Professor Lorraine Dennerstein AO is a legally qualified medical practitioner, registered by The Medical Board of Australia and is a specialist psychiatrist.
She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1970 with the Exhibitions in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and an honour in surgery. She was subsequently awarded in 1979 a PhD in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University.
She qualified as a psychiatrist in 1980 obtaining the Diploma in Psychological Medicine of the University of Melbourne in 1981, membership of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1981 and elected a Fellow of the same in 1983.
In 2012 she was awarded by The University of Melbourne a Doctorate of Medical Science honoris causa in recognition of her contribution to the field of women's health.
She was First Assistant in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne (Austin Hospital) from 1983-1988. She subsequently became the Director of Psychological Medicine at the Mercy Hospital for Women from 1988 until 2003.
She has had substantial inpatient, outpatient and private practice experience as a psychiatrist with a sub-specialty in women's mental health.
Prof. Dennerstein AO has provided specialist psychiatric services for over three decades.
Prof Dennerstein has provided medico-legal evaluations and reports for over two decades. She has had a long interest in forensic and medico-legal issues, and was the court-appointed independent psychiatric consultant for landmark Victorian Coroner's Inquest on postnatal suicides.
She has provided medico-legal expert evidence for plaintiffs, defendants and the courts on a range of areas including homicide, sexual abuse, physical abuse, domestic violence, standard of psychiatric care and the psychiatric sequelae of injuries and surgical procedures.
She is an Assessor and Review Panelist for the Motor Accident Authority of NSW (SIRA) and a senior independent examiner for the TAC (Victoria). She has been a member of Medical Panels Victoria. She is trained in psychiatric impairment systems used in Victoria (GEPIC) and NSW (PIRS).