Sydney Health Law is the focal point for health law research, teaching, and community engagement at Sydney Law School.
It builds on nearly three decades of excellence in teaching and research across all areas of health law.
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Sydney Health Law is a centre in the University of Sydney Law School that is active in organising seminars and conferences onÌýtopics of relevance to health governance, law and ethics and in building links with academic, community and professional organisations in Australia and overseas.
Academic staff affiliated with the Centre teach in Sydney Law School's extensive offerings inÌýhealth law, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The centre aims to encourage, promote and support innovative and important scholarship in health law, policy and bioethics – through teaching, research, consultancy and advocacyÌýin all areas of health law, including health policy and bioethics.
These objectives include work both within the University of Sydney, with other centres in Australia and overseas, with the legal profession more generally, and the wider community, both in Australia and internationally
The centre's activities include:
Located in the Charles Perkins Centre, theÌýÌýnode provides a platform for collaboration between lawyers, nutritionists, policy analysists, and health scientists. Our focus is on developing practical solutions to the problems of poor nutrition and diet-related disease, through submissions to government, developing grant applications, generating new multidisciplinary research, and more.
Running from 2019-2022, this ARC Discovery project aimed, to investigate the role of law, policy, and regulation in enabling local governments and communities to contribute to healthy, sustainable, and equitable food systems. Visit theÌý.Ìý
TheÌý2024 Food Governance ConferenceÌýwas held on 14-16 February 2024.ÌýThe conference explored the promotion of healthier diets via food policy and governance, Indigenous Peoples food system governance, equity and social justice in food systems, food security, and sustainability, and commercial determinants of health, and aims to create new opportunities for collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working in all aspects of food governance.
In December 2021 theÌýFood Governance Node at the Charles Perkins CentreÌý(University of Sydney) hosted theÌýGlobal Food Governance Conference, in collaboration with theÌýGeorge Institute for Global HealthÌýand theÌýGlobal Center for Legal Innovation on Food EnvironmentsÌý(Georgetown University Law Centre).
In conjunction with the University of Sydney'sÌý, Sydney Law School hosted the secondÌýFood Governance ConferenceÌýfrom 3-5 July 2019.
Applications for Sydney Health Law's internship program are now open. Eligible students are encourage to apply via theÌýÌýby Sunday, 20 July 2025.
Sydney Health Law's interns for 2024:
Sydney Health Law's interns for 2023:
Sydney Health LawÌýrecruited three Law students toÌýexplore theÌýstatus of vaping regulation in Pacific Island Countries and TerritoriesÌýand options for regulating e-cigarettes. Their research project informed the Public Health Division of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the legislative draftsperson leading the further development of the Pacific Legislative Framework.Ìý
Sydney Health Law's interns for 2022:
Sydney Health Law's 2022 internship project is summarised here:ÌýLaw student interns making a difference in the Pacific.
Sydney Health Law is delighted to welcome our 2025 interns, who will be advising on food legislation in Pacific Island Countries and Territories,Ìýin collaboration with Public Health Division of the Pacific Community.
Sydney Health Law's Deputy Director has contributed to recent discussions about AHPRA's new guidelines for the cosmetic procedures industry.
Dr Christopher Rudge's article was published in The Conversation on 6 June 2025. Dr Rudge was also interviewed by the on ABC Radio National on 9 June 2025.
Sydney Health Law congratulates Sydney Law SchoolÌýPhD candidate Berk Eker, who won the joint USyd-UTS Law School Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) heats on 29 May.ÌýBerk's PhD thesis is supervised byÌýAssociate Professor Belinda Reeve.
Sydney Health Law congratulates LLB (Hons) graduate Erika Blendell, whose health law Honours thesis explored the issue of liability in negligence for transmission of Human Papilloma Virus.
Erika's thesis was supervised by Professor Roger Magnusson.
Neil Francey holds an LLB from the University of Queensland and an LLM Hons from the University of Sydney. He practiced as a barrister in Sydney for 25 years spending much of his time on ground breaking tobacco litigation. He has also published internationally on various aspects relating to tobacco.
