Della Bruna v Health Care Complaints Commission

The appeal concerned Dr. Della Bruna (the appellant) and the Health Care Complaints Commission (the respondent) before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The dispute arose from findings of professional misconduct made against the appellant by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), relating to the prescription of somatropin off-label and the adequacy of his clinical records.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether NCAT had provided adequate reasons for its decision, whether the appellant had been afforded procedural fairness through notification of the allegations via an amended complaint, and whether the Tribunal's findings of fact were contradicted by contemporaneous clinical records.

The Court allowed the appeal, finding that NCAT had erred in its decision-making. Specifically, the Court determined that the Tribunal's reasons were inadequate and that the appellant had not been afforded procedural fairness due to the manner in which the allegations were amended. Furthermore, the Court noted that the Tribunal's findings of fact were inconsistent with the available clinical records. Consequently, the orders of the Tribunal made on 24 October 2024 were set aside, and the matter was remitted to NCAT to be heard by a differently constituted Tribunal. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal.