Israel Folau lodges claim against RA for unlawful termination
Israel Folau’s much-anticipated legal action against Rugby Australia has begun, with the fallen Wallabies star seeking 10 million in damages the reinstatement of his contract.
Rugby star Israel Folau has begun legal action against his former employers Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs for unfair dismissal.
The eight-page claim — lodged with the Federal Circuit Court in Melbourne yesterday by the rugby star’s new legal team — argues he was unlawfully dismissed under a key part of the Fair Work Act that disallows sackings because of a person’s religion.
The decision comes after the former Wallaby and RA failed to reach an agreement at a mediation hearing at the Fair Work Commission on June 28.
“Unfortunately, our conciliation before the Fair Work Commission did not resolve the matters between us and I have been left with no choice but to commence court action,” Folau said in a statement on Thursday.
Folau’s new legal team of solicitors MacPherson Kelley and barrister Stuart Wood QC argue in the claim that there was “nothing unlawful about his conduct” and it “certainly did not justify Mr Folau losing his career and livelihood”, The Australian reports.
RA terminated Folau’s multimillion dollar contract over a social media post in which he paraphrased a Bible passage, saying “drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters” would go to hell unless they repented.
The committed Christian argues he was unfairly dismissed on religious grounds. Folau, 30, is seeking $10 million in damages from RA and wants his contract reinstated.
Describing Folau as an elite sportsman and record tryscorer, his legal team said he should be playing for the NSW Waratahs and the Wallabies, including in the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
“His form and natural talent suggests he would continue to be a star player for both teams,” the unfair termination claim says.
Folau’s lawyers say he maintained social media accounts “not for any purpose connected to his employment” as a rugby player, but primarily for the purpose of lawfully communicating religious content.
“He did this because of his religious faith, which goes to the very essence of his personhood,” the Folau claim says.
The legal claim against Rugby Australia and the NSW Waratahs is based on section 772 of the Fair Work Act of 2009, which says an employer must not terminate a person’s employment for reasons including: “race, colour, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin”.
Singling out “religion” as the basis of Folau’s unlawful termination, his legal team said Rugby Australia had contravened section 772, acted in breach of contract, relied on terms that were unjust and had unreasonably restrained his playing career. The remedies sought from the court are all of those available: reinstatement, compensation, injunction, financial penalties and an apology.
More than 20,000 people have donated about $2.2 million to help fund Folau’s legal battle via a campaign page set up by the Australian Christian Lobby. The ACL effort replaced an earlier campaign on GoFundMe, which was taken down by the platform for breaching its service guidelines.
Folau thanked his many supporters in the statement.
“I have been blessed to have received the support of tens of thousands of Australians throughout my journey, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has offered their prayers and support. It has meant so much to (wife) Maria and me over the last few months and gives us strength for the road ahead,” he said.
Folau, born to Tongan parents, was baptised and “born again” in December 2017. He is a member of Truth of Jesus Christ Church, a non-denominational church at Kenthurst in Sydney’s northwest.
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