Hazem Chahoud, a 64-year-old Sydney doctor barred from practice in 2022 after making physical sexual advances toward a 17-year-old female patient and bombarding her with text messages, has had his latest application to reinstate his medical registration rejected by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) in a September decision.
The Bottom Line
- The tribunal dismissed Chahoud’s reinstatement bid, barring him from making another application for 12 months while ordering him to pay legal costs to the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC).
- NCAT reaffirmed its 2022 findings that Chahoud has an established history of giving false evidence and cannot be accepted as a reliable witness of truth.
- A psychiatrist assessing Chahoud noted emotional dysregulation and personality traits aligned with antisocial or narcissistic disorders.
Professional Boundaries Broken in Campbelltown Consultations
The disciplinary proceedings stem from a series of five consultations in 2018 at a medical centre in Campbelltown, where Chahoud treated the teenager for complaints of bulimia that he failed to properly manage. According to NCAT’s findings, the practitioner breached fundamental professional boundaries by hugging and kissing the patient, touching her back, thighs, and knees without any medical purpose, and physically forcing her to stand on weighing scales. The doctor also provided his home address to the minor.
Following the appointments, Chahoud initiated a digital trail of communication, sending the patient text messages that included a note reading “working til 8pm” accompanied by love heart emojis. The teenager responded by questioning his conduct directly, texting, “Why did you try and kiss me today?” and subsequently telling him, “Please stop I told you I feel uncomfortable.”
Phone Records Expose False Statements About Text Messages
When the Medical Council of NSW initially investigated his conduct, Chahoud denied the allegations entirely. He enlisted his wife to prepare a statement falsely claiming she had sent the text messages instead. The deception unraveled when the Health Care Complaints Commission provided phone records and mapping data demonstrating the messages were transmitted directly from the practice rooms in Campbelltown rather than Chahoud’s home.
Confronted with the digital evidence, Chahoud conceded he sent the texts. In March 2022, NCAT formally cancelled his medical registration, imposed an 18-month non-review period, and ordered him to pay the HCCC’s costs. Subsequent attempts to overturn the ban included a 2024 application that he ultimately discontinued, followed by another push in February that the HCCC strongly opposed.
| Timeline Event | Key Development | Ruling / Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Consultations at Campbelltown medical centre | Breach of professional boundaries and inappropriate texts |
| March 2022 | Initial NCAT tribunal decision | Registration cancelled with 18-month non-review period |
| February – September 2026 | Latest reinstatement application reviewed | Application rejected; 12-month ban on new filings imposed |
Tribunal Findings on Reliability and Personality Traits
In his submission to the HCCC during the latest proceedings, Chahoud acknowledged his past actions, writing that he allowed a professional relationship to become personal and chose concealment over honesty out of fear of the consequences. However, during the hearing, the tribunal noted that he failed to address questions directly.
The September decision stated that the tribunal formed the conclusion that Chahoud cannot be accepted as a reliable witness of truth. Compounding these findings, a psychiatrist evaluating Chahoud during his 2024 application reported that the former doctor made vague threats of suicide, referred to himself as a victim, and characterized his patient’s complaints as childish. Oral evidence presented at the 2026 hearing further indicated that Chahoud likely exhibits antisocial or narcissistic personality traits alongside significant emotional dysregulation and a historical pattern of exploiting patients to secure opioid medications for himself.
