Psychiatrist deemed Joel Cauchi ‘fit and proper’ to hold gun licence ahead of Bondi Junction stabbings

Joel Cauchi, a Brisbane psychiatrist deemed fit to hold a gun license in 2021 after assessing him as posing no risk, later became a serial killer who killed eight people at a shopping center before being shot dead by police. His psychiatrist, Dr C, provided the recommendation without considering his mother's concerns about potential mental decline and his extensive use of antipsychotics. A subsequent psychiatrist in Brisbane, Dr A, failed to recall him based on ambiguous communication, and subsequent events showed that neither GP had acted on his concerns, highlighting missed red flags that could have prevented the tragedy.