Thomas Faunce

In 2002, Faunce accepted a dual appointment at the Australian National University in the College of Law and Medical School. Faunce served on the editorial board of the Journal of Medical Humanities (UK) and the Journal of Law and Medicine (Australia).

In 1983, Faunce was legal associate to Justice Lionel Murphy of the High Court of Australia, the year when the court was involved in significant decisions about Australian constitutional power in the case Commonwealth v Tasmania about the Franklin River dam, and the Australian constitutional meaning of religion in the appeal Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax. He practiced as a solicitor in commercial law for a few years then returned to university to study medicine. In 1993, he undertook graduate training in Emergency Medicine at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, then enrolled in specialty training in Intensive Care, working as a registrar at the Canberra Hospital and at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. He published a popular study guide on anaesthetics and intensive care.

Thomas Faunce was educated at Canberra Grammar School, graduating in 1976, achieving first place in the New South Wales Higher School Certificate in Ancient History and English. He undertook a double Bachelor of Arts and Law (honours) at the Australian National University, graduating in 1982. While an undergraduate, he won prizes for contracts and air and space law, and was part of the Australian National University team that won the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C. on 25 April, 1981. Faunce graduated from medicine at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, in 1993. Faunce was conferred a Doctor of Philosophy by the Australian National University in 2001. His doctoral thesis, which reconceptualises the doctor-patient relationship, was awarded the J.G. Crawford Prize, and was developed into a book.

Thomas Faunce (Thomas Alured Faunce) (1958–2019) was a professor at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia. He practiced both law and medicine, and his professorship was a joint one, being in both the ANU College of Law and Medical School. His research spanned across health law, bioethics, the regulatory governance of pharmaceutical industry and artificial photosynthesis in addressing environment sustainability issues. He was awarded research funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for several Discovery Projects, and in 2009 was awarded a Future Fellowship to study nanotechnology and global public health.

Born in Canberra, ACT, the eldest child of Marcus Faunce (1922-2004) and Marjorie Morison (1927-1995). Descendant of Alured Tasker Faunce (1808-1856) of Clifton, near Bristol, England, senior captain of the 4th (King's Own) Regiment who arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1832, and was appointed the first salaried police magistrate in Queanbeyan, NSW, in 1837.