Ian Freckelton

Ian Freckelton AO KC is a Professor in the Law Faculty and a Professorial Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, where he serves as Co-Director of the Health and Medical Law program. An experienced King’s Counsel practising from Castan Chambers in Melbourne, he undertakes national and international trial and appellate litigation, as well as advisory work. Between 2017 and early 2023, he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Nauru and has been a part-time member of nine statutory tribunals. He has been listed by Doyle’s Guide and Best Lawyers as one of Australia’s leading public law and administrative lawyers. Professor Freckelton holds adjunct professorships in Forensic Medicine at Monash University, at La Trobe University, in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research at Queensland University of Technology, at Auckland University of Technology, and at Johns Hopkins University. Since 2011, he has served on the Coronial Council of Victoria and was a member of the Mental Health Tribunal of Victoria for 25 years. In 2015/2016, he was a Commissioner at the Victorian Law Reform Commission on its medicinal cannabis reference, and from 2017 to 2021, he was a member of the Australian Advisory Council on Medicinal Cannabis.

Professor Freckelton was awarded a PhD by Griffith University on expert evidence and a Doctor of Laws (LLD) higher doctorate by the University of Melbourne in 2017 for his work in Health Law; in 2019, Griffith University named him an Outstanding Alumnus. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, the Australian Academy of Law, the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and the Australasian College of Legal Medicine, as well as a Life Member of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the law and legal profession across health, medicine, and technology. Since 1993, he has been Editor of the Journal of Law and Medicine and Founding Editor-at-Large of Psychiatry, Psychology and Law (1994–). He is the author and editor of over 50 books and more than 700 articles and book chapters on health law, ethics, evidence, criminal law, administrative law, and regulation. Notable publications include Expert Evidence: Law, Practice, Advocacy and Procedure (7th edn, Thomson Reuters, 2023), COVID-19: Law and Regulation (OUP, 2023, with Bennett and Wolf), Australian Public Health Law (Federation Press, 2023, with Bennett), Pandemics, Public Emergencies and Government Powers (Federation Press, 2021, with Bennett), Tensions and Traumas in Health Law (Federation Press, 2017, with Petersen), Expert Evidence and Criminal Jury Trials (OUP, 2016, with Goodman-Delahunty, Horan and McKimmie), and Scholarly Misconduct: Law, Regulation and Practice (OUP, 2016).

Professional Email: i.freckelton@vicbar.com.au