Tribunal disqualifies former nurse for two years

07 May 2020

A tribunal has disqualified a former nurse from applying for registration for two years following her conviction for unlawful wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

On 30 January 2017, Ms Michelle Fernandez was convicted of unlawfully wounding her former husband with intent to do grievous bodily harm in the District Court of Western Australia and sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment. Ms Fernandez was registered as a nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) at the time of the conduct but ceased to be registered on 31 May 2018. 

On 18 July 2018, the NMBA filed an application in the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia (tribunal) alleging that Ms Fernandez’s conviction constituted professional misconduct. The NMBA and Ms Fernandez resolved the matter by consent. 

By way of mitigation, Ms Fernandez raised, and the NMBA accepted, that (among other things) she had no prior criminal history, was of good standing among her colleagues at the time of sentencing and that the conduct leading to the conviction was not related to her nursing practice. 

On 8 February 2019, the tribunal ordered that Ms Fernandez had behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct and that she be disqualified from applying for registration as a nurse for a period of two years from the date of the tribunal’s orders. 

The tribunal also ordered Ms Fernandez to pay a contribution of $5000 towards the NMBA’s costs. 

The tribunal’s decision is published on the tribunal website.