World champion triathlete accuses private school organisation of bullying, sexism

One of Australia’s most successful female athletes has accused the Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria of bullying, sexism and intimidation as she claims she was unlawfully sacked.

World champion triathlete Emma Carney has accused a leading elite private school organisation of unlawful behaviours.

One of Australia’s most successful female athletes has accused a leading elite private school organisation of unlawful behaviour including bullying, standover tactics, intimidation, unlawful dismissal, sexism and coercive control.

World champion triathlete Emma Carney, who is a member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and a multiple world champion, joined the Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria (AGSV) in January 2023.

She settled a claim with them last month after commencing proceedings in the Fair Work Commission.

Ms Carney was hired as the events co-ordinator for the association’s senior program before being promoted to run the junior program. She claimed she was unlawfully sacked in September 2024 following fabricated and untrue allegations made against her.

Emma Carney claims she was unlawfully sacked in September 2024 following fabricated and untrue allegations made against her. Picture: Mark Stewart

The AGSV is one of Victoria’s most prestigious private school sporting organisations with nine member schools including Peninsula Grammar, Yarra Valley Grammar, Trinity Grammar, Mentone Grammar, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar and Camberwell Grammar.

In papers filed with the Fair Work Commission to fight her dismissal, Ms Carney said she “felt bullied for most of my time in the AGSV Office, more so in 2024”.

“I have never received a conduct or performance warning; I have only received positive feedback,” she said.

Issues arose over the expectation that she worked unpaid hours – sometimes 12 hour days without planned breaks - use her private mobile phone for work without compensation and the performance of tasks out of hours that were physically demanding without help.

She stated that as an AGSV staff member, she was not provided with an employment policy or a grievance process.

It’s understood the organisation claimed she had been asked to make changes to her work practices in “informal meetings and discussions”.

A number of allegations were made by the organisation against Ms Carney, ranging from swearing, being unable to prepare documents and not using a whiteboard. She was also accused of being lazy, disruptive and under-performing.

Ms Carney said she ‘felt bullied for most of my time in the AGSV Office’.

Ms Carney claimed the accusations made of her were contrived and did not take place, were not possible on the dates claimed and were fabricated.

By September 2024, at the height of the alleged bullying, Ms Carney was asked not to come to work and all AGSV Sports Staff heads were allegedly told “not contact Emma Carney by phone or email”.

At the AGSV championships on 11 September, which Ms Carney had organised for the AGSV, school staff and officials were told she had been “sacked”.

On receiving legal advice, Ms Carney filed a Stop Bullying form with the Fair Work Commission on Friday 13 September. She claimed she was not given a copy of the claims against her and was not given a “single warning or discussion about my performance of conduct”.

Yarra Valley Grammar principal Mark Merry. Picture: Josie Hayden

“There was no clear facts or evidence provided and no employment policies provided so I could understand the process,” she told the commission.

“I felt isolated, alone and without any power to have the truth be heard,” she said.

“I have been employed by the AGSV for almost two years, received a pay rise and only positive reviews and feedback, so these fabricated accusations are not credible.”

After mediation failed, the matter was resolved after a confidential settlement offer was made by AGSV which Ms Carney accepted.

Yarra Valley Grammar principal Mark Merry, chair of the AGSV, said: “There was an application made but it was discontinued. There were no findings against the AGSV. Otherwise, it is not appropriate for me to comment. I am limited in the remarks I can make due to privacy and confidentiality constraints.”