He assaulted a coworker during training. A court called the firing discrimination
Services Australia fired a worker for punching a colleague. A court said that was unlawful. Now the Federal Court is not so sure.
The agency - which delivers Centrelink and Medicare on behalf of the Australian Government - was granted leave to appeal on September 29, 2026, after a Federal Court judge found "sufficient doubt" about the lower court's reasoning in a general protections case under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
The worker started at Services Australia on November 13, 2023. Within days, he lodged four written complaints - on November 16, 17 and 22 - alleging a colleague had made derogatory comments about his sexuality and his race. The worker is an Indigenous man.
An internal investigation followed. The investigator concluded the complaints had not been substantiated, finding it was "unable to find any evidence that the allegations did occur." The worker was invited to a meeting to discuss the outcome. He did not attend.
Then came December 5.
During a staff training session, the worker punched another employee twice to the head. That employee had nothing to do with the earlier complaints.
Services Australia suspended the worker the next day and launched a detailed investigation. On December 15, 2023, it terminated his employment for serious misconduct.
The worker filed his own claim under the Fair Work Act. He argued on two fronts: first, that the agency retaliated against him for...
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