Former Australian of the Year finalist and women's rights activist Eman Sharobeem is not registered with the national health practitioner regulator, despite having publicly claimed to be a psychologist.
A Sun-Herald investigation last month revealed Ms Sharobeem has had her assets frozen and she faces the possibility of up to five years' jail as part of a fraud investigation into her unexplained wealth by the NSW Crime Commission and the ICAC.
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Dr Eman Sharobeem migrated to Australia more than 30 years ago. Since then she has earned two PhDs and campaigned against issues such as forced marriage and family violence.
Now a review of other aspects of Ms Sharobeem's life has left unanswered questions around her professional qualifications and academic record.
Her claim to hold multiple PhDs is in doubt – neither her lawyer nor her son will provide evidence supporting the claim – and a government department that confirmed details from a CV she submitted claiming to have two PhDs suddenly said it would be a breach of privacy to disclose further information from the same CV when asked which institutions she claimed to have attended.
Since rising to prominence with a series of awards and government advisory positions due to community work and an inspiring life story of a forced marriage as a teenager to her first cousin, Ms Sharobeem has stated in interviews that she is a psychologist.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency lists every registered health practitioner and keeps records of those who have had registrations cancelled.
An agency spokeswoman said: "A search for 'Eman Sharobeem' and 'psychology' returned no results on the register. This shows that she is not registered with the Psychology Board of Australia.
"You can't call yourself any of the protected titles in the law without being registered."
![Eman Sharobeem has had her assets frozen by the NSW Crime Commission.](/web/20170312020834im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/g/r/1/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guveo0.png/1489233473766.jpg)
In a 2012 interview on the ABC's Sunday Profile, Ms Sharobeem was asked: "You're a psychologist yourself?" Ms Sharobeem: "I am."
Ms Sharobeem ran the Immigrant Women's Health Service organisation for 11 years until 2015. Its funding was cut amid a governance inquiry a year later. The Supreme Court ordered an asset freeze last month, meaning Ms Sharobeem cannot dispose of four houses or her car. She and sons Charlie and Richard must front court to answer questions about her wealth.
Ms Sharobeem has stated in interviews and professional biographies that she has multiple PhDs, one in psychology and another in management leadership. Fairfax Media has been unable to find any evidence supporting the claim.
Trove, a depository of Australian PhD theses, records no results under her name. There are no academic papers readily available quoting her work.
Ms Sharobeem's lawyer, Mark Smith of Brander Smith McKnight, has not responded to requests to clarify her academic and professional qualifications. Her son Richard also declined to comment.
A biography for gender violence project Positively Remarkable People states Ms Sharobeem gained an undergraduate degree in accounting and business administration from Ain Shams University at the age of 16 before leaving Egypt, adding she did postgraduate study in Australia.
"After arriving in Australia, Eman continued to study, gaining a Master's degree in Social Science and doctorates in Psychology and Management in Organisational Leadership," it says.
Professional biographies from organisations she has represented appear to contain inconsistencies around her qualifications. The website of the Australian of the Year Council, of which Ms Sharobeem was a NSW ambassador, says she holds two doctorates. An annual report of the NSW Community Relations Commission said she was a PhD. Multicultural NSW's annual report accords her a Psy. D.
Social Services Minister Christian Porter last year announced Ms Sharobeem as a member of the Settlement Services Advisory Council. A department spokeswoman said she resigned, citing ill health, on Wednesday. She said the department performed "due diligence" before her appointment, including on a "resume from Dr Eman Sharobeem identifying her educational background, including the attainment of a PhD in psychology, family and community and a PhD in management in organisational leadership".
Asked to identify from which institutions she received the PhD, the spokeswoman replied: "Due to privacy concerns the department cannot declare that information without consent."
In April last year, Ms Sharobeem was appointed community engagement manager of broadcaster SBS. A network spokeswoman would not comment on her CV. Ms Sharobeem left the network citing ill health around the time of the asset freeze.
Following her SBS appointment, Ms Sharobeem was added to Who's Who Women in Australia. While her listing contains personal achievements, it does not contain academic qualifications.
Michael O'Connell from AAP, which compiled data for the entry, said Ms Sharobeem was approached to include academic qualifications but the editors received no response.
Ms Sharobeem has stated she left Australia for several years after her husband died, believed to be around 1997, during which time she says she worked for Egypt's National Women's Council.
The University of Alexandria library holds theses and dissertations from all Egyptian universities, and says: "Any student who has obtained a Master's or a Doctoral degree from any Egyptian university must deposit a copy of his/her thesis with the [library] as a requirement for the fulfilment of his/her degree." Its database shows no postgraduate degree earned by Ms Sharobeem.