Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia v Lockie

The case of Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia v Lockie was heard by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The respondent, Shirley Ingrid Lockie, is a registered nurse with post-graduate qualifications who works at a practice conducted by her husband, a bariatric hernia and general surgeon. The Board alleged that the respondent had engaged in professional misconduct by issuing a prescription to a patient in her husband's name without his knowledge or consent, falsely denying she had done so, and describing herself as a "nurse practitioner" on the practice website, which is a protected accreditation under the National Law. The respondent disputed some of the allegations. The Tribunal found that the respondent had indeed engaged in professional misconduct by issuing the prescription, falsely denying she had done so, and describing herself as a "nurse practitioner" on the practice website. The Tribunal concluded that the respondent's conduct was unprofessional and substantially below that expected of a registered nurse of an equivalent level of training and experience. The Tribunal ordered that the respondent be reprimanded and her registration suspended for a period of 9 months from 12th December 2022.