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 also the co-stream lead (Policy and Regulation) for the Deakin and Vic Health Research Translation Centre for the Commercial and Economic Determinants of Health.

Neera is an internationally recognised health law scholar, committed to public engagement and outreach. She has an extensive track record of high-quality publications addressing issues realted to end-of-life care for children, organ and tissue donation and the medico-legal issues concerning "shaken baby syndrome" and voluntary assisted dying. Her current body of research focuses on emerging health/biotechnologies and reproductive autonomy. Neera is working on several projects that interrogate the role of regulation and "shadow markets" in human breast milk, human gametes and other biological materials. Her research considers issues of justice and equity in healthcare, and regulatory reform to improve socio-economic outcomes for individuals, and vulnerable and marginalised members of the community, particularly LGBT+ groups.

Neera 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).

She 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 was the Deputy Chair, Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (2023-2025) and the Faculty Chair, Human Ethics Committee (2020-2023). She has previously also served as the Director of Research in the Deakin Law School (2016-2018), and as the 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).