SYDNEY, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The Australian government has apologised to three women who worked for the country’s most powerful court, awarding them an undisclosed settlement after they were found to have been sexually harassed by a High Court justice.
Three women who were sexually harassed by former High Court justice Dyson Heydon have secured a historic compensation payout.
Key points:
- An investigation found former judge Dyson Heydon had sexually harassed six female High Court associates
- Three of the victims have struck a confidential settlement with the court
- The federal government has saluted the women’s courage
The women’s lawyer, Josh Bornstein, said he believed it was the first settlement under the Sex Discrimination Act for findings of sexual harassment against a serving federal judge.
The High Court apologised publicly to the trio — Rachel Patterson Collins, Chelsea Tabart and Alex Eggerking — as well as to three other unnamed women in 2020 after an independent investigation, led by Vivienne Thom, upheld their allegations.
Five of the women had worked as associates to Mr Heydon, while the other had worked for a different High Court justice.
After Dr Thom completed her inquiry, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel said the findings were of “extreme concern” to all of the court’s justices and staff.
“We’re ashamed that this could have happened at the High Court of Australia,” she said in a statement.
