Big pay day for Tasmania Police officer who claimed age and gender discrimination

A Tasmania Police officer is set to cash in after claiming he was discriminated against after being overlooked for a transfer. Find out why he’ll receive thousands of dollars.

A TASMANIA Police officer will receive $20,000 in compensation after he successfully claimed he was overlooked for a sought-after transfer because of his gender.

The decision was made by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, though the $20,000 payout for discrimination is considerably less than the $250,000 the complainant originally sought.

In December 2020, detective Senior Constable Martin White, 56 at the time, applied to transfer to the organisation’s Richmond station – a single-officer premises.

In his application, Mr White noted he had hoped to work at the station until he retired.

“I perceive this application to be my final opportunity to transfer to Richmond prior to retirement,” Mr White said.

“It is my intention, if provided with the opportunity, to retire in this position and effectively culminate a career as a sworn police officer spanning over 40 years.”

Mr White found out in January 2021 he did not secure the position, with the successful applicant being a female senior constable 25 years his junior.

Detective Senior Constable Martin White.

He launched a grievance process with a then acting inspector, Heather Walkden, who was involved in the hiring process. He claimed recalling a conversation in which Ms Walkden told him “the selection was not made on merit … on merit, your application would be hard to beat”. He also recalled being told the preferred applicant would be at an earlier “career stage” and would be less likely to stay for a long tenure at the station.

Mr White also spoke to then-inspector Peter Harriss and told him he intended to stay in the role for only four years. He claimed Mr Harriss said “I wish I had known that”, which was later disputed, but accepted by the tribunal.

Mr White lodged a written grievance, claiming age-based discrimination and the matter was also referred to the anti-discrimination commissioner.

In his evidence, Mr Harriss said Mr White was not short-listed because he’d flagged his intention to remain in the job until he retired. He also said Mr White’s application was not as strong as others.

“The application wasn’t overly strong,” Mr Harriss said. “It outlined what he had done, not what he was going to do.”

Before the position was made available, it was held by a male officer for 10 years, and a different male officer before that for 20 years. It was noted by an assistant commissioner the selection criteria was applied fairly and there was “a strong argument in favour of increasing the diversity in country police stations and encouraging more females, in particular, to apply for such positions”.

The complainant sought $250,000, which he believed would put him in the same financial position if he had secured the transfer.

Tasmania Police said in a statement they had noted the decision by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

“We are currently considering the decision and as such, it is not appropriate to provide further comment at this stage.”