The college was made aware of allegations surrounding former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz months before he took the stage at GP22.
The RACGP was alerted about Oliver Schulz’s alleged connection to a high-profile war crime in March 2022, but kept him on for another year.
Two days ago it emerged that Mr Schulz – who was employed by the RACGP as manager of the Future Leaders Program and who spoke at the GP22 conference in November last year – had been charged with the war crime of murder.
It is alleged that he shot and killed unarmed Afghan man Dad Mohammad in a wheat field in southern Afghanistan in May 2012.
Footage of the incident was the subject of an award-winning ABC Four Corners investigation, Killing Field, which went to air in March 2020.
Mr Schulz was stood down by the army after the footage aired, but he was not publicly identified as the man in the footage at that time.
It’s not clear exactly when he was engaged by the RACGP as manager of the Future Leaders Program, but the college has stated that it was not aware of the issue when he became employed.
The RACGP will not comment further on how long Mr Schulz was employed for, how he came into the job and whether it asked for a reference from the army.
The Medical Republic can reveal that an anthropologist, war crimes researcher and Australian Army veteran, Dr Christopher Elliott (PhD), raised the war crimes allegation with the college in March last year.
Dr Elliott, who has reported on allegations related to Australian special forces since 2017, received a confidential tip in 2020 that Mr Schulz was the prime suspect in the murder of Dad Mohammad following the Four Corners investigation.
“In March 2022, I approached the RACGP to ascertain if they knew the historical particulars of the individual they had employed,” Mr Elliott told TMR.
“At the time, the college stated that they considered the allegation ‘unsubstantiated’ and gave no indication that an internal investigation would be pursued.”
“The delays in Mr Schulz’s case have certainly been lengthy but the accused has now been charged and he is entitled to a trial without undue external commentary.”
Dr Elliott shared his correspondence with TMR.
A college spokesman told him in March 2022: “The Royal Australian College of GPs contracted Oliver Schulz through its usual procurement and hiring processes as a Leadership Development Consultant to conduct certain activities including a Future Leaders Information Webinar designed for RACGP Fellows interested in developing their leadership skills.
“We were aware that Mr Schulz was an SAS member and was engaged for his background and experience in developing leadership capability within the context of the Australian Defence Force.”
Mr Schulz went on to present at the RACGP’s conference in November that year.
It’s unclear whether he is still employed by the college, which said it would “manage this as an employment matter and address it directly with [the] employee”.
It is understood that the RACGP is working to support members who are veterans following the allegations being made public.
