Mr Lloyd Palmer – Mental Health Worker – Permanent Prohibition Order

3 March 2022

The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (the Commission) investigated the conduct of Mr Lloyd Palmer. Mr Palmer was previously employed as a Mental Health Case Worker in regional Northern NSW.

In May 2021, Mr Palmer’s employer, The Buttery Rehab NSW, received multiple complaints concerning Mr Palmer’s conduct as a Mental Health Case Worker and his repeated failure to observe professional boundaries with multiple clients. This included, but was not limited to, making inappropriate sexualised comments, encouraging clients to live with him, making disparaging comments to clients about their mental health, arranging his wife to massage clients and making inappropriate sexual suggestions to clients.

Mr Palmer has failed to meaningfully engage with either the investigation of his former workplace or of the Commission.

As a result of this failure to engage, the Commission is unable to make an appropriate assessment of the risk to the health and safety of the public in Mr Palmer providing health services.

The seriousness of the allegations made and the failure of Mr Palmer to engage with the Commission as the independent regulator, raise a heightened degree of risk with respect to his future conduct.

The Commission’s investigation found that Mr Palmer has breached clause 3(1) of the Code of Conduct, in that he failed to provide health services in a safe and ethical manner. The Commission also considers that Mr Palmer poses a significant risk to the health and safety of members of the public.

Accordingly, the Commission has issued a permanent prohibition order against Mr Palmer in the following terms:

Mr Lloyd Palmer, a Mental Health Worker, is permanently prohibited from providing any health services, either in paid employment or voluntarily, to any member of the public.

For the purposes of this order, a ‘health service’ is given the meaning as defined under section 4 of the Health Care Complaints Act 1993.

Further Information

For further information, contact the Executive Officer of the Health Care Complaints Commission, on 9219 7444 or send an email to media@hccc.nsw.gov.au.

The information in this media release is correct at the time of publication. Orders may change; for example, conditions may no longer apply. For current information regarding the status of a registered health practitioner, including any conditions that currently apply, please check the National Register at www.ahpra.gov.au.