Dr Katrine Del Villar

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Lecturer, Faculty of Law

Doctor of Philosophy (Queensland University of Technology), Graduate Diploma (Australian National University)

Katrine Del Villar researches and teaches in the areas of medical law and ethics, and constitutional law.  Her principal areas of research interest are:

  • mental health law (especially advance decision-making);
  • capacity and autonomy to make medical decisions;
  • consent to and refusal of medical treatment;
  • end-of-life treatment choices, including voluntary assisted dying.

Katrine was Principal Research Officer on the AMA's Inquiry into Fetal Welfare and the Law, and is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at QUT dealing with End-of-Life Law. Katrine teaches Health Law and Ethics, and has previously taught Constitutional Law at Griffith University, and Administrative Law and Law of Business Entities at the ANU. Prior to joining QUT, Katrine worked as an associate to Justice Gaudron of the High Court, as a solicitor for Blake Dawson Waldron, and a research officer for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library. Katrine obtained a PhD from QUT in 2020, a BA (Hons)(Russian) from the ANU in 1995, and an LLB(Hons) from the ANU in 1997.  She is admitted to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT and of the High Court.

Additional information

Experience

In 2018, Katrine was a member of the Advance Health Directive Mental Health Advisory Committee - a joint initiative between advocacy groups QAI and ADA, Queensland Health, and consumers.  The Committee was tasked with drafting material to train clinicians involved in treating consumers who have or may wish to make an Advance Health Directive for Mental Health.

In 2020-2021, Katrine was part of a QUT team led by Professors Lindy Willmott and Ben White, engaged by the Western Australian government to develop voluntary assisted dying training for doctors and nurses involved in providing this service in Western Australia.

Publications