New South Wales Psychologist Lisa Maree Phillips Suspended for Sexual Relationship with Former Patient

May 27, 2026

The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal has cancelled the registration of Australian psychologist Lisa Maree Phillips after finding she engaged in an inappropriate personal and sexual relationship with a former patient she had treated for years for obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, and related mental health issues. The tribunal ruled that Phillips committed both unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct, ordering that she cannot apply for review of the cancellation for at least two years.

According to the decision, Phillips treated “Patient A” between 2013 and 2017 in 49 therapy sessions while also treating the patient’s mother during part of the same period. The tribunal found that shortly after therapy ended, Phillips began communicating with the patient socially, took her out to dinner, exchanged gifts, and developed what the court described as an “inappropriate personal relationship.” By early 2018, the relationship became sexual and continued until 2023. The tribunal found Phillips failed to properly terminate therapy, failed to arrange continuity of care, and ignored professional ethics rules prohibiting sexual relationships with former clients within two years of treatment ending.

The ruling detailed that Phillips knew the former patient was vulnerable, had body image concerns, self-harm thoughts, and significant family difficulties before beginning the relationship. The tribunal also noted that Phillips had access to professional supervision, ethics resources, legal guidance, and continuing education on boundaries throughout the period in question.

Patient A later described the relationship as manipulative and emotionally abusive, alleging that Phillips isolated her from friends and family, controlled aspects of her life, and blurred therapy with personal and sexual conduct. Complaints were eventually filed with regulators by the patient’s subsequent treating psychologist and physician in 2024.

In its decision, the tribunal emphasized the serious public safety risks created when mental health professionals exploit therapeutic relationships and stated that vulnerable patients can suffer long-lasting psychological harm when professional boundaries are violated.

(Source: Decision, Health Care Complaints Commission v Phillips [2026] NSWCATOD 71; [26 May 2026];  New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Occupational Division.)