FileNo:Contact:Telephone:Email:
09101695
Leanne
Evans
92197416
levans@hccc.nsw.gov.au
HEALTHCARE
COMPLAINTS
COMMISSION
Mr
Ken
McLeod
PO
Box
51
MORUYANSW
2537
(I
PRIVATEANDCONFIDENTIAL
II
Dear
Mr
McLeodRe:
Complaint
concerningthe
Australian
Vaccination
NetworkI
am
writingtoadviseyouoftheoutcomeoftheOffice
of
theHealthCareComplaintsCommissioninvestigationintoyourcomplaintconcerningtheAustralianVaccinationNetworkanditspresident,
Ms
MerylDorey.TheCommissionhasdeterminedthatthehealtheducationserviceprovidedbytheAustralianVaccinationNetwork
on
itswebsiteprovidesmisleadingandinaccurateinformation
on
thesubject
of
vaccination.
In
view
of
this,theCommissionhasmadethefollowingrecommendation
to
theAustralianVaccinationNetwork,pursuant
to
section
42(1
)(b)
of
the
HealthCareComplaintsAct,
1993(theAct):Recommendation:
The
AustralianVaccinationNetworkshouldincludeanappropriatestatement
in
a
prominentposition
on
itswebsitewhichstates:
1.
theAustralianVaccinationNetwork'spurposeis
to
provideinformationagainstvaccination
in
order
to
balancewhat
it
believesis
the
substantialamount
of
pro-vaccinationinformationavailableelsewhere;
2.
theinformationprovidedshouldnot
be
readasmedicaladvice;and
3.
thedecisionaboutwhether
or
not
to
vaccinateshould
be
made
in
consultationwith
a
healthcareprovider.
PleasefindenclosedfurtherinformationabouttheCommission'sinvestigationandthereasonsforitsdecisionsetout
in
theInvestigationReport.TheAustralianVaccinationNetworkhas
14
days
to
complywiththisrecommendation.
Officeaddress
1_8ve113
323
CastlereaghStreetSYDNEY
NSW2000
Postaddress
LockedMaiiBag18STRAWBERRYHIl.l.S
NSW2012
TollFreeinNSW1800043159
T
(02)92197444
F
(02)928",
4585Ehccc@hccc.nsw.gov.su
Wwww.hccc.nsw.gov.au
ABN
62
909056262
OX
11617
SYDNEYDOWNTOWN
Undersection44oftheAct,theCommissionwillfollow
up
theimplementationoftherecommendationand
in
theeventthattheAustralianVaccinationNetworkfails
to
complywiththerecommendationtheCommissionwillmakea
pUblic
statement.Ifyouhaveanyenquiriesregardingthecontents
of
thisletterpleasecontactLeanneEvans,InvestigationOfficer,
on
92197416orbyemailtolevans@hccc.nsw.qov.au.Yourssincerely
J9.-
~ n ; e h m
....
.
Commissioner
[J
7
Office
ofthe
HealthCareComplaintsCommission
Privateand
Confidential
INVESTIGATIONREPORT
Respondent:Complainants:Filenumber:Investigator:
Australian
Vaccination
Network
I
MsMerylDorey
Mr
KenMcLeod,MrsToni&
Mr
DavidMcCaffery
09/01695
&
10/00002
LeanneEvans
Background
TheAustralianVaccinationNetwork(AVN)is
an
Australiannon-profitorganisationregistered
in
NewSouthWales,founded
in
1994,TheAVNprovidesinformationaboutvaccination
on
itswebsitewww.avn.orq.au.
On
thehomepage
of
thewebsite
is
awelcomemessage
stating'
The
A
VN
urgesyou
10
investigate
before
youvaccinate'
whichgoeson
to
say:
'Webelieve
it
is
a
parent'sright
to
choose
what'sbestfortheirchild
...
somewouldsaythatthis
is
one
of
themostbasicrules
of
anycivilisedsociety.
Yet
governmentsallovertheworldhaveabridgedordeniedtheright
to
freechoicewhen
it
comes
to
vaccinations,vaccinesandimmunisations.
The
AustralianVaccinationNetwork
is
working
to
helpparentstakebackthatright
to
freeandinformedchoicebyallowingthem
to
seethelesspublicisedside
of
thisimportantissuebeforemaking
a
decision.
,1
Ms
MerylDorey
is
thepresidentoftheorganisation.
Ms
Doreyspeaks
on
the
SUbject
ofvaccination
on
localradioandatanumberofdifferentforumsincludingtheBachelorofNaturopathycourseconductedbySouthernCrossUniversity,pregnancydiscussiongroups,andtheWoodfordFolkFestival.
Ms
Dorey
is
alsoeditor
of
'LivingWisdom'
magazinewhich
is
distributedthroughtheAVNwebsite.The
complaints
Mr
KenMcLeod
On22
July2009,Mr
Ken
McLeodmadeacomplaintabouttheAVN
and
Ms
Dorey
to
theHealthCareComplaintsCommission(theCommission),allegingthattheAVNengages
in
misleading
and
deceptiveconduct
in
order
to
persuadepeoplenottovaccinatethemselvesortheirchildren.
In
his
complaint,
Mr
McLeodclaimedthatthe
AVN
is
ahealthorganisation
and
Ms
Doreyahealthcareproviderunderthe
HealthCareComplaintsAct
1993(theAct)andallegedthatboththeAVNand
Ms
Doreyengage
in
misleadinganddeceptiveconducttodissuadeparentsfromvaccinatingtheirchildren
by:
1
www.avn.org.au
InvestigationReportregarding
the
AustralianVaccinationNetwork
I
Ms
MerylDoreyPage1
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
HCCC Final Report Text-seachable
The Final Report from the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission revealing the mendacity of the so-called "Australian Vaccination Network" and its occasional ratbag president, Meryl Dorey. (Posted pursuant to the US Digital Millenium Copyright…
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