Nicola Lockhart

Dr Nicola Lockhart is a Lecturer in Security Science at Edith Cowan University and a researcher whose work sits at the intersection of security practice, governance, and law. She completed her PhD in Security Risk in 2025, with doctoral research examining how corporate security functions shape organisational decision-making — exploring the mechanisms, barriers, and degree of influence through which security risk drives outcomes at the enterprise level.
Nicola brings more than 15 years of operational experience across government security, facility management, and high-risk environments, including complex government agencies and high-profile, high-security facilities. Her background spans intelligence, regulatory, operational, and governance contexts, and she holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), giving her a strong grounding in the legislative and accountability frameworks that underpin security practice.
She is currently the lead researcher on Security 2030: A Five-Year Future Report on the Australian Private Security Industry, a project funded by ASIAL that is examining the future landscape of the private security sector. Her broader research interests include the professionalisation of security functions, surveillance and threat detection systems, counter-extremism and radicalisation, and the impact of artificial intelligence on physical security environments.
Nicola serves as a Non-Executive Member of the ASIS Foundation Research Committee, Book Review Editor for Security Journal, and is a Committee Member and Women in Security Champion with ASIS International’s WA Chapter.