ACHLR proudly co-hosted the 2023 AABHL Conference from the 19th – 22nd November, at the QUT Gardens Point Campus in Brisbane (Meanjin).
The conference was an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration, targeted at academics and practitioners from the following professions and disciplines:
- All aspects of healthcare
- Policy development
- Medico-legal
- Education
- Ethics/Philosophy
- Research
The conference promoted an open exchange of ideas and a chance to meaningfully connect with others. This year’s conference focused on the ongoing change, impact and opportunities that underlie bioethics and health law.
Keynote speakers
Professor Ray Mahoney
Professor Ray Mahoney, Professor of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Discipline Lead of Population Health at Flinders University & Visiting Scientist, Australian eHealth Research Centre (AEHRC), CSIRO. Professor Mahoney is a Bidjara man with family ties to Central West Queensland who has worked extensively to implement best practice CVD care, particularly for Indigenous people. Professor Mahoney has developed and implemented a range of research projects with key strategic Indigenous community-controlled organisation partners and Hospitals. Prof Mahoney has extensive experience in managing Indigenous health research governance and is a member of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Human Research Ethics Committee.
Professor Emily Jackson
Emily Jackson is a Professor of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she teaches medical law. Emily was previously a Member and then Deputy Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (2003-2012) and a Judicial Appointments Commissioner (2014-2017).
She is a Fellow of the British Academy, and in 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education.
Professor Ian Kerridge
Ian Kerridge is Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at Sydney Health Ethics at the University of Sydney, Honorary Professor of Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University and Staff Haematologist/Bone Marrow Transplant physician at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. He is also Chair of the Southeast Sydney LHD Clinical Ethics Committee, a member of the Health Ethics Advisory Panel of NSW Health, Steering Committee member of the Australian Ethical Health Alliance (AEHA) and a Director of Praxis Australia. He trained in philosophy at the Universities of Sydney, Newcastle and Cambridge, medicine at the University of Newcastle and BMT at the Royal Free Hospital in London. He is the author of 6 textbooks of ethics and over 500 papers on ethics, philosophy, haematology and BMT. His current research interests include VAD, clinical innovation and research translation, clinical ethics, transplantation, AI, clinical trial methodology and secondary use of data.
Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG
Michael Kirby was first appointed to judicial office in 1975 in the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. In the same year he was appointed Inaugural Chair of the Australian Law Reform Commission. That Commission engaged in a number of projects relevant to medical law during his time. These included the report on Evidence Law (1975); report on Child Welfare Law (1976); the report on Human Tissue Transplants (1977); and the report on Privacy Protection (1978-80).
Between 1989-94 he served as a Commissioner of the World Health Organisation Global Commission on AIDS. He also took part in many national and international activities relating to that pandemic. These included service as a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (1996); member of the Reference Group of UNAIDS on HIV and Human Rights; the UNDP Global Commission on HIV and the Law (2011-12); the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Access to Essential Health Care (2016); and official mandates of the United Nations on Cambodia and the Commission of Inquiry on North Korea.
In addition to these international activities, Michael Kirby served in a number of judicial posts: as Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-84); President of the NSW Court of Appeal (1984-96); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96); and Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009). At the time of his judicial retirement, he was the longest serving judicial officer in the Commonwealth.
Since judicial retirement, Michael Kirby has been involved in international arbitrations. He has also served as Co-Chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association (2017-22). More recently he has been closely involved in LGBTIQ issues worldwide including through the Commonwealth Charter 2013, now celebrating its first 10 years. Michael Kirby lives in Sydney with his partner since 1969, Johan van Vloten.
Thank you for joining us as the 2023 AABHL conference. We look forward to the 2024 AABHL conference in Sydney.