Election 2025: Parliament House staffer ‘bullied after revealing historic assault’

A researcher for the Department of Parliamentary Services has blasted the handling of a historic sexual assault claim, says hope after Higgins saga ‘sadly misplaced’.

Anna Hough is alleging she was sexually assaulted in 2021. Credit: supplied.

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A researcher for the Department of Parliamentary Services has blasted the handling of a historic sexual assault claim and declared the optimism she had harboured for the culture of Parliament House to improve after the Brittany Higgins scandal had been “sadly misplaced”.

Anna Hough, a Canberra mother who contributed to the Kate Jenkins Set the Standard Report, told her DPS managers she had been raped by a political staffer two decades ago, as the Higgins saga triggered memories of that past trauma.

However, despite the hope that she would be supported and treated with respect – particularly given the significant body of work in improving Parliament House culture – Ms Hough claimed she was bullied and discriminated against.

In a statement detailing her experience, seen by The Australian, Ms Hough said she was given “no support” after revealing her historic rape to her team in 2021.

“At that time, with an atmosphere of cautious optimism around parliamentary workplace reform, I felt hopeful that I would be listened to and provided with appropriate support,” she said in the statement.

“Those hopes were, sadly, misplaced. My workplace offered me no support. Not once in the following 18 months did either manager ask if I was okay.”

Ms Hough – who first told her story to Sky News’s Sharri Markson – said that instead of being supported, she was “pressured to step down” from a more senior acting role and denied a promotion.

“I was … treated as a burden,” she said.

“The bullying and discrimination I faced at DPS were deeply re-traumatising. Given the way I had been treated, it became unbearable for me to continue to work for DPS.”

As a result of the mistreatment, Ms Hough resigned in April 2023 and five months later started legal action against the commonwealth, which went to both the historic sexual assault and the DPS mishandling of her disclosure.

“Over 19 months later, my claim remains unresolved. I have faced ongoing delays and uncertainty. The commonwealth has claimed to act as a model litigant. It claims to be trauma-informed,” she said.

“But the way it has handled my claim has only added to my suffering. Despite evidence, documentation, and the clear severity of what I experienced, I’ve been offered only a tiny fraction of what’s been offered to high-profile survivors of similar mistreatment in parliamentary workplaces.”

Ms Hough also claimed she was pressured to sign confidentiality agreements on multiple occasions and that offers to meet with Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher were made but not responded to.

A spokesman for Senator Gallagher said no direct request under the name of Anna Hough had been made.

“We have not received such a request. If a request is received, we will of course consider it,” he said.

An Attorney-General’s Department spokesman said: “The AGD acts on behalf of the commonwealth in claims of this type. In this case, AGS (Australian Government Solicitor) is acting on the instructions of the Department of Finance (Comcover) and the Department of Parliamentary Services. No minister has had any role in this matter.”

Sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins.

DPS, which has been subject to scrutiny over its culture in recent years, was contacted for comment.

Ms Hough said the pressure to sign confidentiality agreements through the Australian Government Solicitor’s office – which is part of the Attorney-General’s Department but operates as a lawyer to departments and independently of the Attorney-General – was contrary to the goals that had been set by Labor.

“The Attorney-General wrote to the Canberra Times last November claiming that the only circumstances under which the existence of a sexual assault or harassment claim will be kept confidential is if the claimant asks that to be the case. That is not true,” she said.

“The Albanese government says it supports women, workers and survivors. But I ask: Which ones? Political staffers whose stories serve a political purpose? Or ordinary workers, including union members, like me – who are easier to ignore?”

Presiding officers and Labor ministers were contacted for response to Ms Hough’s claims, but said they were unable to comment given the legal matter was ongoing.