Controversial surgeon William Mooney is set to resume practising medicine after an appeal court rejected the NSW Medical Council’s efforts to stop him.
“Mr Mooney is not a perfect individual – far from it,” said Justice Mark Leeming in the Court of Appeal’s judgment handed down on Tuesday.
Surgeon William Mooney arriving at court as the NSW Medical Council appeals a decision to reinstate him.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“He continues to suffer from the flaws identified … and in particular, there is a chance he may continue to mislead professional authorities,” Leeming said.
However, the three appeal court judges determined that “no error” had been shown in the conclusion reached by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) that, despite the ear, nose and throat surgeon’s “far-from-unblemished fitness”, Mooney would be able to practise again “subject to the imposition of appropriate conditions.”
In April 2022, Mooney, who once boasted he performed “the highest number of nose jobs in Australia”, had his registration cancelled for professional misconduct. He was prohibited from seeking reinstatement for a year.
In banning him for a year, the tribunal found that Mooney’s substandard care resulted in the deaths of two patients, that he lied about a relationship with a third patient and that he provided a false medical certificate to cover up his failure to attend mandatory drug testing for cocaine, which had been a condition on his registration.
The tribunal held that Mooney’s misconduct was not the case of a single departure from ethical standards, but rather he had “committed acts which are egregious departures from proper standards” and that his conduct “occurred over a lengthy period”.
While serving his ban, Mooney was arrested after collecting a bag of cocaine from a Corolla-driving dial-a-dealer outside his Bondi apartment. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced without conviction to a 12-month conditional release order.
William Mooney was the subject of a Herald and Age investigation.
In granting his reinstatement in March, the NCAT concluded it is “highly unlikely” that Mooney “will repeat any of the mistakes of the past”.
“In our view, Mr Mooney has proven that he can be trusted to practice in an honest and ethical manner and presents no risk to the safety of the public and their confidence in the profession,” the tribunal held.
In rejecting the Medical Council’s appeal, Leeming noted: “The Medical Council’s notice of appeal is especially egregious because it is obviously the product of a great deal of effort – its eight pages of reasoning must have cost thousands of dollars of professional time to prepare – and yet it signally fails to identify questions of law.”
The judge also said the Medical Council had 21 days to lodge its submissions with NCAT “on the conditions that should be imposed on Mr Mooney’s registration” but instead had chosen to appeal the decision to reinstate him.
Justice Leeming said no risk to the public had been raised and the proposed conditions included supervision for specific surgeries, mentoring outside operating theatre and restricting him to a 35-hour week.
Mooney’s case has been sent back to the tribunal, which will determine the final conditions on his registration.
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