Commission rules telehealth practice unfairly sacked psychologist for misconduct claim
Telehealth employer Very Helpful Chats misfired when it summarily sacked a senior psychologist for “serious misconduct,” the Fair Work Commission has found, ordering compensation instead.
In a decision issued on 28 November 2025, Commissioner Redford held that Very Helpful Chats Pty Ltd (VHC), an entirely online telehealth psychology practice, unfairly dismissed senior psychologist Yvonne Daly after about 13 months of service. Daly, who has a Masters in Counselling Psychology from Swinburne University and is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, worked remotely like all VHC staff. She applied for an unfair dismissal remedy under the Fair Work Act 2009.
Daly was dismissed on 30 May 2025 and later received a letter stating that her employment had been terminated for serious misconduct. VHC’s case rested on three broad allegations: dishonesty and breach of trust in supervising a junior psychologist known as “Psychologist A”; “seriously inappropriate behaviour” in questioning a colleague’s LGBTQIA+ identity; and wilful or deliberate conduct towards administrative staff, including allegedly misrepresenting internal definitions and processes on client retention and dropout rates.
Because VHC operates entirely online, much day‑to‑day interaction was captured by transcription software, including a program called Tactiq. The Commission received voluminous...
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