BCF owner Super Retail wants to suppress ‘embarrassing’ offer details, court told
The owner of Supercheap Auto and BCF has been accused of trying to suppress key details of an alleged settlement with two former legal executives.
Scandal-ridden Super Retail Group is seeking to have key details of an alleged settlement offer made to two sacked female executives suppressed due to the embarrassment it could have caused the retailer and to hide its “dirty laundry”, a court has been told.
Furthermore it was vital to the spirit of “open justice” this suppression, covering a number of paragraphs detailing the alleged settlement offer made by Super Retail to whistleblowers Rebecca Farrell and Amelia Berczelly be lifted, and Super Retail not be allowed to “cherry pick” what is suppressed and what is not, the court heard.
On Friday Larina Alick, executive counsel at media company Nine Network, appeared before Justice Yaseen Shariff of the Federal Court, flanked by Benjamin Regattieri, legal counsel for News Corp Australia — the publisher of The Australian — as both media representatives sought leave to appeal a decision to allow suppression of key material around the Super Retail workplace harassment case.
Ms Alick argued lawyers for Super Retail were seeking to “suppress parts that would be embarrassing to the company”, referring to without prejudice negotiations that had taken place between Super Retail, Ms Farrell and Ms Berczelly over their allegations of workplace harassment and bullying, as well as poor corporate governance at the retailer whose chains include Rebel, Supercheap Auto and BCF.
John Hyde Page, appearing for Ms Farrell, said in his submission Super Retail and its management were trying to hide the company’s “dirty laundry” from public view.
“The only thing one is left with is a large corporation and a management team that wants the court to hide its dirty laundry. Suppression orders do not get made in those sorts of circumstances,” he said.
Ms Alick also raised the possibility of this suppression issue never being raised again, as the court case separate to the matter runs its course, or is settled, meaning the full details of the alleged offer and the suppressed paragraphs being buried from public view forever.
Late in 2024, Ms Farrell and Ms Berczelly had their opening case against Super Retail dismissed by judge Michael Lee in the Federal Court, meaning their attempt to force the retailer to meet the provisions of an alleged settlement offer had failed.
While Ms Farrell and Ms Berczelly lost the opening battle against the $3.15bn retailer their main case revolving around allegations of workplace bullying and, sensationally, an alleged illicit affair between Super Retail chief executive Anthony Heraghty and then-head of HR Jane Kelly, will begin early in 2026.
Super Retail has consistently denied such a relationship took place between Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly and has strongly denied the other allegations of Ms Farrell, its former legal boss, and Ms Berczelly, its former company secretary. However, a previous ruling has allowed for parts of the alleged settlement offer made by Super Retail to Ms Farrell and Ms Berczelly to remain suppressed.
Matthew Follett KC, appearing for Super Retail, told Justice Shariff on Friday it was “crystal clear” the details of the discussions between the parties was highly commercially sensitive, and if without prejudice negotiations were allowed to be made public it could discourage settlements between parties for fear they would be seen by the public.
Justice Shariff reserved his decision.
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