Health Ombudsman v Sudusinghe

This matter involved two referrals by the Director of the Health Ombudsman to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) in respect of the registration of the respondent, Samith Vernon Sudusinghe, a medical practitioner. The first referral was made on 29 May 2020 and was concerned with the respondent’s conviction for sexual assault of a patient in 2019. The second referral was made on 18 June 2021 and was concerned with the respondent’s breach of conditions imposed upon his registration on six occasions involving five different patients. The parties agreed that the conduct in each referral constituted professional misconduct and that a reprimand was appropriate in each case. The substantial difference between the parties was the sanction the Tribunal should impose. The applicant contended the Tribunal should cancel the respondent’s registration and impose a disqualification period of in the order of three to five years from the date of the order. The respondent contended he should be suspended for a further 18 months to two years. The Tribunal was comfortably satisfied on the facts of this case that the respondent’s conduct constituted professional misconduct within each of sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the National Law. The Tribunal determined that the respondent was not presently a fit and proper person to be registered as a medical practitioner and that an order for cancellation of his registration was appropriate. The Tribunal made orders cancelling the respondent’s registration, disqualified him from applying for reregistration for a period of two years from the date of the order, reprimanded the respondent, and ordered each party to pay their own costs. The Tribunal also set aside the immediate registration action which was taken by the regulator on 7 December 2020.