PUBLIC-HEALTH AND THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION

The powers vested in the Commonwealth Government by the Constitution c ontain the basis of much public health law in Australia. Yet this is n ot often recognised; public health law is generally, and historically, seen as the states' responsibility. This article surveys the broad ra nge of constitutional powers that the Commonwealth Government can rely upon to make public health laws. It considers areas of power specifie d in the Constitution, such as those with respect to external affairs and corporations. Decisions of the High Court have interpreted the var ious heads of power very broadly and have significantly enhanced the p otential of the Commonwealth to pass detailed and far-reaching public health law. To this fact must be added the taxation arrangements in Au stralia and, with these, the very extensive control that the Commonwea lth can exercise through its monopoly of major taxation sources. Its p ower to make financial arrangements can tie dependent states into spec ific policies (including public health policies) as a condition of the grants made to them. However, these broad powers may be limited in so me important respects: the High Court is increasingly identifying righ ts and freedoms in the Constitution that may increasingly bring both s tate and Commonwealth public health law under challenge. Despite this possibility, the Commonwealth may prove to be our most significant sou rce of public health law, and public health policy makers should recog nise the full potential of its power to make such laws.