M and Oucho L A (eds) World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, Rojas Coppari P, Abassi-Shavazi M J and Maunganidze O A (2024) 'Migration and human security: Unpacking myths and examining new realities and responses', in McAuliffe M Oucho L A (eds) World Migration Report 2024, International Organization for Migration: Geneva.
• McAuliffe M and Oucho L A (eds) (2024) World Migration Report, International Organization for Migration: Geneva.
• McAuliffe M and Bauloz C (eds) (2024) Research Handbook on Migration, Gender and COVID-19, Edward Elgar: Oxford.
• McAuliffe M (2024) ‘By the wayside: gender dimensions of stranded migrants during the COVID-19 crisis’ in McAuliffe, M and Bauloz C (eds) Research Handbook on Migration, Gender and COVID-19, Edward Elgar: Oxford.
• McAuliffe M (25 January 2023) ‘AI in migration is fuelling global inequality: How can we bridge the gap?’ Agenda. Accessed 22 March 2023, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/01/ai-in-migration-is-fuelling-global-inequality-how-can-we-bridge-gap/.
• McAuliffe M (16 December 2022) ‘Who will be our migrants of the future? Celebrating International Migrants’ Day with a keen eye on the growing gender gap’ [blog], People Move. Accessed 22 March 2023, https://blogs.worldbank.org/peoplemove/who-will-be-our-migrants-future-celebrating-international-migrants-day-keen-eye-growing.
• McAuliffe M and Bauloz C (2022) The San Antonio Tragedy Was Sadly Not Uncommon, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC.
• McAuliffe M and Iqbal M (2022) Struggling to Survive: Gender, Displacement, and Migration in Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington.
• Iqbal M and McAuliffe M (2022) ‘The “eighth phase” of Afghan displacement: Situating the top ten issues for policymakers’, Migration Research Series, 71, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M (2022) ‘Afghan displacement and migration: situating the current humanitarian-displacement crisis’, International Migration, 60(1):268-270.
• McAuliffe M, Abel G, Kitimbo A and Martin Galan I (2022) ‘Data, design and deep domain knowledge: science-policy collaboration to combat misinformation on migration and migrants’, Harvard Data Science Review, 4(1), DOI: 10.1162/99608f92.b3353b93.
• McAuliffe M and Blower J (2021) ‘Migration, mobility and digital technology in a post-COVID-19 world: initial reflections on transformations underway’, in McAuliffe M (ed), Research Handbook of International Migration and Digital Technology, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Oxford.
• McAuliffe M and Sawyer A (2021) ‘The role and limitations of data science in understanding international migration flows’, in McAuliffe M (ed), Research Handbook of International Migration and Digital Technology, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Oxford.
• McAuliffe M (ed) (2021) Research Handbook on International Migration and Digital Technology, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Oxford.
• Beduschi A and McAuliffe M (2021) ‘Artificial intelligence, migration and mobility’, in McAuliffe M and Triandafyllidou A (eds), World Migration Report 2022, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, Freier L F, Skeldon R and Blower J (2021) ‘The Great Disrupter: COVID-19’s impacts on migration and migrants globally’, in McAuliffe M and Triandafyllidou A (eds), World Migration Report 2022, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M and Triandafyllidou A (eds) (2021) World Migration Report 2022. International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• Iqbal M and McAuliffe M (2021) ‘After decades of instability, what does the future hold for Afghan migration?’, Agenda [Blog], World Economic Forum, Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/09/what-does-the-future-hold-for-afghan-migration/.
• McAuliffe M, Blower J and Beduschi A (2021) ‘Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Migration and Mobility: Transnational Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic’. Societies, 11(4) Article 135.
• McAuliffe M (2020) ‘On the margins: Migrant smuggling in the context of development’ in Bastia T and Skeldon R (eds) Handbook of Migration and Development, Routledge, Oxford.
• McAuliffe M, Bauloz C and Kitimbo A (2020) ‘The challenge of real-time analysis: making sense of the migration and mobility implications of COVID-19’, Migration Policy Practice, 10(2):15-21.
• McAuliffe M (2020) ‘Immobility as the ultimate “migration disrupter”: COVID-19 and the securitization of migration’, Migration Research Series Paper No 64, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M and Khadria B (eds) (2019) World Migration Report 2020, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M (2018) ‘Migration moderate, ‘master weaver’ and inspirational team leader: Reflecting on the lasting legacy of Graeme Hugo in three spheres of migration policy’, in Klocher N and Dun O (eds) Population, Migration and Settlement in Australia and the Asia-Pacific: In memory of Graeme Hugo, Routledge, Oxon and New York.
• McAuliffe M and Goossens A M (2018) ‘Regulating International Migration in an Era of Increasing Interconnectedness’, in Triandafyllidou A (ed) Handbook on Migration and Globalisation, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham.
• McAuliffe M (2018) ‘The nexus between forced and irregular migration: Insights from demography’, in Hugo G, Abbasi-Shavazi M J and Kraly EP (eds) The Demography of Refugee and Forced Migration. Springer & IUSSP.
• McAuliffe, M & Ruhs, M (eds) 2018, ‘World Migration Report Special Issue’, Migration Policy Practice, VII(4), International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M and Triandafyllidou A (2018), Migrant Smuggling Data and Research: A global review of the emerging evidence base, Volume 2, International Organization for Migration: Geneva.
• McAuliffe M (2017) ‘Protection Elsewhere, Resilience Here: Introduction to the Special Issue on Statelessness, Irregularity and Protection in Southeast Asia’, Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 15(3):221-231.
• McAuliffe M and Klein Solomon M (eds) (2017) ‘Migration Research Leaders Syndicate Special Issue’, Migration Policy Practice, VII(3).
• McAuliffe M (2017) ‘The Human Development Visa Scheme: Applying Practical and Sustainable Policy Levers to Actively Encourage Migrants to Undertake Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration’, in McAuliffe M and Klein Solomon M (Conveners) Migration Research Leaders’ Syndicate: Ideas to Inform International Cooperation on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, Weeks W and Koser K (2017) ‘Media and migration: Comparative analysis of print and online media reporting on migrants and migration in selected countries’, in McAuliffe M and Koser K (eds), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making. ANU Press, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M (2017) ‘Seeking the views of irregular migrants: Decision-making, drivers and migration journeys’, in McAuliffe M and Koser K (eds), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making. ANU Press, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M and Jayasuriya D (2017) ‘Placing Sri Lankan maritime arrivals in a broader migration context’, in McAuliffe M and Koser K (eds), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making. ANU Press, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M and Mence V (2017) ‘Irregular maritime migration as a global phenomenon’, in McAuliffe M and Koser K (eds), A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making. ANU Press, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M and Koser K (eds) (2017) A long way to go: Irregular migration patterns, processes, drivers and decision making. ANU Press, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M (2017) ‘Protection Elsewhere, Resilience Here: Introduction to the Special Issue on Statelessness, Irregularity, and Protection in Southeast Asia’. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 15(3):221-231.
• McAuliffe M (2017) Self-agency and asylum [PhD Thesis], The Australian National University, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M and Ruhs M (eds) (2017) World Migration Report 2018. International Organization for Migration, Geneva.
• Jayasuriya D, McAuliffe M and Iqbal M (2016) ‘The dynamic nature of migration aspirations: Findings from a longitudinal study of households in Sri Lanka’. Occasional Paper Series, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Canberra.
• McAuliffe M and Jayasuriya D (2016) ‘Do asylum seekers and refugees choose destination countries? Evidence from large-scale surveys in Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka’. International Migration, 54(4):44-59.
• McAuliffe M (2016) ‘Migration moderate, ‘master weaver’ and inspirational team leader: Reflecting on the lasting legacy of Graeme Hugo in three spheres of migration policy’. Australian Geographer, 47(4):383-389.
• McAuliffe M (2016) Resolving policy conundrums: Enhancing humanitarian protection in Southeast Asia. Migration Policy Institute, Washington DC.
• McAuliffe, M (2016) ‘How transnational connectivity is shaping irregular migration: Insights for migration policy and practice from the 2015 irregular migration flows to Europe’. Migration Policy Practice, VI(1):4-10.
• McAuliffe M (ed) (2016) ‘Afghan Displacement Special Issue’. Migration Policy Practice, IV(3).
• McAuliffe M and Laczko F (eds) (2016) Migrant Smuggling Data and Research: A global review of the emerging evidence base, International Organization for Migration: Geneva.
• McAuliffe M, and Koser K (2015) ‘Unintended Consequences: How Migrant Smugglers are Exploiting the International Protection System’, Advance, Australian National University, Winter 2015:30-33.