Associate ProfessorNeera Bhatia

Dr Neera Bhatia holds an LLB (Hons), Master of Laws from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, and a Doctorate in Law from Deakin University. She is the Director of the 'Law, Health, and Society' research unit that critically evaluates health law, policy, regulation, and ethics to improve and advance well-being and health outcomes throughout society.

Neera is an internationally and nationally recognised health law scholar, committed to public engagement and outreach. She has an extensive and sustained track record of high-quality publications addressing issues in end-of-life care for children, organ and tissue donation, medico-legal controversies relating to shaken baby syndrome and voluntary assisted dying. Her current body of work includes a suite of research projects that extend to exploring emerging health and biotechnologies and reproductive autonomy. This research interrogates how regulation, the internet and shadow markets shape governance and regulatory frameworks and consider the bioethical implications of biological materials and human reproduction, including assisted reproductive technologies, human breast milk, human gametes, and organ and tissue donation. Neera's research has an overarching consideration of justice and equity in healthcare and relevant regulatory reform to improve socio-economic outcomes for individuals, vulnerable and marginalised members of the community, particularly LGBT+ groups.

She is the author of the book 'Critically impaired infants and end of life decision making: Resource allocation and difficult decisions' published by Routledge Cavendish (2015) and an edited collection 'Technology, Health and Law in Life and Death: Before the Cradle to Beyond the Grave by Hart Publishing (2025).

Neera is also the co-stream lead with Professor Samantha Thomas of the Policy and Regulation (PolReg) stream in the newly established Evidence Exchange - Centre for the Study of the Commercial and Economic Determinants of Health at Deakin University. The PolReg stream examines how corporate power shapes policy, politics and regulation, with a particular focus on the commercial determinants of health. The PolReg work looks at issues including lobbying, political donations, vested interests, industry influence, regulation and the gap between evidence and policy action.

Neera actively engages with the wider community as an expert commentator in the media on topical issues in health law, and her opinion is regularly sought for its intersectionalist viewpoints. She has secured several international and national competitive grants, and currently has an ARC Discovery Grant examining the ethical, social and regulatory implications of informal sperm donation. 

She teaches Health Law in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Deakin and has experience in teaching large priestly units (Torts, Misleading Conduct and Economic Torts). She has supervised several honours students to completion and is supervising HDR students in the health law area. Neera is available to discuss HDR supervision on relevant health law topics. She is a member/editor of multiple scholarly health and bioethics journals. 

Neera is currently the Director, Higher Degree by Research (HDR) in the Law School. She has served in several significant leadership roles including:  Deputy Chair, Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (2023-2025), Faculty Chair, Human Ethics Committee (2020-2023). She has also served as Faculty Board Member (2018-2020), Academic Integrity Committee (2016-2020) and as the Director of Research in the Deakin Law School (2016-2018). Additonally, Neera has held the role of Health Law Stream Leader for the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (2018-2022), theme leader the Deakin Science and Society Network (2019-2022) and the Deputy Covenor (2023-2024). She has also previously been a member of several clinical ethics committees (2019-2023).