Rate My Professor Belinda Bennett

Professor Belinda Bennett is Head of School and Dean of the School of Law and Justice at the University of Newcastle, a position she assumed in 2023. A leading scholar in health law and an Australian pioneer in the field, she has advanced Australian research and scholarship in public health law, assisted reproduction, law and genetics, and law and ageing. Her fields of research are dominated by medical and health law. Before joining the University of Newcastle, Bennett worked at the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane and previously at Sydney Law School, University of Sydney. She holds a Doctor of Juridical Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

Bennett is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has previously served as a Member of the ARC College of Experts and a committee member for the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law. She currently holds the role of Deputy Chair for the Council of Australian Law Deans and is a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Law and the Biosciences. Her key publications include the co-authored book COVID-19, Law & Regulation: Rights, Freedoms and Obligations in a Pandemic (Oxford University Press, 2023, with I. Freckelton and G. Wolf); the co-edited Australian Public Health Law: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (Federation Press, 2023, with I. Freckelton); Pandemics, Public Health Emergencies and Government Powers: Perspectives on Australian Law (2021); Law and Global Health: Current Legal Issues Volume 16 (2014); Health Law’s Kaleidoscope: Health Law Rights in a Global Age (2008); Brave New World of Health (2008); Globalization and Health: Challenges for Health Law and Bioethics (2006); Health, rights and globalisation (2006); Abortion (2004); and Law and Medicine (1997). Recent contributions encompass 'Climate Change and Public Health Law' (2025, with B. Reeve), 'Older People and Assistive Technologies: A Human Rights Approach' (2024), and 'LOCKDOWN LAWS: LOCATION, REGULATORY CHANGE AND THE RULE OF LAW IN AUSTRALIA DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC' (2025, with J. Duffy and D. Kelly). Throughout her career, Bennett has mentored colleagues and is dedicated to providing students with education at the cutting edge of the field.