Steph Jowett

Dr Steph Jowett is a Lecturer in the School of Law within the Faculty of Business and Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Based in Meanjin (Brisbane, Australia), she joined QUT's Law School in March 2020 after completing her PhD at the same institution. Dr Jowett holds a Bachelor of Laws with Second Class Honours - Division A from QUT.

Dr Jowett's research focuses on the intersection of children's health and law, with particular emphasis on consent for medical treatment of young people and access to healthcare for trans and gender diverse youth. Her scholarly work spans adolescent decision-making capacity, consent for children's involvement in health research, coronial determinations of suicide, and genomic data-sharing. She seeks to develop legal frameworks that better align with medical knowledge and other bodies of expertise.

Her research has been published in leading Australian and international peer-reviewed journals, and she authored the monograph Consent for Medical Treatment of Trans Youth (Cambridge University Press, 2022), which examines and compares legal frameworks in Australia, England, and Wales. Dr Jowett's publications demonstrate a consistent focus on improving legal approaches to vulnerable populations, particularly youth requiring medical care.

• Faculty of Business and Law Executive Dean's Commendation for Higher Degree Research

Dr Jowett teaches law students about health law and research methods, and also instructs nursing students on law and ethics in healthcare practice. She is actively involved in postgraduate supervision of health law topics and is a member of QUT's Australian Centre for Health Law Research and Childhood Adversity Research Program, as well as the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law. Recognized as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2020, she emphasizes warm, positive, inclusive, and future-focused teaching approaches.