NSW nurses Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh given two year NDIS bans
Two nurses who featured in a controversial viral video have suffered another setback, as they await their court cases.
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Two nurses charged over a viral video in which they allegedly discussed killing Israeli patients have also been banned from working with NDIS participants.
Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh were stood down from their jobs at NSW Health in February, after they were caught on camera allegedly making violent threats against Israelis while on an app called Chatruletka.
After the incident, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency also confirmed Mr Nadir and Ms Abu Lebdeh’s registrations had been suspended.
Now the pair have been slapped with a ban from working with NDIS participants for a period of two years.
People can be banned permanently or temporarily, even if they’ve not worked in the sector.
Government agencies work together to share information about workers in healthcare and care industries.
Mr Nadir and Ms Lebdeh were working at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney when they were randomly connected to an Israeli content creator and social media personality Max Veifer on the video chat app, designed to bring strangers together to spark conversation. Mr Veifer recorded the conversation.
In the video, which Mr Veifer later uploaded to TikTok, the nurses allegedly said they refused to treat Israelis and would “kill them” if they presented to their ward.
The video sparked widespread condemnation, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. NSW Premier Chris Minns promised the two nurses would never work for the state’s health service again.
The pair are also currently before the courts with Mr Nadir, 27, charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and possessing a prohibited drug.
Mr Nadir’s lawyer Zemarai Khatiz revealed outside court in March that his client would plead not guilty on “legal and technical grounds”, claiming that he didn’t consent to being recorded.
Ms Lebdeh, 26, is charged with three Commonwealth offences — threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend.
Mr Nadir’s lawyer said his client would not be making any comments in relation to his NDIS ban.
Ms Lebdeh’s lawyer had not responded to our request for comment before our deadline.
The nurses are among 133 people and businesses who were given banning orders between January and the end of May this year for a wide variety of reasons.
They include a disability carer who claimed she was unfairly banned after several OnlyFans videos of her and her client, an ex boyfriend, were found on his phone.
A former president of a Lions club and his wife, a beauty pageant judge, were behind an NDIS company that was permanently banned by the watchdog.
The sole director behind Cocoon SDA Care, Muhammad Latif was also on the list.
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Originally published as NSW nurses Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh given two year NDIS bans