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Let guidelines be your guide: AHPRA and National Boards to reform cosmetic procedures sector
As the guidelines develop, it will be interesting to see how the regulator and Boards attempt to deal with the difficult problem of social media promotion in this very popular sector.
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What happens when doctors don’t act as they should? And what’s the ruling against neurosurgeon Charlie Teo?
Amid public controversy, an Inquiry of a Professional Standards Committee established under law has imposed practice restrictions on neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo.
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Australia’s vaping train wreck: The Butler Plan to fix it and the devil in the detail
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 consultation over December 2022 – January 2023 led by the Therapeutic Goods…
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Contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law in the promotion of e-cigarettes
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 hundreds of chemicals, many of which are toxic with risks including addiction,…
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Doctors may soon get official ‘endorsements’ to practise cosmetic surgery – but will that protect patients?
People who are interested in exploring whether cosmetic surgery is appropriate for them are right to feel wary and confused. Now, the introduction of a scheme to officially endorse doctors who practise in the area of cosmetic surgery promises to allay patients’ doubts. But the idea remains contentious for those in the field.
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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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Thinking about cosmetic surgery? At last, some clarity on who can call themselves a surgeon
Currently, doctors doing cosmetic surgeries can call themselves ‘surgeons’ without special training. But soon, the title will be protected.
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Who’s the best doctor for a tummy tuck or eyelid surgery? The latest review doesn’t actually say
If you’re thinking about cosmetic surgery, how do you know which health practitioner to trust? A review of how cosmetic surgery is regulated in Australia, released today, may help consumers decide.
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Alcohol causes 3 million deaths each year. Eliminating conflicts of interest is vital to bringing this number down
Alcohol causes three million deaths each year, including 13.5% of deaths amongst those aged 20-39 years. But the personal and economic costs of alcohol-related harm are not met by the alcohol industry.
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Developed countries, dwindling national flexibilities, and access to essential medications during public-health emergencies
Developed countries have wound back the breadth and effectiveness of flexible obligations in international patent agreements.
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Alcohol companies continue to play by their own rules, putting our children’s health at risk
Alcohol companies are largely left to write and administer their own rules through the Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) Scheme.
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Another step forward for the Pacific Legislative Framework
Pacific Island Countries and Territories have some of the world’s highest rates of health risks. In response, the Public Health Division of the Pacific Community (SPC) has been driving an initiative for tackling the key risk factors: the Pacific Legislative Framework.
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A short(ish) explainer on public health law
Stay-at-home orders, curfews, and mandatory quarantine have brought public health law to the public’s attention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Closing the Gap and health governance reform: a brief review
The National Agreement on Closing the Gap is an ambitious all-of-government framework for improving the health and welfare of Australia’s first nations peoples. This post briefly reviews the Agreement and considers its significance as an example of health governance reform.
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Prospects for the World Health Assembly’s pandemic instrument
The World Health Assembly (WHA) has established an intergovernmental negotiating body to “draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”. The Assembly’s decision was made at the special session of the WHA, convened for the specific purpose of considering the benefits of such an instrument. But…
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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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Religious discrimination in Australian health law: hype or reality?
Queensland has passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2021. I’m disappointed in Queensland’s Parliament, not for passing assisted dying legislation, but for consciously trampling over the religious beliefs of Catholic and other religious healthcare organisations. Catholic hospitals are right to be aggrieved. It’s entirely predictable that church institutions are now considering civil disobedience. (See “Catholic…
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The Covidsafe app: speed at the expense of transparency and accountability
Australia’s COVIDSafe app was launched by the Australian Government in April 2020. But the app has been hampered by concerns about its security, privacy, and effectiveness.
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Big Alcohol and COVID-19: industry rules fail. Again.
This article was first published in MJA InSight+.Read the original ↗ WE know some people are more likely to drink – and drink more – during times of uncertainty and stress. Unsurprisingly, the alcohol industry is also aware of this. The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how quickly and creatively the alcohol industry will adapt its marketing practices…
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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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Health and technology
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Neurorights for computational neurosurgeons
Implanted neural devices promise to relieve enormous suffering, but they also raise questions about privacy, manipulation, and what informed consent can mean for a system that keeps changing. And one day, the neurosurgeons implanting them may need neurorights of their own.
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A ‘regulatory quagmire’? Extracellular vesicle therapies in Australia
Extracellular vesicles hold promise for regenerative medicine and drug delivery. Their path to clinical use presents regulatory challenges as well as scientific ones.
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Chimeric animals: Bioethically questionable but scientifically informative?
A new study published in Cell demonstrates the potential of donated embryonic stem cells to effectively blend with a primate’s cellular DNA, creating a chimeric animal.
Public health law
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Vaping law reform: Protecting the Pacific
Vaping is on the rise and governments are scrambling to respond. Guest authors Sophia Bleakley, Clare Gim and Helen Zhang analyse the issues.
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Strengthening Australia’s smoke and vape-free beach culture (north, and south, of the border)
Keeping beaches smoke and vape-free severs the link between relaxation and nicotine addiction. It says you don’t need to harm your body to enjoy yourself.
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Pokies: joyless, nasty, and on the way out?
Some pubs are removing poker machines. Roger Magnusson considers gambling harm and the case for stronger regulation in NSW.
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Regulating harmful cross-border advertising: can it be done?
How do governments prevent their citizens from being exposed to harmful online advertising which originates outside of their jurisdiction? Such advertising is referred to as cross-border advertising. Advertisers have taken advantage of a digitised, interconnected world to reach broad audiences (including children) across national borders.
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Indigenous Peoples’ Inclusion in Food Governance
For NAIDOC Week, Dr Mark Lock speaks to Dr Belinda Reeve about championing health equity and inclusion for First Nations Australians in food governance.
Case notes
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Teenagers refusing life-saving cancer treatment for religious reasons
Should courts allow minors (<18 years) to refuse life-saving medical treatment for religious reasons? My students don’t all agree that respect for the personal autonomy of a minor who fully understands the consequences of their decision, is all that matters. But many of them do.
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Moral conviction is not standing: Fidge v Pfizer and the Gene Technology Act
In a case interesting for many reasons, Rofe J of the Federal Court of Australia has held it is not an ‘incident of medical practice’ for medical practitioners to challenge alleged offences under law to (putatively) protect patients.
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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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The courts’ role in treatment for childhood gender dysphoria: recent updates
In 2020 and 2021, there were significant developments in the courts’ role in treatment for childhood gender dysphoria. The UK case of Bell v Tavistock is well known, but Re Imogen is of more practical importance here in Australia. Both cases illustrate the changing role of the courts in treatment for childhood gender dysphoria, following…
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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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Will the patients that Dr les blackstock butchered ever receive justice
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