Academics · Research affiliates · Postgraduate researchers
Welcome to the Sydney Health Law blog.
Sydney Health Law is the focal point for health law research, teaching and community engagement at Sydney Law School. It builds on two decades of excellence in teaching and research across all areas of health law.
As a centre in the University of Sydney Law School, Sydney Health Law is active in organising seminars and conferences on topics of relevance to health governance, law and ethics and in building links with academic, community and professional organisations in Australia and overseas.
On this blog, we provide information on the latest developments and events in health law, ethics, and governance, focusing both nationally and globally. The blog’s main contributors are academic staff affiliated with Sydney Health Law, a research centre at the University of Sydney’s law faculty. Our academics research and teach in a broad range of areas related to health law and ethics, including in Sydney Law School’s Master of Health Law program. We hope that you’ll visit regularly, and participate in wide-ranging discussion on topics including the ethical dilemmas of biobanks, developments in chronic disease prevention, and the issues posed by refusal of consent to medical treatment -– to name just a few of our many interests.
Academics
Associate Professor Belinda Reeve
Director, Sydney Health Law · Sydney Law School
Belinda teaches in health law, tort law, and regulation. Belinda’s research explores the role of law, regulation, and policy in creating a healthy and sustainable food system. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach and combines an in-depth understanding of regulatory theory and public health law with highly developed skills in qualitative and doctrinal research methodologies. She is the co-founder of Australia’s first Food Governance Conference, as well as the Food Governance Node (at the University’s Charles Perkins Centre).
Dr Christopher Rudge
Deputy Director, Sydney Health Law · Lecturer, Sydney Law School
Christopher teaches Torts, Mental Illness: Law and Policy and Information Rights in Health Care. He blogs both here and at Cells and Statutes. Christopher’s research takes place at the intersection of law, psychiatry and biomedicine. Recent publications include studies of the regulation of stem cell advertising, the therapeutic goods personal importation scheme, litigation concerning the COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the bioethics of somatic cell genome editing and the regulation of psychedelic drugs in Australia. Christopher manages this website, so please send any feedback or notifications to him here.
Professor Roger Magnusson
Professor of Health Law and Governance, Sydney Law School
Roger was previously Co-Director of Sydney Health Law (2013–2024). He teaches Critical Issues in Public Health Law, and Law, Business and Healthy Lifestyles within the Master of Health Law program. Magnusson’s research interests include public health law generally; regulatory responses to non-communicable diseases (including tobacco control, obesity prevention, public health nutrition); global health law; and law, governance and health development.
Professor Cameron Stewart
Professor of Health Law and Ethics, Sydney Law School
Cameron is an associate of Sydney Health Ethics. He was previously Co-Director Sydney Health Law (2013–2024). He was the Director of Centre for Health Law Governance and Ethics (2009–2012), Acting president of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Health Law and Ethics (2008–2010) and Vice-President of the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (2010–2013). Stewart teaches Death Law, Health Care and Professional Liability, and Government Regulation, Health Policy and Ethics for the Master of Health Law program.
Professor Rita Shackel
Professor, Sydney Law School
Rita is a graduate of the University of Sydney holding undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in law, science, psychology and education. Shackel’s research is strongly interdisciplinary, focusing on the efficacy and improvement of legal, health and social justice processes, with a specific focus on access to justice for children and women. She has a particular interest in sexual and gender based violence and crimes, the needs of victims and survivors of sexual violence and abuse. Rita also has a research program on legal education, legal professionalism and ethics generally.
Dr Olugbenga Olatunji
Senior Lecturer, Sydney Law School
Olugbenga holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ibadan, a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Law) from the University of Tasmania. His research explores the intersections between intellectual property rights and access of poor populations (especially in the East African community) to medicines. Olatunji’s research extends to other IP-related subjects of both domestic and international concern, including free-trade agreements and anti-counterfeiting laws.
Associate Professor Gemma Turton
Associate Professor, Sydney Law School
Gemma researches causation in tort law and medical negligence, including the evidentiary challenges of proving that a defendant caused an injury. Her work explores the connections between tort law, healthcare, property, criminal law and human rights. Her current research examines autonomy in negligence, particularly in healthcare and reproductive health. She is Editor of the Sydney Law Review and a co-author of Cases on Torts.
Emeritus Professor Terry Carney AO
Emeritus Professor of Law, Sydney Law School
Terry’s research spans social security, mental health law, guardianship and supported decision making. His work examines how law and public institutions can protect the rights and participation of people who experience disadvantage. He also researches automation in welfare administration and the NDIS, and has extensive experience in law reform and social security tribunals.
Emeritus Professor Barbara McDonald
Emeritus Professor, Sydney Law School
Barbara researches tort law, privacy, civil liability and law reform. She led the Australian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into serious invasions of privacy in the digital era in 2013–2014 and has written extensively on negligence, confidential information and statutory reform in private law. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and continues to contribute to teaching and scholarship following her retirement in 2023.
Professor Margaret Allars SC
Professor, Sydney Law School · Senior Counsel
Margaret specialises in administrative law and the legal control of government decision making. Her work connects public law with health regulation, including government accountability and the use of human tissue in medicine. She chaired the national inquiry into the use of pituitary derived hormones and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, which reported in 1994, and has published extensively on Australian administrative law.
Research affiliates
Neil Francey
Research Affiliate, Sydney Law School
Neil practised as a barrister in Sydney for 25 years, with much of his work devoted to tobacco litigation. His research and writing examine tobacco control and the legal responsibilities of the tobacco industry. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland and a Master of Laws with Honours from the University of Sydney.
Professor Ian Kerridge
Research Affiliate, Sydney Law School · Professor of Bioethics and Medicine
Ian combines clinical practice as a haematologist and bone marrow transplant physician at Royal North Shore Hospital with research in bioethics at the University of Sydney. His work brings philosophical inquiry together with empirical research to examine the ethical foundations of healthcare, policy and biomedical science. His research includes commercial influences on medicine, end-of-life care, organ donation and transplantation, and the ethics of science.
Postgraduate research students
Postgraduate researchers are part of Sydney Health Law’s community. Their projects examine how law shapes health, professional accountability and access to care.
Saeed Ahsan Khalid
Saeed examines how regulation of non-communicable diseases can advance universal health coverage through a human rights approach.
Supervisor: Professor Roger Magnusson
Duong Anh Long
Long compares the role of private-sector mechanisms in strengthening food safety regulation.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Belinda Reeve and Dr April Klineberg
Matthew Blundell
Matthew’s project develops a framework for new torts.
Supervisors: Professor David Rolph and Dr Michael Crawford
Berk Eker
Berk examines human rights due diligence and corporate accountability in the international regulation of ultra-processed foods.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Belinda Reeve, Associate Professor Phil Baker and Professor Christine Parker
Madeline Fisher
Madeline investigates whether tax incentives could increase organ and blood donation rates in Australia.
Supervisors: Professor Cameron Stewart and Professor Ian Kerridge
Laura Sefaj
Laura studies the effectiveness of supervision conditions imposed on the registration of medical practitioners in NSW.
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Rudge and Professor Andrew Wilson
See the University’s Sydney Health Law page for research projects and supervisors. For coursework options, visit Study Health Law.
News from our community
Find brief research, event and community updates on our News and updates page.