Academy Fellow

Distinguished Professor Ben White is Professor of End-of-Life Law and Regulation in the Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Business & Law, Queensland University of Technology. His research focuses on end-of-life decision-making, particularly voluntary assisted dying. 

Ben graduated with First Class Honours and a University Medal in Law from Queensland University of Technology. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to complete a DPhil at Oxford University, where his doctoral research examined the role of consultation in law reform. Before joining academia, he worked as an Associate at the Supreme Court of Queensland and at Legal Aid Queensland. From 2005 to 2007, he served as full-time Commissioner of the Queensland Law Reform Commission and continued as a part-time Commissioner until 2010. 

Ben was a foundation Director of the Australian Centre for Health Law Research (2013-2018) and continues to co-lead its End-of-Life Research Program. He has produced more than 250 publications, including books, book chapters and journal articles, primarily in health law and end-of-life decision-making. His interdisciplinary scholarship spans law, regulation, medicine, bioethics, social policy and social science. 

He is editor of Research Handbook on Voluntary Assisted Dying Law, Regulation and Practice (2025, Edward Elgar), a collaboration of 58 authors from 14 countries which aims to chart the field of voluntary assisted dying globally. He is also an editor of Health Law in Australia (2027, 5th ed forthcoming, Thomson Reuters) and International Perspectives on End-of-Life Law Reform: Politics, Persuasion and Persistence (2021, Cambridge University Press). 

Ben has been part of interdisciplinary teams awarded more than $80 million in the field of end-of-life decision-making from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, Commonwealth and State governments, and philanthropic organisations. His six Australian Research Council grants have examined law, policy and practice at the end of life, including the role of law in medical decision-making; doctors’ knowledge and compliance with the law; futile or non-beneficial treatment; wills and advance care planning; community understanding of end-of-life law; patients’ and families’ rights and responsibilities; optimal regulation of voluntary assisted dying; and how voluntary assisted dying operates in Australia. 

He has also developed funded education and research programs on end-of-life law and regulation. These include the legislatively mandated training required for health professionals participating in voluntary assisted dying in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland. He also leads End of Life Law for Clinicians, a Commonwealth-funded national program improving health professionals’ knowledge of end-of-life law. 

Ben’s research has had significant impact on law, policy and practice. It has been adopted by parliaments, courts, tribunals and law reform commissions, influenced state and national policy, and prompted changes to clinical education in universities, hospitals and health departments. His work has contributed to voluntary assisted dying law reform in all Australian states and territories and internationally. His legal research is also publicly available through the End of Life Law in Australia website, which provides accessible information about end-of-life law for patients, families, health practitioners, policymakers, and the wider community.

Fellow, Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia 

Fellow, Australian Academy of Law 

Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2020-2025)  

1. Ben White, Casey Haining and Madeleine Archer, ‘The Role of Medical Ethics in Voluntary Assisted Dying: A Regulatory Space Analysis’ (2026) 40(3) Bioethics 333-342.  

2. Ben White (ed), Research Handbook on Voluntary Assisted Dying Law, Regulation and Practice, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, 2025.  

3. Ben White, Casey Haining and Lindy Willmott, ‘How best to regulate voluntary assisted dying: a qualitative study of perceptions of Australian doctors and regulators’ (2025) 33(1) Medical Law Review Article number: fwae045. 

4. Ben White, Fiona McDonald, Lindy Willmott and Shih-Ning Then (eds) Health Law in Australia, Thomson Reuters (Lawbook Co), Australia, 2024, 4th ed. 

5. Ben White, Ruthie Jeanneret, Eliana Close and Lindy Willmott, ‘The impact on patients of objections by institutions to assisted dying: a qualitative study of family caregivers' perceptions’ (2023) 24(1) BMC Medical Ethics Article number: 22.