A neurologist accused of repeatedly raping a teenage girl almost 20 years ago has won his bid to continue working in the lead-up to his trial.
Nicholas Halliwell, who works in Nowra in regional New South Wales, is contesting three counts of rape and non-consensual indecent assault.
The criminal charges laid in May 2023 relate to alleged conduct in 2007, when Halliwell was 23 years old and living in Melbourne.
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The complainant was aged 17 at the time of the alleged offences and it was five years before Halliwell had begun his medical course.
The now 41-year-old specialist has been committed to stand trial, which is expected to begin sometime in 2025.
The Medical Board of Australia took immediate action to suspend Halliwell after it was notified of the charges by Victoria Police.
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He applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to overturn the suspension earlier this year.
The board’s barrister Benjamin Jellis said the protection of children and the community was “paramount”.
Halliwell’s barrister Marion Isobel told the tribunal although the allegations were serious, there was a presumption of innocence.
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She said Halliwell denied the allegations, there were no allegations he is an unsafe practitioner and there was no suggestion he posed a risk to patients.
Isobel said the suspension had already caused Halliwell and his young family great hardship.
Earlier in September, the tribunal said while the public interest outweighed Halliwell’s private interest it had not formed a reasonable belief that immediate action is warranted.
It found the immediate suspension placed on Halliwell by the Medical Board was unnecessary and overturned the decision, noting there was still the presumption of innocence.
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