Court Orders Fake Podiatrist to Complete Sentence Under Community Supervision
21 Jul 2026
David Nasr admitted to 16 offences after falsely presenting himself as a podiatrist despite never being registered to practise in Australia.
From November 2023 to May 2025, he visited patients in their homes and worked across 14 Sydney aged care facilities, carrying out more than 600 podiatry appointments.
The court heard that the majority of the people he treated were living with significant health conditions or disabilities, making them particularly vulnerable.
Although Mr Nasr enrolled in a Bachelor of Podiatry, he did not finish the course and never met the requirements for professional registration.
Earlier this year, he received a two-year prison sentence, the largest penalty handed down in an Ahpra prosecution and only the second custodial sentence since Australia's National Registration and Accreditation Scheme began in 2010.
After appealing the decision, the Sydney District Court kept the two-year sentence in place but changed how it will be served. Instead of going to prison, Mr Nasr will complete the sentence under an Intensive Corrections Order (ICO).
An ICO is a prison sentence served in the community under strict legal conditions. As part of the order, Mr Nasr must report to Community Corrections, complete 200 hours of community service, and follow all court-imposed requirements.
The court also directed him to pay $37,000 to cover Ahpra's legal costs.
Acting Judge Antony Townsden said the offences were extremely serious and acknowledged the importance of Australia's health practitioner laws in protecting the public. However, the court concluded that supervised rehabilitation in the community would better reduce the risk of future offending than full-time imprisonment.
Court Orders Fake Podiatrist to Complete Sentence Under Community Supervision
Source: Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)