Ruthie Jeanneret

Dr. Ruthie Jeanneret is an Affiliate Lecturer at the T.C. Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Tasmania, a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the same institution, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Queensland University of Technology. Her PhD thesis, undertaken at the Australian Centre for Health Law Research, empirically explored patients' and family caregivers' perspectives and experiences of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) regulation in Australia and Canada. From 2018 to 2020, Jeanneret worked as a litigation lawyer in Queensland and Tasmania, primarily in commercial litigation. She has contributed to authoring the mandatory VAD training for practitioners in Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria and has experience teaching undergraduate law and nursing students.

Jeanneret teaches in the Ethics, Law and Professionalism stream of the Year 1 Doctor of Medicine degree and tutors Law of Torts II at the UQ School of Law, where she is also affiliated with the Australian Centre for Private Law. Her research interests focus on the intersection of law and healthcare, particularly voluntary assisted dying and the role of patients and family caregivers in influencing healthcare regulation. Expertise areas include aged health care, medical and health law, palliative care, patient safety, private law, civil obligations, and tort law. Key publications encompass 'A qualitative study of key “regulatory” factors influencing patient access to medical assistance in dying in Canada' (Dalhousie Law Journal, 2026, co-authored with E. Close, J. Downie, B.P. White); ''This is perfect, thank you': research poetry on gratitude for voluntary assisted dying in Victoria, Australia' (Australasian Journal on Ageing, 2025, with B.P. White, S. Holland-Batt, E. Miller); 'Prospective approval in assisted dying legislation: safety over access?' (BMJ, 2025, with S. Martin); 'When safeguards become stumbling blocks: a call to remove the state residence requirement for voluntary assisted dying in Australia' (University of New South Wales Law Journal, 2025, with K. del Villar, B.P. White); and 'Patients' and caregivers' suggestions for improving assisted dying regulation: a qualitative study in Australia and Canada' (Health Expectations, 2024, with E. Close, J. Downie, L. Willmott, B.P. White). Her scholarship informs patient-centered reforms in end-of-life law.

Professional Email: r.jeanneret@uq.edu.au