Social worker Matilda Bawden permanently banned after Covid anti-vax slur

An anti-vax social worker has been permanently banned from offering Covid-19 advice, after she was previously temporarily prohibited twice.

A social worker from Adelaide’s north who was previously banned from offering Covid-19 health advice in October and November has been permanently prohibited.

This week, Matilda Bawden was permanently banned by the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC) Grant Davies from offering Covid information and vaccine advice.

Ms Bawden was initially banned for 12 weeks on October 13 by the state’s health board, after she excluded recently-vaccinated clients from service.

The HCSCC said that she wrote emails to clients that contained false Covid information.

In November, the 12-week interim prohibition order was extended after further investigation.

Also last year, Ms Bawden was banned from providing all health services, even those non-Covid related.

Matilda Bawden was banned from offering Covid advice. Picture: Today Tonight

But the latest order would allow her to continue to offer social work services, as long as they are not Covid-related.

Assoc Prof Davies said Ms Bawden had provided “false and misleading” information.

“In her email dated 7 April 2021, Ms Bawden said she would be suspending services for a

month with service providers, consumers, family and friends who received a Covid-19

vaccine,” he said.

“She inferred that a person who received a Covid-19 vaccine could ‘shed’ and cause

others to contract Covid-19 and the risk from a Covid-19 vaccine was greater than the

virus itself.”

Assoc Prof Davies said she was “not qualified” to provide Covid information.

Last year, Assoc Prof Davies said Ms Bawden wrote emails to clients that spread false claims about the effectiveness of Covid vaccines, and said they were not welcome to receive her services for a month post-vaccination.

Associate Professor Grant Davies. Picture: Supplied

An email provided to the ABC in April detailed that Ms Bawden “suspended services for a month with any service providers, clients, family and friends who are taking the COVID19 (sic) vaccine”.

The email said that “risks” associated with “exposing ourselves” to the vaccine prompted the decision.

“My staff and I will not be exposing ourselves to the risks of shedding as I have family members with auto-immune illnesses and so do many of our clients,” she wrote.

“I also have a family member who was severely vaccine-injured and is at risk of further harm should she contract another infection.”

The commissioner received more than 50 complaints last year relating to practitioners including physical trainers, counsellors, massage therapists and naturopaths.