'Gross breach of trust': Chiropractor who treated patients while suspended avoids jail

A suspended chiropractor who continued to practise for 16 months has been sentenced to community work after his lawyer said he acted out of concern for patients rather than greed.

David Williams, 72, was handed a 12-month community corrections order and 120 hours of unpaid community work today after pleading guilty to four charges of being an unregistered health practitioner and knowingly holding out as being registered.

The charges were brought by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), claiming he continued to operate between April 2022 and August 2023 after being suspended for developing a relationship with a patient.

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Williams' business, which he no longer operates, was also charged with two counts of failing to provide information and produce documents requested by inspectors.

At Ringwood Magistrates Court, Magistrate Jason Ong ordered the chiropractor to pay $15,000 in prosecution costs, and his business was fined $8000.

"Despite your registration being suspended, the very next day, you continued providing chiropractic options," Ong said.

"You simply ignored the suspension."

The magistrate described Williams' conduct as a "gross breach of trust" and that he had committed the offences for personal gain.

"Through your sustained, wilful, persistent, blatant disregard and defiance for the rules, you have put vulnerable members of the public ... at risk," said.

Williams had a history of working unlicensed after he pleaded guilty in 2011 to knowingly claiming to be registered and performing a manipulation of a cervical spine after his licence had expired.

He re-registered as a chiropractor in January 2012 before his licence was suspended by the Chiropractic Board of Australia in April 2022 over his being a "serious risk" to patients' health and safety due to his relationship with a patient.

But an investigation in March 2023 found Williams had continued to operate, with electronic health claims system claims to show he claimed and processed $60,119.90 in 544 claims during his suspension period involving 16 patients, prosecutors said.

The defence said Williams had been "prioritising" providing continuous treatment for his patients, denying it was motivated by greed.

"(He) had taken this blanket approach to business as usual and patients come first, and disregarded the requirement to stop work as a chiropractor," his lawyer said.

But AHPRA's lawyers argued that didn't explain his entire offending, given there were new patients he was treating and he would have known he was suspended while he continued to practise.