The cost of the case between the taxpayer funded broadcaster and its former journalist was revealed in recent reports
The highly broadcasted and controversial case between ABC and former journalist Antoinette Lattouf reportedly cost taxpayers over $2.6 million.
The ABC hired journalist Antoinette Lattouf on a five‑day casual radio contract in December 2023, then took her off air after three days following an Instagram post sharing Human Rights Watch content about the war.
Lattouf took the fight to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), arguing unfair dismissal on the grounds of her political opinion and ethnicity.
The Federal Court agreed her engagement was unlawfully ended for reasons including her political opinion about the Israeli military campaign in Gaza but rejected the race claim.
The ABC was ordered to pay the former employee $70,000 in initial compensation and a further $150,000 penalty.
The true cost for ABC, however, is far higher, with recent senate estimates placing the total at over $2.6 million.
Reports claim ABC spent over $550,000 in the Fair Work Commission in the 2024 financial year, more than $1.8 million in the Federal Court from the 2024 financial year to the 2026 financial year.
As a publicly-funded broadcaster, these costs are paid by the taxpayer.
Justice Darryl Rangiah said during the case that the ABC "let down the Australia public badly when it abjectly surrendered the rights of its employee Ms Lattouf to appease a lobby group."
"The ABC's contraventions have caused very significant consequences for Ms Lattouf."
