Health Care Complaints Commission v Do

The Health Care Complaints Commission appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against orders made by the Medical Tribunal concerning Dr. Do. The dispute arose from Dr. Do's professional misconduct, which included prescribing drugs of addiction and restricted substances to her de facto partner, who was a drug-dependent person, and failing to maintain adequate records of consultations and prescriptions. At the time the protective orders were made by the Tribunal, Dr. Do was no longer registered as a medical practitioner.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Medical Tribunal had failed to properly consider the objective of protecting the health and safety of the public when making its protective orders, and whether Dr. Do should have been disqualified from being registered as a health practitioner. The Court also considered the effect of a disqualification order on a future reapplication for registration and the power of the Court to order costs in proceedings under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the objective of protecting the public, as mandated by the National Law, requires a denunciation of serious misconduct. It found that the Tribunal had not given sufficient weight to this objective. While Dr. Do was no longer registered, the Court declared that had she still been registered on the date of the Tribunal's orders, her registration would have been cancelled. The Court further disqualified her from being registered as a health practitioner for a period of 18 months from that date, and directed the National Health Practitioner Board to record this finding. The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the Tribunal's orders, and made no order as to the costs of the appeal.