Kylie Maree Hatfield in Rockhampton court for trafficking meth

A Medibank consultant caught out trafficking meth has used her own health to argue she should not be sentenced to jail time.

Kylie Maree Hatfield.

A Rockhampton Medibank ‘health and wellness advisor’ caught out trafficking meth has used her own health to argue she should not be sentenced to jail time.

Kylie Maree Hatfield, 41, trafficked dangerous drugs for 16 months between July 31, 2022, and October 3, 2023, the Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard on November 7.

The mum, former hairdresser, Capricornia Credit Union and NAB worker even trafficked while on bail.

She trafficked methamphetamine and marijuana as she fell into the “grips of addiction” after a series of personal tragedies, including the loss of her house and breakdown of her relationship, according to defence barrister Steven Dickson.

Mr Dickson said Hatfield recently had a cancer scare and sending her to jail would take away much-needed family support.

He argued that although the trafficking was over a lengthy period of time that it was not an “intense operation”, with her supplying only about once a week and the majority was in very low amounts.

Mr Dickson said his client was funding her own drug habit by selling to friends.

He said “achieved success in her life and tragedy struck her”.

Mr Dickson said his client’s partner was attacked in 2021 and that her partner did not recover well emotionally and stopped working.

“They owned a house and she struggled to pay the mortgage,” he said.

“Being a recreational user of drugs, in her moment of stress she turned to the drug and started to develop an addiction.

“The relationship broke down adding to the stress and her life spiralled from there.”

He said his client continued to work while struggling with her addiction.

Mr Dickson said she worked for Joblife and My Pathway, organisations that assisted people who were down on their luck, and underwent training to enter the real estate profession.

Crown prosecutor Joshua Phillips argued that Hatfield wasn’t so much in the grips of an addiction that she couldn’t obtain and maintain employment, noting she was also able to secure work with Medibank as a consultant during the drug trafficking period.

Hatfield spent 64 days in custody before being granted Supreme Court bail in December 2023.

Mr Dickson said his client claimed she hadn’t used drugs since her release and had engaged with DrugARM.

He said his client claimed prison was the best thing for her at the time as it helped her “get off drugs”, but she was terrified to return.

Mr Dickson said in recent months his client had found a lump on the left side of her neck under her jaw and she would not have family support in prison.

“There has been some tests done and it is confirmed it is cancerous but further diagnosis needs to be undertaken,” he said.

Mr Dickson said she had also been the full-time carer for her brother who required treatment in Brisbane after his cancer diagnosis and argued that without her he would suffer and that their mother would need to give up her employment to care for him.

Mr Phillips argued there was no “real hardship” for her brother as someone else had been arranged and there was no diagnosis for Hatfield.

“There is no evidence a prison sentence would be a more difficult or onerous one,” he said.

“There is simply not enough information for that conclusion to be reached.”

Justice Graeme Crow said Hatfield supplied drugs on 71 occasions and had a regular customer base of 17 individuals.

Justice Crow said of the 71 supplies, six were marijuana and 65 were meth and she had a rough income of about $17,800.

Hatfield pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking dangerous, one count of possessing a dangerous drug in excess of 2g, three counts of possessing dangerous drugs, two counts of possessing a thing for use in connection with trafficking dangerous drugs, and one count of supplying a dangerous drug with the circumstance of aggravation.

Hatfield stook crying as Justice Crow sentenced her to five years prison, suspended after she served 12 months.

He declared 64 days of presentence custody as time served.