The 33-year-old had only been in the country four days by the time she was taken into custody on Wednesday night.
Ms Shao's arrest followed a procedure she allegedly performed at a Chippendale beauty clinic that ended with Jean Huang suffering a cardiac arrest.
The 35-year-old is fighting for life in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Ms Huang, who managed the business, was being injected with a form of filler at the The Medi Beauty Clinic when she went into cardiac arrest late on Wednesday afternoon.
According to court documents, Shao administred lidocaine, an anaesthetic, as well as an "intoxicating substance" the drug tramadol, into Ms Huang's chest.
"If she does [survive], it's anticipated she will have some degree of brain damage," police said in a statement of facts tendered in Central Local Court on Thursday.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Rutzou told Magistrate Sharon Freund that Ms Shao was due to leave Australia today.
He said bail was opposed because Ms Shao posed an unacceptable risk to the community and was a flight risk as she had no ties to Australia and was facing serious charges.
"If (the victim) does not survive there will be more serious charges laid," he said.
The court heard Ms Shao had a masters degree from a UK university and specialised in dermatology - but she was not qualified to practise here.
"It's clear she was working at a cosmetic surgery where these sorts of procedures were carried out," Mr Rutzou said.
There are grave fears for Ms Huang, who is still listed in a critical condition and has not regained consciousness.
Legal Aid lawyer Mary Underwood argued Ms Shao could be released on bail with strict conditions including not carrying out any beauty treatments and not approaching employees of the Medi Beauty Clinic.
Ms Freund said she believed the prosecution case was a strong one and if convicted Ms Shao faced a lengthy jail term.
The magistrate told the court Ms Shao had admitted to administering local anaesthetic and breast fillers to Ms Huang.
She denied Ms Shao bail, saying there was an unacceptable risk she would interfere with witnesses or "endanger" the community.
"In my view it's a very strong prosecution case and in the event that she's convicted... I'm of the view that she will receive a custodial sentence," Ms Freund said.
Ms Shao was remanded in custody to reappear in court next week.
The Medi Beauty performs non-surgical facelifts, fat freezing and anti-wrinkle injections. According to the company's Facebook page, the Chippendale clinic opened on May 30 this year at the Central Park building's retail space.
The Australia Society of Plastic Surgeons said no cosmetic procedure was without risk.
"While we can't comment on this specific case which is the subject of police charges, we can only reiterate that no cosmetic procedure is risk free. This includes procedures such as lasers, fillers and anti-wrinkle treatments," said Professor Mark Ashton, President of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons.
"We cannot emphasise enough the importance of people being aware of the risks and doing their research into the qualifications of their practitioner and facility where their procedure is being conducted.
"Many of these procedures are invasive in nature or involve prescription item drugs which can be toxic if administered incorrectly," said Professor Ashton.
