Court ruling involving a hospital (Friendly Society Private Hospital) in Bundaberg

What happened in the case?

In mid‑2025 the Friendly Society Private Hospital in Bundaberg dismissed its Director of Clinical Services, Ms Coie Wilson.

After her termination, Ms Wilson raised serious concerns about regulatory and patient safety issues with various oversight bodies — and later lodged a wrongful dismissal complaint with the Fair Work Commission.

The media statement and why it mattered
While the hospital was trying to get some confidential documents returned via the Supreme Court, it issued a media statement featuring Ms Wilson’s photo.
That statement claimed she was being taken to court for “unauthorised access to and theft of data” which the judge said presented allegations as if they were proven facts, which they were not.
The hospital also emailed this to Ms Wilson’s new employer, which quickly affected her employment.

The court’s decision on costs

When it came to who should pay legal costs, the judge refused to award costs to either party.
The hospital had asked to be reimbursed for its legal costs, but the court rejected that request partly because its public media release was judged “unfair and unreasonable” and not an accurate report of what was happening in court.

Why this matters
This ruling serves as a reminder that organisations  even when involved in legal disputes  need to be careful about how they communicate publicly. Statements that suggest wrongdoing as fact before a court has decided anything can backfire and influence legal outcomes, including cost orders.

:-This summary is based on reporting from HCMag (January 21, 2026), in the article “Court rejects hospital costs claim over media statement about dismissed executive” (hcamag.com), and coverage from local Bundaberg news outlets