Medical Board of Australia v Austin [2025] VR 46. (Link to eCourts).
Ren Li drew attention to this extraordinary matter, which initially involved a prosecution of the Respondent and later consent orders by the State Administrative Tribunal (WA).
Annexure A to the decision indicates that Patient A was aged 6 years and had an extensive medical history with diagnoses including cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, and Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome. She was quadriplegic, fed through a nasal gastric tube, and was non-verbal.
Patient A’s mother asked the Respondent (a general practitioner) to write her a script for insulin so she could give it to Patient A; and he hand wrote a script for Insulin Aspart 100 units per ml, 10ml, for injection, and provided it to Patient A’s mother but did not make any record of the insulin prescription in the medical records of Patient A or Patient A’s mother. There was no medical requirement for Patient A or any of Patient A’s family to be prescribed insulin.
Patient A’s mother later told the Respondent that she had filled the first script for insulin but had thrown it out, and asked the Respondent to prescribe another script for insulin, which he did. In early 2022 Patient A’s mother injected A with the insulin. A required hospitalisation, but survived.
The mother of Patient A was found guilty of endangering the child’s life, but not guilty of the original charge of attempted murder, following a jury trial and sentenced to 3 years in prison.
The Respondent was arrested and charged with one count of Attempt to Unlawfully Kill pursuant to s 283(1) of the Criminal Code WA. He entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment for 5.5 years. He later appealed that sentence, unsuccessfully: Austin v State of Western Australia [2023] WASCA 191 (Link to AUSTLII).
Returning to the conduct proceedings, on the application of the parties the Tribunal made orders published 7 October 2025 as follows:
- The Respondent has behaved in a way that constitutes professional misconduct for the purposes of section 196(1)(b)(iii) of the National Law, in that:
(a) on 13 December 2021 and 5 January 2022, he issued prescriptions for Insulin Aspart and provided them to Patient A’s mother when: (i) there was no medical requirement for Patient A or any of Patient A’s family to have insulin; (ii) he knew that Patient A’s mother intended to inject the insulin into Patient A; and (iii) he knew that administration of the prescribed insulin to Patient A could be fatal;
(b) he failed to maintain adequate clinical records by: (i) not recording details of the 13 December 2021 insulin prescription within the records of Patient A or Patient A’s mother; and (ii) deleting details of the 5 January 2022 insulin prescription from the computer records;
(c) he attempted to conceal the 5 January 2022 insulin prescription by deleting details of the same from the Practice’s computer records;
(d) from 20 January 2022 to his arrest on 3 February 2022, he failed to contact clinicians at PCH to provide details of insulin administration to inform assessment and treatment of Patient A’s condition;
(e) he failed to maintain professional boundaries with Patient A’s mother when he booked and paid for her to stay in a hotel on 24 January 2022;
(f) on 19 December 2022, he was convicted on one charge of Attempt to Unlawfully Kill pursuant to s283(1) of the Criminal Code WA; and
(g) he breached sections 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.4, 3.2.9, 3.5, 4.2.2, 4.6.1, 10.1,10.2.1, 10.5.1, 10.5.5 and 10.12.2 of the Code of Conduct (see Annexure B).
- The Respondent is reprimanded under section 196(2)(a) of the National Law.
- The Respondent’s registration is cancelled under s196(2)(e) of the National Law.
- The Respondent is disqualified from applying for registration for a period of 20 years under s196(4)(a) of the National Law.
- The Respondent is prohibited from providing any health service until reregistered under s196(4)(b)(i) of the National Law.
- The Respondent is prohibited from using the title ‘Doctor’ until reregistered under s196(4)(b)(ii) of the National Law.
- The Respondent is ordered to pay the Applicant’s costs of the proceedings under section 87(2) of the State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 (WA), fixed in the amount of $3,000 to be paid within 28 days or as otherwise agreed by the Applicant.
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