Synopsis:

Victoria was the first Australian State to adopt a comprehensive human rights law in the form of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006. Human rights can help build stronger and transparent decision making that focuses on the person, and is particularly beneficial in strengthening healthcare decision making.

This “Hypothetical” grand round will explore some of the thornier issues and moral dilemmas we have to face as healthcare professionals using real life case studies as inspiration.  Dexterously facilitated by Professor Lynn Gillam, seasoned experts will grapple with these difficult scenarios using the Charter as a guide, illustrating its usefulness in making the best call.

Speakers:

Professor Lynn Gillam is the Academic Director of the Children’s Bioethics Centre at RCH, and Professor of Health Ethics in the School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne.

A/Prof Clare Delany is a clinical ethicist at the Children’s Bioethics Centre and health professional educator in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Melbourne.

John Croker is Project Manager at the HRU managing the Charter Education Project that seeks to build awareness and engagement with the Charter of Human Rights in Victoria. John is a solicitor and has previously worked as a lawyer and migration agent for individuals seeking asylum in Australia, along with previous roles in the Commonwealth and ACT Governments.

Lauren Matthews is Manager Education Partnerships at Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and is part of the team responsible for education and consultancy services under the Equal Opportunity Act, Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act, and Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.  Within this role, Lauren coordinates the Culture of Human Rights Project engaging directly with public authorities to strengthen human rights culture within their organisations. Lauren has worked as a solicitor in various jurisdictions within Australia, including human rights law, discrimination, refugee, family, child protection, family violence and criminal law. For 10 years, Lauren worked internationally, primarily with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at Headquarters in Geneva, as well as in deployments to field operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nepal.  She served as an International Legal Adviser in Sri Lanka for the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons monitoring the national Commission of Inquiry into serious human rights violations.