Press Statement Regarding NCAT Appeal Panel Decision on Health Care Complaints Commission Interim Prohibition Orders
Today’s decision by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) appeal panel sets a deeply troubling precedent: it is, in effect, impossible to properly challenge the Health Care Complaints Commission’s (HCCC) interim prohibition orders (IPOs).
Emails show that these IPO prosecutions were first imposed at the suggestion of the coroners court during an open hearing, I was repeatedly assured by the Commission that I had the right to challenge them before NCAT. However, the reality has been completely different. Relentless delays, obstructive and deceptive behaviours by the HCCC, combined with procedural failings at NCAT, have made a fair hearing unattainable. The appeal panel’s dismissal of the challenge on the grounds that the appeal was moot or lacked utility effectively hands the HCCC unlimited power to alter its process and evidentiary record at will. This includes misleading the Tribunal and requesting suppression orders over the autopsy report, forensic certificate under false pretences, with no meaningful checks or balances.
One of the most glaring contradictions is that the HCCC’s own submissions declared the previous Interim Prohibition Order (IPO) findings moot and argued their mootness before NCAT, yet proceeded to submit a new prohibition order that expressly relies on the same findings they declared moot. This contradiction not only demonstrates a startling level of dishonesty but also exposes fundamental legal incoherence at the heart of the Commission’s regulatory approach. It reveals a reckless attempt to manipulate the Tribunal and evade accountability by repurposing invalidated findings to justify ongoing restrictions.
One of the most damaging issues consistently brushed under the carpet is the deliberate concealment of the clearly erroneous autopsy report and an unaccredited forensic certificate. Multiple NCAT members have played a role in enabling the obfuscation of these critical documents, closely mirroring the Coroners Court’s removal of the report’s author from the witness list thus obstructing cross-examination—despite assurances that he would appear and without consulting with my legal representatives.
The HCCC has relentlessly sought to obstruct access to and examination of these reports. They have strongly pushed the same narrative of copious and forceful vomiting caused by Ayahuasca—a narrative that was aggressively promoted by counsel assisting the Coroner (Peggy Dwyer) and indulged by the Coroner herself despite a lack of any witness corroboration and notwithstanding admissions from their own experts that no such vomiting occurred.
At the core of this issue is the lack of jurisdiction where the HCCC is claiming colonial style domination over community based and Indigenous aligned spiritual practices, whilst admitting that they have engaged no experts or external consultation in the areas they claim jurisdiction over.
It took nearly six months for the NCAT Appeal Panel to release its dismissal of my challenge. During this prolonged period, I remained subject to the Interim Prohibition Orders and heavy, costly surveillance imposed by the NSW government. Tragically, during the unreasonable delays, there were three documented suicide attempts by individuals who had previously been stable under my care, all of whom had reached out to me for support—a support I was forced to deny due to the circumstances. The Commission and the Coroner were warned about the destabilising impact of their persecution campaign and accompanying media smears against our spiritual practices, yet took no action to prevent this harm. Following the initial suicide attempt, attributable to the Commission’s negligence, the Commission completely stonewalled all communications and initiated a new prohibition process relying on the same fabrications and narrative control. They have yet to acknowledge, let alone address, the suicide attempts and the ongoing distress faced by vulnerable people in my care, including Indigenous Australians who have not been consulted at all. The extensive delays by NCAT have only compounded this harm and prolonged injustice.
Disturbingly, the dismissal by the appeal panel also allows the conduct of NCAT members themselves to go unchecked. The panel failed to address their own conduct, including demonstrated bias and permitting the HCCC to obstruct evidence and breach orders. The Commission was allowed to rely on fabricated witness testimony submitted to the Coroners Court by counsel assisting, and numerous other serious issues were effectively sidelined. When I raised concerns, I was labelled a conspiracy theorist, while the panel omitted key facts from their findings and allowed the maintenance of published defamatory statements containing numerous false claims and biased assertions that remain publicly available online, causing ongoing reputational harm.
My submissions clearly outlined the legal and procedural utility in reconsidering the IPO findings, yet these reasons were inadequately addressed in the decision. Unfortunately, this continues a disturbing pattern across NCAT decisions, where the HCCC can act with near impunity, unaccountable for abuses of process or evidential manipulation. There is no effective means to challenge IPOs at NCAT, rendering the entire appeals process a farce and an abuse of due process. It is wholly misleading for the Commission to impose IPOs and claim to provide a right of appeal when, in fact, no fair or meaningful challenge is realistically possible.
The appeal panel also attempts to deflect blame for the extensive delays and time wasted by claiming they were not informed early enough of the Permanent Prohibition Order (PPO), which supposedly rendered this appeal moot. However, if the appeal truly lacked utility, why did it take over five and a half months to release the findings? Why, more than six weeks after I informed them of the PPO, did they further delay their decision? These avoidable and unexplained delays have only compounded the procedural injustice.
This decision leaves the NCAT members completely unaccountable, reinforcing systemic failures and institutional bias that undermine justice. It grants unchecked power to the HCCC who are judge, jury, investigator and prosecutor all in one and without transparency or accountability, shields tribunal members from scrutiny, and perpetuates a regulatory environment hostile to fairness and transparency.
I remain committed to pursuing justice, exposing these injustices, and holding the Health Care Complaints Commission and NCAT accountable, despite the significant systemic barriers in place.
I will be publishing a book in mid-December called "Way of the Hummingbird" outlining the spiritual lineages and practices of our community's beliefs, traditions and ancestry with interviews with Indigenous Elders and cultural trauma specialists. The book will trace the history of prejudice and discrimination shown by media and governments to sacred plant ceremonies, Indigenous culture and spiritual practices.
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