The Health Care Complaints Commission took Dr Sharwan Narayan to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Photo: Darko Stojanovic from Pixabay.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to allegations of sexual misconduct.
A doctor found guilty of misconduct after allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour were made against him while working on the NSW South Coast has had his registration cancelled for at least a year.
Last year, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Dr Sharwan Narayan guilty of professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct.
“The conduct was a serious abuse of the trust in the relationship between doctors and patients,” the four-member tribunal wrote in its decision in January 2026.
In an earlier decision, the tribunal said Dr Narayan worked as a GP at the Moruya Medical Centre as well as a medical officer at the Moruya District and Batemans Bay hospitals in 2020.
The tribunal found he inappropriately massaged a female patient’s thigh, inappropriately touched her breasts, made sexual comments, hugged her, touched her genital region, asked her about her sex life and made a comment about orgasms to her.
He denied the allegations but the tribunal found she was “an impressive witness” while his explanations were “implausible”.
In its most recent decision, the tribunal said Dr Narayan did not tell his supervisors about the earlier hearing. He agreed he hadn’t told them, but claimed he told his mentor and psychologist.
However, the tribunal said they had the mentor’s notes and there was no reference to such a disclosure.
“We have significant concerns about the reliability of the evidence of Dr Narayan,” they said.
The tribunal noted he hadn’t been the subject of any complaints relating to his behaviour since later in 2020, had undertaken extensive study and training, and two mental health professionals thought he was likely safe to continue to engage in medical practice with conditions on his registration.
But they ultimately decided the only order to protect the health and safety of the public was the cancellation of his registration, keeping in mind the seriousness of his conduct, the need for general deterrence and to maintain confidence in the medical profession.
“We do not accept that the imposition of the proposed conditions on Dr Narayan’s registration would be sufficient to protect the public from an unacceptable risk of harm as evidenced by Dr Narayan’s failure to tell his supervisor about these proceedings,” they said.
“In addition, in view of our findings as to the reliability of the evidence of Dr Narayan, we also place little weight on his assurances as to compliance with any conditions on his registration in the future.”
The tribunal cancelled his registration as a medical practitioner and said he could not apply for a review of this decision for one year. He was also ordered to pay for 90 per cent of the Health Care Complaints Commission’s costs of the proceedings.
The Fiji-born Dr Narayan came to Australia in 2007, became registered as a medical practitioner in 2016 and was now aged 45.
This was not the first time a complaint was made against him. In 2023, a tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct over his inappropriate behaviour towards a patient and two colleagues.
The tribunal suspended him from practising for three months and placed conditions on his registration when he resumed practise after the suspension.
He worked as a GP in Norfolk Island from 2024, then in August 2025 began working at the Campsie Healthcare Medical Centre in Sydney.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732.
Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can report to police by attending a police station or calling 131 444.
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