Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s ousted chief executive Emma Dunch launched legal action against her former employer on April 6 in the Federal Court, seeking $74,561 in outstanding entitlements (plus interest) in addition to the $471,302 of entitlements she received upon her termination in December.

Dunch now claims her employment was terminated by the SSO board of directors either because Dunch sacked a member of the orchestra in October who had been charged with rape in June (the complainant is a fellow player), because Dunch hired former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick to conduct a review into SSO’s organisational culture, because Dunch filed a written complaint about SSO chairman Geoff Wilson allegedly suggesting in November that she should “consider her options”, or an amorphous combination of the three.