Exclusive: Randa Abdel-Fattah lodges discrimination claim against La Trobe and Bendigo council
The battle for free speech enters a new round
High-profile Palestinian-Australian academic, Randa Abdel-Fattah, is taking legal action against the Greater Bendigo City Council and La Trobe University over the dramatic collapse of the Bendigo Writers Festival last August.
Abdel-Fattah will argue political belief and activity discrimination while being contracted by the Council, and a failure by both the Council and La Trobe University to meet Victoria’s human rights obligations.
The reputable festival fell apart in August 2025 amid a mass withdrawal of authors protesting a sudden imposition of a code of conduct that participants argued would have restricted free speech.
“Three days before I was scheduled to appear, everybody at the festival was emailed and asked to commit to a code of conduct which included La Trobe University’s Anti-Racism Plan,” Abdel-Fattah told Deepcut.
“And when I looked at it, I could see that La Trobe University’s plan adopted the Universities Australia definition of antisemitism, which is in fact even worse than IHRA, if that’s possible, in that it specifically equates anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” she said.
Pro-Israel lobby behind Bendigo chaos
A Deepcut investigation revealed that 5A – a small pro-Israel group focused on academia – lobbied both La Trobe University and the Council regarding a La Trobe-sponsored panel involving Abdel-Fattah.
“It was all instigated by a complaint by 5A against me,” she said.
“There was this panic as to what to do about me. Should we cancel the panel, should we just impose a code on her and the panel only – there’s paper trails for that.”
Abdel-Fattah will file an application claiming political belief discrimination at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) while being contracted by the Council; as well as arguing that both the Council and La Trobe University failed to comply with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.
The academic is seeking a public apology, compensation and a commitment to freedom of political expression.
“I feel very strongly that taking a stand and defending myself and my reputation are very important because the professional cost has taken such a toll,” she said.
“I refuse to be bullied into silence and I will fight back against the shameless impunity with which institutions act to suppress and erase my voice as a Palestinian.”
The battle for free speech
The legal action is the latest in a broader contest for free speech as pro-Israel groups seek to impose a definition of antisemitism – known as IHRA – that restricts criticism of Israel.
In the backdrop hangs the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion where pro-Israel perspectives have dominated with little scrutiny and sought to conflate criticism of Zionism and Israel with antisemitism.
“One of the motivations for me to pursue this case is because these definitions of antisemitism are being used completely as a blunt weapon against us all across every sector,” Abdel-Fattah said.
The federal government controversially adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism after the Bondi shooting last December, and has been rolling it out across the public service, prompting concerns from within the public service that their free speech was being curtailed.
Those concerns spread to the healthcare sector last month after AHPRA – the national regulator for 900,000 healthcare workers – also adopted the IHRA definition amid sustained pressure from the pro-Israel lobby and without wider consultation.
‘I have unshakeable faith’
The mother-of-four has faced relentless attacks from the pro-Israel lobby, and their allies in the political and media establishment, since the Gaza genocide began in October 2023.
In February 2025, months before the Bendigo debacle, the Australian Research Council (ARC) suspended Abdel-Fattah’s $870,000 research grant following direct pressure from Education Minister Jason Clare. The ARC reinstated the grant 10 months later after finding the academic committed no wrong-doing.
The drama didn’t end there. In January, Adelaide Writers’ Week cancelled Abdel-Fattah’s scheduled appearance at the behest of Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas, causing another revered festival to collapse after writers withdrew in protest.
Asked if she was prepared for renewed media and political attacks, Abdel-Fattah said she’s not panicking.
“I don’t take the attacks personally. They attack us here to enable their genocide in Palestine. Once you understand their playbook, you understand how to protect your mental health,” she said.
“I have a very strong support system. I have unshakeable faith as a Muslim and that is what constantly grounds me. I have a conviction that what I’m doing is right for myself and for the cause.”
Listen to the latest episode of Deepthink – an hour-long talk with Palestinian scholar and author Tareq Baconi on the trauma of ethnic cleansing, growing up queer in Amman and why the Palestinian struggle is feminist.
Ss she should. This Zionist infiltration & influence in all levels of Australian politics & media is deeply alarming.
Bendigo Council has suspended question time at tonight's council meeting