The partner of former Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been suspended from practising medicine by the medical watchdog, just weeks after he was charged with rape and sexual assault.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency confirmed that obesity surgeon Dr Vahid Reza Adib has been suspended and cannot practice in Australia. The Health Ombudsman advised that immediate registration action was taken, suspending Dr Adib’s registration on Tuesday.
“The suspension of registration means that Dr Adib is prohibited from practising as a medical practitioner for the duration of the suspension,” the Ombudsman stated on its website. The decision will remain in place until the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal sets aside the decision or the Ombudsman revokes the suspension.
Dr Adib, 65, is charged with three counts of rape, two counts of deprivation of liberty, and one count of sexual assault. He denies the allegations and is defending them. The alleged offending is said to have occurred on March 30 at his luxury apartment in Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
On April 30, police raided the Goodwin Terrace residence, seizing several items as part of the investigation. The matter is now before the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Dr Adib is the long-term partner of former Premier Ms Palaszczuk; the pair have been dating since 2021 while Ms Palaszczuk was still in office. Ms Palaszczuk is not implicated in the alleged offending, nor involved in the investigation, and she is not accused of any wrongdoing.
The investigation into the famed surgeon coincided with the launch of Ms Palaszczuk’s book, The Politics of Being Me, on April 28. Ms Palaszczuk’s publicist Max Markson confirmed that her scheduled book tour and media blitz would be postponed in the wake of Dr Adib’s arrest.
Dr Adib is a bariatric surgeon at the Brisbane Obesity Clinic in Auchenflower, a practice he established in 2004. According to the clinic’s website, he has performed more than 20,000 operations with expertise in laparoscopic surgery and obesity management.
