Tribunal finds Perth nurse was caught stealing from disabled patients, selling items on eBay

A Perth nurse has had her registration cancelled and ordered to pay costs after a tribunal found she stole from a family she was caring for.

Michelle Jeanne Rosemary Bastin was found to have engaged in professional misconduct by the State Administrative Tribunal after she was allegedly caught stealing clothing, shoes, toiletries, food “and other household items” from an elderly couple while working as a carer for their two disabled children.

Bastin, who worked for At Home Care, was trusted by the parents who often left her alone with the children in the house.

Published tribunal documents stated the parents were “vulnerable persons” aged 69 and 70 years old. The father was unemployed and the mother was a housewife.

The tribunal said Bastin stole from the couple over a period of four months in 2019 “which involved an element of forethought and planning”.

She also allegedly sold more than one pair of shoes and some of the mother’s clothing on eBay, with the tribunal stating that Bastin had shown no remorse nor insight.

She has not apologised to the couple and has not sought to reimburse them.

When questioned by her employer about her conduct, the tribunal documents said Bastin “attempted to minimise her behaviour”, did not cooperate with an investigation, accused the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency of defamation and threatened to bring a civil claim against them.

Bastin also refused to engage in the tribunal proceedings, which began in 2024.

In January 2020, her registration was suspended, and she was charged by police with stealing, however those charges were discontinued the following year.

The tribunal has since found that she was “not currently a fit and proper person to hold registration as a health practitioner” and cancelled her nursing registration.

She is not allowed to reapply for 12 months.

She was also ordered to pay $14,000 towards the Nursing and Midwifery Board’s legal costs.