‘Secret’ settlements for Dyson Heydon sex harassment victims

The federal government negotiated to keep secret the amount of settlements paid to three former associates sexually harassed by former High Court judge Dyson Heydon.

Former High Court judge Dyson Heydon. Picture: AAP

The federal government negotiated to keep secret the amount of settlements paid to three former associates sexually harassed by former High Court judge Dyson Heydon.

The revelation came during a Senate estimates hearing on Monday when an Attorney-General’s Department official said it was thought “disclosing those settlement sums might impact more broadly on dispute resolution ­options available or perhaps our processes”. “So our ability to manage future claims of this nature could be affected by disclosure of the amounts paid out in this claim,” Legal Services and Families Group acting deputy secretary Tamsyn Harvey told the legal and constitutional affairs legislation committee.

Ms Harvey rejected committee deputy chair Labor senator Kim Carr’s claim the federal government was managing expectations of any future claimants.

Senator Carr repeatedly asked why the government would not release the information. Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said there was no nondisclosure agreement, which left the women free to speak about their experiences, but the government, represented by its Comcover insurance fund, had asked for a nondisclosure “obligation” in relation to the amount of money they received, which some reports have placed at about $1m in total.

“The claimants in each of these cases agreed to the nondisclosure obligation,” she said. “Each of the claimants is able to talk about the allegations that were made.”  An independent investigation by Vivienne Thom found in 2020 that Mr Heydon had sexually harassed six former associates. In announcing settlements had been reached in February with three of the women, Senator Cash also apologised for their experiences.

The legal affairs committee also heard that concerns about the validity of some Family Court matters commenced prior to the amalgamation of the Family Court of Australia with the Federal Circuit Court in September had been allayed by a new court finding. Senator Cash said the ruling in Sydney found the transfers were valid and there were no cases that did not fall within the new body’s jurisdiction.

New judicial appointments announced on Monday brought the proportion of sitting women judges in Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) to a record 51 per cent.

This boosted the aggregate proportion of women judges across the courts for which the ­Attorney-General is responsible to a record 44 per cent, covering both divisions of the FCFCOA, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia.

The proportion of women sitting judges in the FCFCOA’s two divisions is now a combined 48.7 per cent, but in the Federal Court the proportion is 32.7 per cent.

Natasha Laing and Gillian Eldershaw were appointed to the Sydney registry of the FCFCOA (Division 2) and Amanda Mansini and Alison Burt to the Melbourne registry. Paul Glass was appointed in Melbourne.