Sudheer Teegala

Introduction

Sudheer Teegala is an Australian physiotherapist whose registration was cancelled and who was prohibited from providing any health services for two years after the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found proven a complaint that on 28 June 2024, while working at the Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead, he sexually touched a patient without consent, was later convicted of a criminal offence relating to that conduct, and failed to notify the National Board of his criminal charges and conviction. In its decision of 17 September 2026 the Tribunal found the complaints proven, cancelled his registration with a two-year non-review period, and made a two-year prohibition order covering all health services. The Health Care Complaints Commission prosecuted the complaint.

Background Information

Teegala worked as a physiotherapist at the Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead, in Sydney’s west. Physiotherapy involves extensive physical contact with patients in treatment rooms away from other staff, which is why boundary violations by practitioners in the discipline are treated with particular severity by regulators. Teegala’s case reached the Tribunal through two routes: the criminal conviction arising from the June 2024 incident, and the separate regulatory failure — his failure to notify the National Board of his charges and conviction, a mandatory obligation placed on registered practitioners in Australia.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Tribunal findings. The findings below are the formal adjudications of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in a case prosecuted by the Health Care Complaints Commission. The underlying criminal conviction is a matter of court record; the sources report the conviction without detailing the sentencing.

It was alleged that on 28 June 2024, while working at the Good Street Medical Centre, Westmead, Teegala sexually touched a patient without consent and was later convicted of a criminal offence relating to that conduct. It was further alleged that he failed to notify the National Board of his criminal charges and conviction. In its decision of 17 September 2026, the Tribunal found the complaints proven, cancelled his registration, imposed a non-review period of two years, and made a prohibition order prohibiting him from providing any health services for two years.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The Health Care Complaints Commission published its media release on 25 September 2026, the same month as the Tribunal’s decision. The combined sanction — cancellation with a two-year non-review period plus a two-year prohibition order covering every health service, not just physiotherapy — closes both the front door and the side door: Teegala cannot seek reinstatement as a physiotherapist before September 2028, and cannot in the meantime work in any capacity providing health services in NSW, including unregistered roles. The prohibition order is the Commission’s principal tool against unregistered practice.

Current Status

Teegala’s physiotherapist registration is cancelled and he is subject to a two-year prohibition on providing any health services. The criminal conviction for sexually touching the patient stands on the court record, and the Tribunal’s decision is published through NSW Caselaw. The sources do not report any public response from Teegala or any appeal against the Tribunal’s decision.

Impact on Their Career/Life

A physiotherapy career ended with a criminal conviction for assaulting a patient in his own treatment room and a regulator’s finding that he then tried to conceal it from his National Board — the concealment being an independent ground of misconduct. The case demonstrates the two-layer Australian enforcement response to patient-facing sexual offending: the criminal law for the assault, and the national registration scheme, through cancellation plus a prohibition order, for the ongoing risk to the public. Teegala is excluded from all health-service work while the orders run.

Sources

• NSW Health Care Complaints Commission, “Mr Sudheer Teegala – Physiotherapist – Registration cancelled and prohibition order for criminal convictions,” 25 September 2026 — source