Are we Ready for the Next Pandemic: Law, Human Rights and Epidemiology

In early 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health emergency and later a worldwide pandemic. By the end of 2021, more than 284 million cases had been reported across 100+ countries, with 5.5 million deaths. Australia’s response to the pandemic evolved over time and varied widely across states and territories. Measures like lockdowns, curfews, border closures, and quarantine rules sparked public debate and raised important questions about how to balance public health with individual rights and fair legal processes. This expert panel, featuring

• Peter Britten-Jones, Deputy President of the Administrative Review Tribunal
• Dr Catherine Bennett, Deakin Distinguished Professor and Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University
• Dr Maria O’Sullivan, Associate Professor at Deakin Law School
• Dr Bruce Chen, Senior Lecturer at Deakin Law School
• Dr Jason Harkess (Barrister)

This “Law, Health and Society” event brings together experts in public health, administrative law, and human rights law to reflect on the role of law and epidemiology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they’ll explore:

• What have we learned from Australia’s response?
• Are we ready for the next pandemic?
• What should we do differently next time?

Join us as we unpack the lessons of COVID-19 and consider how we can prepare for future public health emergencies in a way that protects both our communities and our rights. Date: Thursday, 31 July 2025 Time: 9:00am – 1:00pm (including lunch) Venue: Deakin Downtown, Level 12, 727 Collins St, Melbourne For further information, please contact A/Prof Neera Bhatia (Director – Law, Health and Society Research Unit) at neera.bhatia@deakin.edu.au.

Panellists Peter Britten-Jones, Deputy President of the Administrative Review Tribunal Peter has over 30 years’ experience as a lawyer since graduating from Adelaide University with a Bachelor of Laws and of Economics together with a Master of Laws attained later. Peter started his legal career as an Associate in the Supreme Court of South Australia. He was a partner in a commercial law firm before being called to the independent bar where he practised as a mainly commercial barrister for 12 years. In 2018 he became a full time Deputy President at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. In March 2019 he was appointed as head of the General Division of the AAT. From the commencement of the Administrative Review Tribunal in October 2024, he has continued in his role as a Deputy President. He moved from Adelaide to Melbourne at the beginning of 2021 and is a Collingwood supporter. Professor Catherine Bennett Catherine is Distinguished Professor and the foundation Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University. Over her career, her experience as an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health researcher extends across universities and government, including NSW Health and the Victorian Government. Her research focusses on community transmission of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance. Catherine is a public health analyst and advisor to industry, governments, and institutions globally, and as one of the three-person Independent Panel that led the Australian Government COVID-19 Response Inquiry. She has served as an expert witness in the courts, industrial relations hearings and for coronial inquiries. Dr Maria O’Sullivan Maria is an Associate Professor at the Deakin Law School and is the author of a number of international and national publications on the subject of human rights, public law and refugee law. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she provided expert commentary on various human rights issue, including the legality of vaccine mandates, vaccine passports and amendments to the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Act. She continues to examine the interplay between health and human rights in her current work examining the use of ‘pseudolaw’ arguments in courts relating to vaccine mandates and the interaction between the anti-vaccination movement and extremist organisations. She also made a submission to the COVID-19 Response Inquiry Panel as part of the Commonwealth Government’s COVID-19 Response Inquiry in December 2023 (with Deakin Law School Senior lecturer, Bruce Chen). She is currently editing a book on the International Regulation of Protest. Dr Bruce Chen Dr Bruce Chen is a Senior Lecturer at Deakin Law School. Bruce’s teaching and research interests are in bills of human rights and public law generally. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he undertook research and provided media commentary on the rights implications of government responses. He was an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University from 2021-2023. Prior to joining academia, Bruce worked in several senior legal and legal policy advisory positions within the Victorian public service, particularly in human rights and public law. He provided advice and acted on behalf of the Attorney-General for the State of Victoria, Secretaries to Departments, Commissioners and other public servants. Dr Jason Harkess Dr Jason Harkess is a barrister practising in administrative and criminal law. He advises and appears regularly as counsel in judicial review applications. He appeared as junior counsel for the plaintiffs in both Victoria and New South Wales who challenged government COVID-19 measures (including the curfew Victoria and the vaccine mandates in Victoria and New South Wales). From 2018 to 2022, he served as a part-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and determined over 900 appeals brought against the Commonwealth by foreign citizens whose visas had been refused or cancelled under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). In 2021, he was a Detention Review Officer appointed by the Victorian state government under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) to determine appeals brought by individuals detained in hotel quarantine as part of the Victorian state government’s COVID-19 pandemic response. He lectures administrative law at Monash University and is the current Treasurer of the Australian Institute of Administrative Law (Victorian Chapter). Event Recording Video Link Event Recording Audio Link