Australia’s charities regulator has suspended Dr Sharmila Chandran as a director of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, after finding she had repeatedly breached a workplace safety prohibition notice.
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission suspended Dr Chandran as a responsible person of the RACP at 1pm on 18 May 2026, a move that simultaneously strips her of the presidency she had claimed following the college’s disputed April extraordinary general meeting.
The suspension runs until 20 September 2026.
Dr Sharmila Chandran
The ACNC’s published summary of the decision states that SafeWork NSW issued the RACP’s board a Prohibition Notice on 5 May, directing each responsible person to refrain from communicating with RACP staff except through the CEO or Acting CEO. The regulator said it subsequently became aware Dr Chandran was not complying.
“SafeWork NSW advised the ACNC that this behaviour was exposing RACP staff to immediate and serious risks to their psychological health and safety,” the ACNC summary states.
The ACNC found Dr Chandran had persisted in communicating in writing with RACP staff despite being advised of her obligations by both SafeWork NSW and the ACNC.
The suspension was triggered under Governance Standard 5 of the ACNC Act, which requires charities to take reasonable steps to ensure their responsible people exercise their duties with appropriate care and diligence, including protecting people from harm to their health, safety and welfare.
SafeWork NSW had previously issued the RACP an Improvement Notice on 20 March 2026, setting out the college’s failures under the Work Health and Safety Act and directing it to address them by 20 September 2026.
The ACNC has also appointed its own former commissioner, Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM, as an Acting Responsible Person and interim board chair.
In a statement to members, the reconstituted board said it “agrees to work with the ACNC to meet its obligations under the ACNC Governance Standards and to provide a safe workplace for its employees and volunteers” and welcomed Professor Pascoe’s appointment.
“Adjunct Professor Pascoe is a highly experienced governance leader with extensive experience across the education, charity and public sectors,” the board stated.
The college confirmed that current directors recognised by the ACNC are Dr Nicholas Buckmaster, Associate Professor Janak de Zoysa and Adjunct Professor Pascoe. Its former president Professor Jennifer Martin is not recognised as a member of the board.
The ACNC has warned it may extend the suspension, move to permanently remove Dr Chandran, or take further regulatory action against the RACP if it cannot be satisfied the college will meet its obligations under Governance Standard 5 and the WHS Act by the suspension’s end date.
SafeWork NSW’s improvement and prohibition notices remain in force, and the ACNC’s investigation of the RACP continues.
The board said it will meet shortly to consider the implications for the April EGM result, the scheduled AGM on 29 May and the appointment of new directors following recent college elections.
Comment has been sought from Dr Chandran.