Mackay v Medical Board of Queensland

The applicant, Dr. Mackay, a radiologist, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Full Court of Queensland. The dispute arose after the Medical Assessment Tribunal of Queensland ordered the erasure of Dr. Mackay's name from the register of medical practitioners. This decision followed Dr. Mackay's plea of guilty to an offence under the Queensland Medical Act, specifically for having been convicted of an offence that would constitute an indictable offence in Queensland. The convictions in question were for threatening a solicitor and damaging motor vehicles by exploding gelignite, for which Dr. Mackay had been convicted in Victoria.

The legal issues before the High Court concerned the applicant's application for special leave to appeal. This involved determining whether the Full Court of Queensland had erred in dismissing Dr. Mackay's appeal by way of case stated, which had challenged the decision of the Medical Assessment Tribunal. The core of the matter was whether the Tribunal had correctly applied the law in erasing Dr. Mackay's name from the register, particularly in light of his convictions in Victoria and his subsequent plea before the Queensland Tribunal.

The Medical Assessment Tribunal's reasoning, as affirmed by the Full Court, was primarily based on Dr. Mackay's failure to concede wrongdoing or express contrition for his actions. The Tribunal distinguished the applicant's criminal conduct from cases of mere criminal negligence, such as that considered in *Ziems v Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales*. The Tribunal concluded that the degree of criminality demonstrated by Dr. Mackay's convictions, coupled with his lack of remorse, rendered him not a fit and proper person to continue practising his profession.