Sydney physiotherapist Sudheer Teegala, 45, was struck off by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for two years after sexually assaulting a female patient at Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead. During a June 2024 session treating knee pain, Teegala performed inappropriate sexual acts on the patient, including touching her breasts and licking her nipple without consent. Despite being charged and later sentenced to a community corrections order, Teegala failed to report his conviction to the physiotherapy board for six months, leading NCAT to rule that his actions were "deliberate and catastrophic."
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A Sydney physiotherapist named Sudheer Teegala, 45, has been struck off by a tribunal for sexually assaulting a patient during treatment in June 2024. The incident occurred at Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead, where Patient A had visited five times previously for knee and lumbar spine pain treatments. During the fifth session, Teegala lifted up her shirt, rubbed her breast, pulled down her bra, grabbed her breasts, and bent over to lick her nipple during a 90-minute massage. Following the assault, Teegala allegedly followed Patient A from the clinic despite her telling him multiple times to stop, with one instance where she threatened to call the police. The Health Care Complaints Commission initiated proceedings against Teegala, leading NCAT (New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal) to cancel his registration for two years without the possibility of review during this period.
Written for “Physiotherapist Sexual Assault Scandal” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A physiotherapist who grabbed a patient's breast and licked her nipple has been struck off over what was a 'deliberate and catastrophic' breach of trust, a tribunal has ruled.
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tribunal → grab → trust
Sydney physiotherapist Sudheer Teegala, 45, learned his fate this week when NCAT handed down its decision to cancel his registration for two years.
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NCAT → learn → years
The proceedings were brought by the Health Care Complaints Commission, following an incident in June 2024 involving Teegala and a 32-year-old female patient.
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proceedings → bring → Teegala
The woman, referred to as 'Patient A', had attended five sessions with Teegala at Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead for knee pain and lumbar spine pain.
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woman → refer → pain
The Tribunal heard that during his fifth consultation with Patient A, he lifted up her shirt, rubbed her breast, pulled down her bra, grabbed her breasts, bent over and licked her nipple during a 90-minute massage.
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he → hear → massage
Upon leaving the clinic, Teegala 'went to apologise' to Patient A, who allegedly told him five times to 'stop following her' and threatened to call the police.
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who → leave → police
However, Teegala gave evidence that she only told him once.
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she → give → him
Patient A's husband complained to the clinic later that day, and Teegala was sacked from the clinic the following day.
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Teegala → complain → clinic
On July 11, he was arrested and charged with sexually touching Patient A without consent.
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he → arrest → consent
However, upon being charged, Teegala failed to notify the board, and it wasn't until six months after his conviction that he did so.
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he → charge → conviction
Teegala was treating the woman at Good Street Medical Centre in Westmead
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Teegala → treat → Westmead
During an interim hearing with the Physiotherapy Council on July 19, Teegala denied having any attraction to the woman, conceded the conduct was 'out of character' and had crossed 'personal and professional boundaries'.
He also denied being under the influence of any drugs or alcohol.
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He → deny → drugs
In February 2025, he pleaded guilty in Parramatta Local Court and was convicted and sentenced to a two-year community corrections order.
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he → plead → order
During sentencing, the magistrate described Teegala's offending as 'a significant breach of trust and a complete betrayal' of Patient A 'who went there in good faith to be treated for her knee pain'.
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who → describe → pain
A subsequent appeal against the sentence in the District Court was dismissed.
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appeal → dismiss → Court
The Tribunal found that Teegala 'clearly knew the appropriate boundaries and need for consent', and that 'his massaging of the patient's breasts and the licking of her nipple were clearly very wrong'.
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massaging → find → nipple
While the HCCC relied on Teegala's 'comprehensive submissions', the Tribunal noted he appeared 'keen to downplay the seriousness of the sexual aspects of his offending behaviour' by describing it as 'misjudgement', 'recklessness', 'opportunism' and 'spur of the moment'.
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he → rely → moment
During sentencing, the magistrate described Teegala's offending as 'a significant breach of trust and a complete betrayal' of Patient A 'who went there in good faith to be treated for her knee pain'
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who → describe → pain
It further found that he had 'acted forcefully and persistently towards Patient A despite her protests and evasive actions', before following her in what she saw as a 'predatory manner'.
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she → find → manner
However, the Tribunal also took into consideration that Mr Teegala had practised as a physiotherapist for many years without complaint or incident, and was suffering personal stresses in the lead-up to his offending.
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Teegala → take → offending
The Tribunal found that the circumstances of Teegala's conduct made him 'unfit in the public interest' to practise physiotherapy, and cancelled his registration with a non-review period for two years.
He was also barred from providing any health services during this time and from applying to have his cancellation reviewed.
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cancellation → find → time
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