Lifestyle wars: law's role in responding to the challenges of non-communicable diseases. In economic, social and personal terms, non-communicable diseases impose a massive health burden upon Australian society. Law is a potent tool that could influence the economic, environmental and social structures, as well as the personal choices, that generate poor health outcomes. Very little work has been carried out on law's relationship with non-communicable diseases, either in Australia or internatio ....Lifestyle wars: law's role in responding to the challenges of non-communicable diseases. In economic, social and personal terms, non-communicable diseases impose a massive health burden upon Australian society. Law is a potent tool that could influence the economic, environmental and social structures, as well as the personal choices, that generate poor health outcomes. Very little work has been carried out on law's relationship with non-communicable diseases, either in Australia or internationally. By exploring and promoting the contribution that public health law can make to health policy on non-communicable diseases, this project will contribute to the promotion and maintenance of good health in Australia.Read moreRead less
Enhancing Reproductive Opportunity in Australia: Reconsidering Consent, Altruism and the Legal Status of Embryos in ART Processes. This project meets the national research priority of a healthy start to life by enhancing reproductive opportunity while safeguarding the rights and interests of all involved in reproduction with donor gametes. This research will create significant national benefits in the form of an up to date, practical and coherent platform for the reform of all aspects of embryo ....Enhancing Reproductive Opportunity in Australia: Reconsidering Consent, Altruism and the Legal Status of Embryos in ART Processes. This project meets the national research priority of a healthy start to life by enhancing reproductive opportunity while safeguarding the rights and interests of all involved in reproduction with donor gametes. This research will create significant national benefits in the form of an up to date, practical and coherent platform for the reform of all aspects of embryo and gamete donation and embryo disputes. We propose a pro-active consultative model that centres the needs and experiences of gamete and embryo donors and recipients. Our research will inform current and future modes of regulation of gamete and embryo donation and dispute resolution, including legislation, ethics guidelines and codes of practice.Read moreRead less
The Legal Function of Serious Disability in Prenatal and Neonatal Health Care Settings. Increasing numbers of Australians are using prenatal testing technologies to avoid having a disabled child. Australians also have access to a range of sophisticated life-sustaining technologies for premature newborns and seriously imperiled infants. Legal guidance on the appropriate uses of these technologies is piecemeal and inconsistent across Australia's States and Territories, and the meaning of serious ....The Legal Function of Serious Disability in Prenatal and Neonatal Health Care Settings. Increasing numbers of Australians are using prenatal testing technologies to avoid having a disabled child. Australians also have access to a range of sophisticated life-sustaining technologies for premature newborns and seriously imperiled infants. Legal guidance on the appropriate uses of these technologies is piecemeal and inconsistent across Australia's States and Territories, and the meaning of serious disability varies amongst members of the community. This project will benefit Australians by providing greater consistency in decision-making about disability. This will be achieved by assessing the value of a uniform framework for governing legal responses to serious disability in the context of reproduction.Read moreRead less
Gender Inequities in Health Research: Towards a New Regulatory Framework. This project will benefit Australian women by identifying better and fairer ways for the legal system to ensure that health research performed in Australia provides meaningful information about the significance of new health treatments for Australian women. The research undertaken in this project will make recommendations for the development of Australian laws and policies that will promote and maintain good health by enco ....Gender Inequities in Health Research: Towards a New Regulatory Framework. This project will benefit Australian women by identifying better and fairer ways for the legal system to ensure that health research performed in Australia provides meaningful information about the significance of new health treatments for Australian women. The research undertaken in this project will make recommendations for the development of Australian laws and policies that will promote and maintain good health by encouraging equal participation of men and women in health research and analysis by gender of research results. This is particularly important given the ageing of the Australian population and the greater longevity of women compared to men.Read moreRead less
Creating more consistent privacy principles through better interpretation and law reform: an Australasian initiative to resolve an international problem. More consistent information privacy principles at the core of Australia's privacy laws, and more consistency in interpretation, will result in greater efficiency for business and government, and better protection of human rights and consumer interests. In the health sector, consistency of privacy laws will facilitate better health through the d ....Creating more consistent privacy principles through better interpretation and law reform: an Australasian initiative to resolve an international problem. More consistent information privacy principles at the core of Australia's privacy laws, and more consistency in interpretation, will result in greater efficiency for business and government, and better protection of human rights and consumer interests. In the health sector, consistency of privacy laws will facilitate better health through the development of national online health infrastructure. Australasian privacy scholarship will obtain enhanced international recognition through a pioneering study of the comparative use of privacy case law for cross-national interpretation. 'Model IPPs' will aid the harmonisation of global privacy laws. Read moreRead less
Legal and Ethical Preparedness for Pandemic Influenza. Over 40 million people in the world died in the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Any repetition could have devastating social and economic costs for Australia and the Region. Community confidence in quarantine or other restrictions in the medical management of pandemics depends on balancing protection of public health against the rights of citizens to go about their work and daily lives. By studying the adequacy of existing human pandemic influenz ....Legal and Ethical Preparedness for Pandemic Influenza. Over 40 million people in the world died in the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Any repetition could have devastating social and economic costs for Australia and the Region. Community confidence in quarantine or other restrictions in the medical management of pandemics depends on balancing protection of public health against the rights of citizens to go about their work and daily lives. By studying the adequacy of existing human pandemic influenza planning in Australia and the Asian region, this project will contribute to law reform and policy development needed to command community confidence in the ethical and public policy balances embodied in national pandemic plans, and the laws and practices which support them.Read moreRead less
Legal Responses to Systemic Injuries: Towards a New Paradigm for Compensation. This research aims to identify better and fairer ways for the legal system to respond to systemic injuries, such as the taking of indigenous children from their families, or widespread abuse of children in institutional settings. The tort system is under attack from various quarters: in this context, its failure lies in its focus on harms that happen on a one-to-one, rather than a systemic basis. The research will r ....Legal Responses to Systemic Injuries: Towards a New Paradigm for Compensation. This research aims to identify better and fairer ways for the legal system to respond to systemic injuries, such as the taking of indigenous children from their families, or widespread abuse of children in institutional settings. The tort system is under attack from various quarters: in this context, its failure lies in its focus on harms that happen on a one-to-one, rather than a systemic basis. The research will review redress schemes established in other countries (most notably Canada and Ireland) with a view to developing better and more appropriate legal responses to widespread contemporary harms.Read moreRead less
Weathering Uncertainty: Climate Change 'Refugees' and International Law. The creation of climate change 'refugees' is one of the most serious consequences of global warming. Climate-induced displacement is of particular relevance to Australia, given its geographical proximity to islands in the South Pacific where sea levels are rising. Islanders in some parts of the region have already had to abandon their homes, and more will do so in the future. Australia is an obvious destination country. Thi ....Weathering Uncertainty: Climate Change 'Refugees' and International Law. The creation of climate change 'refugees' is one of the most serious consequences of global warming. Climate-induced displacement is of particular relevance to Australia, given its geographical proximity to islands in the South Pacific where sea levels are rising. Islanders in some parts of the region have already had to abandon their homes, and more will do so in the future. Australia is an obvious destination country. This project examines Australia's international legal obligations to such people, to enable the development of informed, responsible and lawful responses to their plight. It contributes to NRP 4: Safeguarding Australia: Understanding Our Region and the World.Read moreRead less
Globalisation and Biomedicine: The Harmonisation of Local and Global Regulatory Demands. The pursuit of biotechnological research and development requires a clear and effective regulatory structure at both the global and national level. Australia's strengths in biotechnology and biomedicine and the Federal Government's strategy to support and promote Australian expertise demand the formulation of appropriate regulatory structures. This project will assess these issues with a focus on globalisato ....Globalisation and Biomedicine: The Harmonisation of Local and Global Regulatory Demands. The pursuit of biotechnological research and development requires a clear and effective regulatory structure at both the global and national level. Australia's strengths in biotechnology and biomedicine and the Federal Government's strategy to support and promote Australian expertise demand the formulation of appropriate regulatory structures. This project will assess these issues with a focus on globalisaton, Australia's federal legal system, the patient in society and health law, and the scope of effective legal regulation. The project will provide insights into and a theoretical understanding of existing global and national legal regulation of this sector as well as assisting in the formulation of future regulatory measures.Read moreRead less
Terrorism and Public Law after September 11. The threat posed by terrorism is multifaceted. It can directly or indirectly affect the lives of almost every citizen, whether through a relationship with a person affected by terrorism, such as the Bali bombing, or even through increased airport security. The law lies at the forefront of responses to terrorism in the wake of September 11. New laws are important to protect the community from violent harm, but must also ensure that the democratic value ....Terrorism and Public Law after September 11. The threat posed by terrorism is multifaceted. It can directly or indirectly affect the lives of almost every citizen, whether through a relationship with a person affected by terrorism, such as the Bali bombing, or even through increased airport security. The law lies at the forefront of responses to terrorism in the wake of September 11. New laws are important to protect the community from violent harm, but must also ensure that the democratic values that governments seek to protect are not undermined. This project, in providing sustained research and legal analysis in this area, offers significant security, personal, economic and social benefits to Australia as well as to other nations affected by the threat of terrorism.Read moreRead less