Category: Uncategorized
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Rethinking Australia’s tobacco revenue plunge
This post was written by Neil Francey, Research Affiliate, Sydney Health Law In an article in The Weekend Australian (13-14 September 2025), Associate Editor Eric Johnston argues that there should be a rethink of tobacco customs and excise duty, due to the scale of illicit trade in tobacco. Johnston’s piece was prompted by burnt-out tobacco…
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Innovation down under 1: what has Australia been doing in tobacco control recently?
As discussed in another post, there has been so much vaping law reform in Australia over the past couple of years that it’s easy to overlook significant tobacco control law reforms. Since 2023, Australia has had a flagship, national tobacco control Act. The Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 [PHTOP Act] consolidated previous…
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Paradise at risk: recommendations to control tobacco and alcohol industry interference in Pacific Island Countries and Territories
This post was written by Matthew Catanzariti, Jessica Heaney and Oscar Loughnan Tobacco and alcohol represent significant threats to public health. The businesses that manufacture, distribute, and market these products to the public have irreconcilable interests to those that attempt to improve and protect public health. These businesses use coercive techniques, such as lobbying, tactical…
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Vaping law reform: New South Wales in a federal context
There is a lot of vaping-related law reform activity going on in Australia at the moment. This (long) post reviews NSW vaping laws and provides a baseline for understanding the changes that are underway, both at NSW (State) and Commonwealth level. Background The failure to enforce nicotine control laws, together with ludicrously low penalties, have…
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Proving the “competent professional practice” defence in NSW: Is the law any clearer after Dean v Pope?
Background A health practitioner who is sued for negligence in NSW will avoid liability under s 5O(1) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) “if it is established that the professional acted in a manner that (at the time the service was provided) was widely accepted in Australia by peer professional opinion as competent professional…
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Australia’s vaping train wreck: The Butler Plan to fix it and the devil in the detail
This post was written by Neil Francey, Research Affiliate, Sydney Health Law Australia’s Vaping Train Wreck Commonwealth Health Minister, Mark Butler MP, has announced that the Albanese Government is taking strong action to reduce smoking and stamp out vaping – particularly among young Australians – through stronger legislation, enforcement, education and support. This follows public…
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Contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law in the promotion of e-cigarettes
This post was written by Neil Francey, Research Affiliate, Sydney Health Law In an article in The Conversation, “Sex and lies are used to sell vapes online. Even we were surprised at the marketing tactics we found”, published on 6 March 2023, Curtain University Professor Jonine Jancey notes that e-cigarettes are not harmless; they contain…
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Global health law short courses
If you live on planet earth, you have a stake in global health law. This post draws attention to two upcoming short courses taught by global health law colleagues in Europe. Summer in Geneva? The University of Geneva will be hosting a course on International Law, Global Health and Global Justice on June 26-30, 2023.…
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Vaccine mandates webinar
On 9 December, the Parsons Centre for Law & Business, together with Corrs Chambers Westgarth, convened a seminar entitled Vaccine mandates and public health orders: legal and ethical issues for business. The seminar reviews the emergence of vaccine mandates in public health orders in NSW, and vaccine mandates imposed by businesses and other organisations from…
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A triumph for religious freedom, or viral spreading? The US Supreme Court in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v Cuomo
During his Presidency, President Trump had the opportunity to appoint three new Justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2017, the acerbic conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch replaced Justice Antonin Scalia; In 2018, Justice Brett Kavanaugh replaced retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy; and In 2020, Justice Amy Coney Barrett replaced Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. These three appointments…
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The tricky business of Covid-19 reviews & origins investigations
Dr Dominic Dwyer, Australia’s member of the WHO-convened Global Study of the Origins of SARS-CoV-2, won’t remember me, but he was generous and helpful when I interviewed him as a PhD student in the early 1990s. His more recent comments to the media illustrate the challenges of attempting to investigate the origins of SARS-CoV-2 as…
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Reckless, incompetent, outrageous: rogue doctors performing cosmetic surgery still a problem in NSW
A previous post briefly reviewed the regulation of cosmetic surgery in New South Wales. This post reviews the decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in Health Care Complaints Commission v Blackstock. Professional disciplinary complaints in NSW First, some background. In NSW, professional disciplinary complaints against a medical practitioner can be made on a…
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Improving safety for patients undergoing cosmetic surgery in NSW
If you’ve ever had work done, or thought about it, the decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in Health Care Complains Commission v Blackstock should send a shiver down your spine. This case is a powerful reminder of how behaviour that constitutes professional misconduct can give rise to professional sanctions, criminal liability, and…
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Freedom to protest, public health, and Covid-19
Update: the podcast of the event described below is now available, click here. Recently, a number of protests have taken place on the grounds of The University of Sydney against Commonwealth government education policies. See, for example, here (28 August) and here (14 October). During the latter protest, police were filmed throwing a demonstrator heavily onto…
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Rule of law in the Covid-19 response
The International Development Law Organisation (IDLO) has released a short publication that highlights the role of law in governments’ response to Covid-19. See here. Established by international treaty in 1988, IDLO is an inter-governmental organisation devoted to upholding the rule of law. Australia, and the United States, are among its 37 member parties, which span…
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Vaping: the madness of the British?
My google search engine thinks Public Health England (PHE) is a vaping organisation. “Vaping organisation UK”. You can try it yourself. E-cigarettes lie at the centre of PHE’s tobacco control strategy, probably drawing attention and commitment away from alternative strategies for reducing smoking rates. In September 2017, PHE encouraged smokers to “stop smoking with an…
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Post Covid: alcohol and the night time economy in the Sydney CBD
Sydney’s CBD has been bleak and empty the past few months, especially at night, but coronavirus restrictions in NSW are slowly easing. From 1 June, pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants can seat up to 50 customers (instead of the previous 10), provided businesses ensure social distancing of one person per 4 square metres, and no…
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Who’s in control of Australia’s response to coronavirus? Part 2: Operational responses
For part 1 of this post, click here. One reason why there is a measure of confusion about operational control during an outbreak of disease with pandemic potential is because of the different functions and responsibilities of the Commonwealth, and the States within a federation. For example, even if the (modest) number of cases meant…
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Who’s in control of Australia’s response to coronavirus? Part 1: Legal frameworks
The situation in Australia with human coronavirus is deteriorating. 454 cases so far, and 5 deaths, but cases are rising rapidly. See here for updates. Globally: 6,800 deaths and rising. Australia’s Chief Medical Officer – Australia’s Director of Human Biosecurity – has advised the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that gatherings of more than 500…
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