Australian medical college leader suspended from position over alleged health and safety breach
# Australian medical college leader suspended from position over alleged health and safety breach
On Monday, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) issued a formal suspension notice for Dr Sharmila Chandran, president-elect of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), over alleged non-compliance with a New South Wales work health and safety directive. The suspension will remain in effect until 20 September 2026, barring Chandran from holding any responsible person role at the organization for the duration of the order.
The RACP, founded in 1938, is one of Australia’s oldest and most prominent medical professional bodies, representing more than 40,000 physicians and trainees across Australia and New Zealand. The college sets national clinical training standards, advocates for public health policy, and provides professional support and continuing education for its members. As a registered charity, the RACP falls under the regulatory oversight of the ACNC, which holds statutory authority to suspend or remove responsible persons of charitable organizations if they are found to have breached legal obligations that put people at risk of harm.
According to a public statement from the ACNC, SafeWork NSW, the state’s work health and safety regulator, had previously directed Chandran not to make contact with RACP staff, after determining that unregulated interaction posed “immediate and serious risks” to the psychological health and safety of employees. The ACNC’s suspension action was triggered by Chandran’s alleged failure to adhere to that directive.
The intervention follows months of documented internal conflict within the RACP’s governing board, which escalated to an extraordinary general meeting held in the weeks prior to the ACNC’s announcement. Reports from that meeting note that police were called to the venue to manage the gathering, indicating the dispute had reached a level that raised concerns for the safety of attendees and on-site staff. The RACP has confirmed it will cooperate with the ACNC and SafeWork NSW to address the alleged breaches and meet its regulatory obligations, though no further details of that cooperation have been released publicly.
The suspension carries notable implications for both the RACP and broader standards for leadership accountability in Australian professional and charitable sectors. For the college, the leadership disruption comes at a time when it is navigating ongoing challenges related to physician workforce shortages, post-pandemic burnout among its membership, and high-stakes advocacy on public health issues including climate-related health risks and aged care reform. Legal and governance experts note that the ACNC’s use of its suspension powers in this context signals a growing enforcement of psychological health as a core component of work health and safety obligations for all employers, including senior leaders of prominent professional bodies. As of publication, neither Chandran nor the RACP had released a public statement addressing the specific allegations outlined in the ACNC’s notice.