Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia v Sellen

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia brought proceedings against Ms Sellen regarding her conduct as a registered nurse, alleging professional misconduct. The dispute centred on Ms Sellen's criminal convictions for assaulting a police officer, which occurred outside her professional duties as a nurse. The National Health Practitioner Regulation Tribunal heard the matter and was tasked with determining whether Ms Sellen's conduct amounted to professional misconduct and, if so, what appropriate sanctions should be imposed.

The primary legal issues were whether Ms Sellen's criminal convictions for assault constituted professional misconduct under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, and if so, what the appropriate sanction should be. The Tribunal needed to consider the nature and circumstances of the offence, the impact on the public's perception of the nursing profession, and the need to protect the public and maintain public confidence in the profession.

The Tribunal found that Ms Sellen's criminal convictions for assault did constitute professional misconduct. It was held that her actions reflected poorly on the nursing profession and could undermine public confidence in the integrity and reliability of nurses. Consequently, the Tribunal decided to reprimand Ms Sellen and disqualify her from applying for registration as a health practitioner until 1 March 2021. The Tribunal also ordered that the parties bear their own costs of the proceeding.