Physician heal thyself: Royal College power-struggle spills into Court
Another board leak is brewing at the Royal Australian College of Physicians amid accusations of bullying and a cover-up leak to the court. Stephanie Tran reports.
On Tuesday, the Fair Work Commission heard from Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) president-elect Dr. He began hearing Sharmila Chandran’s appeal to stop bullying against the current president of the university, Professor Jennifer Martin.
This case marks the latest and most explosive chapter in the bitter power struggle that has engulfed the RACP for years. The application also names RACP CEO Steffen Faurby and Dr John O’Donnell.
RACPThe organization, which represents more than 30,000 doctors and trainee specialists in Australia and New Zealand, has long been plagued by internal turmoil.
University tries to silence court hearing
College lawyers and Dr. Martin sought a confidentiality order to prevent the board minutes and records from being made public, arguing that they contained sensitive material about the college’s internal management.
Dr Chandran’s lawyers appealed this decision, arguing that the case was important in the public interest and the principles of open justice should apply.
Commissioner Sloan ruled that the minutes should remain public, citing the importance of the college’s internal workings to the case, but ruled that meeting records would be treated as confidential.
Commissioner Sloan said: “I am not persuaded that it is appropriate to impose a confidentiality order on all but a particular category of documents.”
“This case concerns the internal workings of the university and will be investigated as part of these proceedings. … The principles of open justice are a guiding light in how the commission conducts its proceedings.”
The decision means that the university’s internal disputes, which have been the subject of rumors among members for a long time, will now be reflected in public.
Bullying allegations
Chandran’s lawyers told the Commission that tensions began long before Chandran was elected president-elect, but escalated after Martin filed a whistleblower complaint about his alleged behavior. They said the alleged bullying intensified when Chandran subsequently applied for Fair Work and openly opposed proposed changes to the university’s constitution.
In May 2025, Dr Chandran applied for an anti-bullying order. Fair Work ActHe claimed that he and his colleagues were repeatedly bullied and mistreated. One expression He told members that he had “raised concerns about bullying and harassment at the university” through internal channels, but “sufficient corrective action has not been taken.”
A few months later, on August 22, the College’s board gave the president-elect a vote of no confidence in him, accusing him of contributing to a “toxic culture” and engaging in “hostile and disrespectful behavior.”
Six executives resigned immediately after the vote
Dr Chandran’s lawyers argued that this was because Dr Chandran was democratically elected as president by the members of the College. He stated that it was due to pressure from members of the College who felt that they were using their power unfairly to oust Chandran.
Dr Chandran said he was not presented with any written arguments and was denied the right to reply.
“No justification was given for the vote of no confidence… it was pure bullying and public humiliation,” he told the commission.
“I was appalled by what the board did to me.”
The legal team allege that the university and its chief executive, Steffen Faurby, were aware of the alleged bullying by Dr Martin and failed to intervene.
Additionally, during a board meeting, Dr. They also claimed that the bullying allegations against Chandran were later removed from the official board minutes.
Coup attempt and upcoming showdown
The conflict has now left the university, where its 33,000 members are Dr. It risks dividing him ahead of an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on October 31, when he will vote on whether to remove Chandran from the board and prevent him from taking the chairmanship next year.
The motion to impeach him includes no explanation as to who started it or why. Internal materials distributed to members accuse him of undermining the board’s “reform agenda” and distracting from the “fundamental purpose of the university.”
The Fair Work Commission hearing is expected to last three days.
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Stephanie is a journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that will hold the power to account. With experience in both law and journalism, he worked at The Guardian and worked as a paralegal, where he assisted Crikey’s defense team in the high-profile libel case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. His reporting has been recognized nationally, earning him the 2021 Guardians of Democracy Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.
