A GP accused of making racist and homophobic comments to patients has won his case to have supervision requirements lifted, with a tribunal finding they were the “equivalent of a suspension”.

The GP, who runs a solo bulk-billing practice in regional Victoria, came to the attention of AHPRA following two complaints.

A patient of Maori background claimed the GP had told her: “New Zealanders with both Māori and European descent do not want to acknowledge European descent because they want to claim Māori descent for government benefits.”

The patient was also upset by an anecdote the GP allegedly shared about a relative of Maori background he said had been taken captive in another country but released because his captors thought he was a native of that country.