Tribunal reprimands and cancels nurse/midwife's registration after her conviction for child exploitation offences

04 Dec 2023

A Western Australian nurse/midwife convicted of child exploitation offences has been reprimanded by a tribunal, had her registration cancelled and been disqualified from applying for registration for five years.

In March 2022, the registered nurse/midwife (M) pleaded guilty to and was convicted of:

• producing child exploitation material in a written manner, and
• possessing child exploitation material, namely images and videos.

At the time of offending, M held general registration and practised as a nurse and midwife at a Perth hospital.

M was sentenced in a criminal court to:

• six months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months on the first offence, and
• nine months’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months on the second offence.

She was also referred to the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal (the tribunal) by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) for disciplinary proceedings.

The tribunal found that M had engaged in professional misconduct and ordered:

• M is reprimanded
• her registration as a registered nurse and midwife is cancelled
• she is disqualified from applying for registration as a health practitioner for five years, and
• her to pay $3,000 in costs to the NMBA.

M’s conduct breached clause 1.2 of the Code of conduct for nurses, requiring that nurses practice honestly and ethically and not engage in unlawful behaviour as it may affect their practice and/or damage the reputation of the profession.

The tribunal regarded M’s remorse and insight as well as her rehabilitation efforts, accepting that she represented a low risk of engaging in further conduct of this kind. She has not practised as a nurse and/or midwife since August 2021.

Once the period of disqualification imposed has expired, M will need to satisfy the NMBA that it is appropriate she be re-registered. Her entitlement to practise will not be automatically reinstated.

Read the tribunal’s full decision on AustLII.