Study the legal and ethical questions that shape healthcare, public health and medical innovation. Sydney Law School’s Master of Health Law and Graduate Diploma in Health Law welcome lawyers, health professionals, administrators, government officers and others with an interest in the field.
Explore the program
Learn with Sydney Health Law’s specialists across medical practice, public health, mental health, information rights and emerging technologies. The University’s Health Law handbook sets out the requirements for each qualification and the units available within the program.
The subjects below are listed in the program’s unit table. Not every unit runs each year. Follow each link for its description, availability and published unit outlines, and check the handbook before choosing your subjects.
Core units
LAWS6848
Law, Business and Healthy Lifestyles
Examines how law can reduce preventable disease through the regulation of tobacco, alcohol, food and other commercial influences on health.
LAWS6054
Health Care and Professional Liability
Explores professional liability, medical negligence, patient complaints and the regulation and discipline of health practitioners.
LAWS6839
Critical Issues in Public Health Law
Introduces the legal foundations of public health, including responses to epidemics, tobacco control and the balance between public protection and civil liberties.
LAWS6058
Information Rights in Health Care
Examines consent to treatment, confidentiality, access to medical records and information rights in health research.
LAWS6877
Mental Illness: Law and Policy
Considers mental health law through human rights, treatment decisions, guardianship and the criminal justice system.
LAWS6052
Government Regulation, Health Policy and Ethics
Examines government regulation of healthcare, including therapeutic goods, health funding, professional oversight and the ethics of medical research.
Elective units
LAWS6889
Death Law
Explores legal questions surrounding death and dying, from treatment decisions and assisted dying to organ donation and coronial investigations.
LAWS6130
Dispute Resolution in Australia
Examines mediation and other alternatives to litigation, including their use in healthcare and employment disputes.
LAWS6307
Class Action Litigation in Australia
Explores how class actions are commenced, funded and resolved, including claims involving defective products and widespread harm.
LAWS6920
Global Health Law
Considers how international law and institutions respond to pandemics, health inequalities, tobacco and other global health challenges.
LAWS6970
Forensic Psychology
Applies psychological research to the justice system, including eyewitness memory, interviewing, lie detection and jury decisions.
LAWS6330
Fundamentals of Regulation
Introduces regulatory theory, compliance and enforcement through examples from public health, workplace safety and environmental protection.
LAWS6914
Law, Genetics and New Health Technologies
Examines genetic privacy, discrimination and the regulation of emerging technologies, including stem cell therapies, bioprinting and organoid research.
LAWS6096
Work Health and Safety: Law and Policy
Examines the law’s role in preventing workplace injury and disease, with a focus on NSW work health and safety duties and enforcement.
New to studying law?
Students without a law degree from a common law jurisdiction also need Legal Reasoning and the Common Law System (LAWS6252). Check the handbook for the requirements applying to your background.