Sydney radio station 2Day FM treated a nurse at a London hospital in a highly exploitative way when it put to air a "royal prank" call, the broadcasting watchdog has found.
In its investigation report into the 2012 incident, the Australian Communications and Media Authority determined the station breached parts of the industry code and its licence that prohibits identifiable persons being broadcast without their consent.
Its hoax call to the London hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge was being treated for severe morning sickness also breached a clause preventing people on programs being treated in a highly demeaning or exploitative manner.
The authority noted the potential repercussions on both the professional standing and personal reputation of both the nurse who put through the call and another nurse who gave details of the Duchess' condition.
The first nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, took her own life following widespread exposure of the call.
"This is a case where the licensee has breached an important community safeguard," the authority's chairman Chris Chapman said.
"The community rightly expects broadcasters will not record and broadcast these sorts of private conversations when consent has not been given."
But 2Day FM did not contravene other parts of the code which spell out certain decency and privacy obligations, the authority found.
The authority will now determine what sanctions to impose on the station, including suspending or cancelling its licence.
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