Dr Sharmila Chandran’s suspension from the board of the physicians’ college has been extended by almost three months.
Just two days before Dr Sharmila Chandran was set to finally assume the presidency of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has stepped in to extend her suspension from the board.
Dr Chandran was originally suspended by the ACNC in early May, following a SafeWork NSW improvement notice which prohibited each of the RACP board members to refrain from communicating with RACP staff except for the CEO.
According to the ACNC’s notice, the regulator “was subsequently made aware that Dr Chandran was not complying with the directions set out in the Prohibition Notice” and SafeWork NSW advised that this was exposing RACP staff to “immediate and serious risks” to their psychological safety.
On 18 May, the ACNC suspended Dr Chandran from her duties as a “responsible person” of the college. This prevented her from taking the presidency at the RACP Annual General Meeting on 29 May as originally planned.
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The suspension was originally due to run out on 20 September – but on 18 September, the ACNC announced that its delegate had decided to extend the suspension until 4 December.
“In making this decision the delegate had regard to the fact that, although the RACP has made progress in addressing the governance and workplace safety issues identified by SafeWork NSW, it has sought an extension of time to comply with the Improvement Notice,” the notice read.
“SafeWork NSW has accepted that further time is required and has extended the compliance date of the Improvement Notice to 4 December 2026.”
The question of whether Dr Chandran, a renal physician by training, should assume the presidency at all was the subject of several Extraordinary General Meetings over 2025 and 2026.
Matters came to a head in April, when police were called to an EGM being held to decide whether outgoing president Professor Jennifer Martin was to step down from her position one month early.
In the aftermath, both Professor Martin and Dr Chandran claimed to be board chair.
Dr Chandran ultimately conceded that the board she formed after that ill-fated EGM was not validly appointed, but not before the two groups took the matter to the Supreme Court of NSW.
In light of the ongoing conflict, the ACNC Commissioner has appointed two independent board members to the college: Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe and Elizabeth Jameson.
Both remain on the board as of 22 September 2026.
TMR contacted the RACP and Dr Chandran for comment but did not hear back before deadline.
