Faculty/School

Faculty of Business and Law

School of Law

Topic status

We're looking for students to study this topic.

Research centre

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Primary Supervisor

Professor Tina Cockburn
Position
Professor
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Business & Law

External supervisors

  • ACHLR Adjunct Professor Anne-Maree Kelly, Emergency Physician

Overview

The project requires an analysis of coronial recommendations regarding prevention of deaths in prison related to acute illness.  Australia has a prison population of approx. 42,000. Prisoners are unable to freely access health services when they are acutely ill and rely completely on the prison authority. Serious concerns have been raised in royal commissions and coronial findings about the quality of healthcare provided to prisoners. Prisoner deaths are reportable to coroners, who frequently make recommendations to prevent future deaths. To date, there has been no work bringing together individual case recommendations into a report that could be used to shape future policy. This collaboration between Law and Medicine has the potential for national impact. SDG 3,10,16,17

Research engagement

literature review, case law analysis, doctrinal research, report writing

Research activities

Key tasks include:

  • literature review focussed on prevention of deaths in prisons due to acute health issues.
  • Review of legal and regulatory framework with respect to healthcare in prisons.
  • Review of relevant cases from the coronial data base and analysis of recommendations made by Australian coroners related to deaths related to an acute illness in adult prisoners that were classified as being preventable or potentially preventable between 2000 and 2026 and any published response to them.

Research skills

Doctrinal research, synthesis, analysis and critical thinking

Outcomes

Outcomes may include:

  • a draft report (approx. 3000 words with 500-word executive summary) reporting:
    • literature review
    • legislative mapping and
    • results of the analysis of coronial recommendations by theme, geographic location, year and recommended action

It is expected that the report will be in a format suitable for dissemination to key decisionmakers such as coroners, departments of justice and health and government ministers of justice and health throughout Australia. It may be adapted for journal publication.

  • a short presentation at the conclusion of the project.

Skills and experience

Law students in later years of study, who have completed human rights law and health law units will be better placed to undertake this project.

Start date

2 November, 2026

End date

19 February, 2027

Location

Brisbane

Keywords

Contact

Professor Tina Cockburn

31382707

t.cockburn@qut.edu.au