Nigerian-Born Nurse Chimzuruoke Okembunachi Loses Australian Registration for Repeatedly Sleeping on Duty at Aged Care Home"
A 25-year-old Nigerian-born nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has had her nursing registration cancelled in Australia after a tribunal found her guilty of professional misconduct for repeatedly sleeping on duty during night shifts at an aged care facility. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) delivered its decision in late January 2026, ruling that Okembunachi's actions—falling asleep on six separate nights between March 13 and 27, 2024—posed a serious risk to patient safety. As the sole registered nurse in charge at Hardi Aged Care (HAC) in Guildford, western Sydney, she was responsible for supervising three to four assistants-in-nursing (AINs) and around 100 elderly residents. On three occasions, residents missed prescribed doses of morphine due to her failure to supervise or respond. Evidence included CCTV footage showing her sleeping for extended periods, such as over four hours on one shift with lights off in the nurses' station. Additional misconduct included i...