Dr Michael Taylor is a Barrister practising in public law, with specialist expertise in health law and in regulatory policy. Dr Taylor’s broader areas of interest in public law include immigration, education, child protection, aged care and disability. Dr Taylor welcomes both appearance and paperwork briefs.

Dr Taylor’s expertise is built on dual qualification as a legal practitioner (Barrister) and health practitioner (Pharmacist). In addition to his undergraduate (LLB(Hons)) and postgraduate (GDLP) qualifications in law, Dr Taylor also holds degrees in pharmacy (BPharm(Hons)) and biotechnology (MSc), as well as a doctorate (PhD) from the School of Philosophy and Bioethics, Monash University.

Health law

Based on his experience as a former health practitioner, and then further as an academic specialising in health policy and regulation, Dr Taylor’s expertise in health law includes:

• Health practitioner regulation under the National Law scheme administered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA);
• Health protection law, including the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, Food Act 1984, tobacco, alcohol, environment and biosecurity legislative schemes as well as regulation of pharmaceuticals and other therapeutic goods (TGA) and medical procedures;
• Regulation of health systems and services, including administrative requirements for service provision (e.g. Medicare, NDIS);
• Coronial inquests, recommendations and responses;
• Rights, protections and treatment orders under the Mental Health Act 2014; and
• Consumer protections in healthcare, such as the Health Complaints Act 2016 and application of the Australian Consumer Law to health services.

Regulatory policy

With a background in public policy analysis, quantitative and qualitative research and evidence-based practice, Dr Taylor is also able to advise government and non-government organisations on regulatory policy issues, including:

• Regulatory design, particularly translation of policy initiatives into regulations;
• Analysis of regulatory impact and effectiveness to support regulatory review processes (e.g. Regulatory Impact Statements, inquiry submissions, policy statements); and
• Advice on regulatory improvement strategies, including red-tape reduction measures and co-regulation issues.

Previous professional experience

Before coming to the Bar, Dr Taylor was Senior Regulatory Policy Adviser in the Health Protection Branch of the Department of Health & Human Services. Dr Taylor provided advice regarding public health legislation to the Chief Health Officer and Health Protection Branch, particularly around the Sunset Review of the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 and the development of replacement regulations, the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019.

Dr Taylor is an Editor with the Cochrane Collaboration’s Consumer and Communication Review Group, part of the Cochrane Public Health and Health Systems network, and was previously Associate Editor (Health Policy) for Social Science + Medicine. Dr Taylor’s research has been published in numerous Australian and international peer-reviewed journals, including the Medical Journal of Australia, Australian Health Review, Health Research Policy & Systems, the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and the Journal of Rheumatology (see “extended biography” for more details).

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards legislation.