{"id":759946,"date":"2026-06-25T19:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759946\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T19:11:21","slug":"groped-at-the-gym-underwear-stolen-harassment-allegedly-rife-at-fortescues-mines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/759946\/","title":{"rendered":"Groped at the gym, underwear stolen: Harassment allegedly rife at Fortescue\u2019s mines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated June 25, 2026 \u2014 1:24pm,first published 12:01pm<\/p>\n

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Australian mining giant Fortescue is facing a class-action lawsuit from female employees who allege widespread sexual harassment and assault against them and other women at the company\u2019s remote fly-in, fly-out work sites.<\/p>\n

The alleged conduct ranges from serious sexual assault to day-to-day cat calling and hostility because of their gender, according to court documents filed in Melbourne on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"SexualSexual harassment is allegedly widespread at Fortescue\u2019s remote mining sites.WAtoday<\/p>\n

In the claim, women report men stealing their underwear from public laundries and being unable to go to the gym because men touch them inappropriately.<\/p>\n

The class action was filed in the Victorian registry of the Federal Court by law firm JGA Saddler and is backed by UK litigation funder Aristata. It alleges widespread sexual harassment, sexual violence and sex discrimination at the company\u2019s sites.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"An<\/a><\/p>\n

Fortescue, whose founder and biggest shareholder is mining billionaire Andrew \u201cTwiggy\u201d Forrest, is one of Australia\u2019s largest mining companies, operating multiple mine sites in Western Australia\u2019s iron-ore-rich Pilbara region.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s chief executive Dino Otranto said it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific allegations as the matter is before the courts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t the first class action we\u2019ve seen in the industry over the past few years. That said, these are extremely serious allegations and Fortescue takes them very seriously,\u201d Otranto said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain committed to maintaining an open and inclusive workplace. Do we have more work to do? Yes. The industry-wide inquiry several years ago made it clear that the entire sector needed to lift its standards, and we\u2019ve invested significantly in critical infrastructure and initiatives across our operations to help ensure everyone feels safe, respected and included at work.\u201d<\/p>\n

All matters involving the health, safety and wellbeing are treated seriously across the company\u2019s operations, offices, villages and with contracting partners, he said.<\/p>\n

A statement from JGA Saddler includes 45 testimonials from women describing incidents of alleged sexual harassment or assault while working on the company\u2019s remote mining operations.<\/p>\n

They include one female Fortescue employee who had spoken to the law firm, who reported a man pulling her into a dark alley and trying to \u201cstick his tongue down my throat\u201d, while another woman said she had arrived home one night to find a random man in her room.<\/p>\n

In another instance, a woman who had to ask male co-workers to blow into breathalysers as part of on-site health and safety protocols said she would receive comments such as, \u201cI\u2019ll blow wherever you want me to\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another woman said if she dropped something on the ground during her shift, men would say: \u201cBaby girl, while you\u2019re down there \u2026\u201d .<\/p>\n

JGA Saddler filed two other separate class actions against Rio Tinto and BHP in 2024 alleging harassment and sex discrimination against female employees, which are still before the courts.<\/p>\n

Rio Tinto commissioned an independent report that found in 2022<\/a> sexual harassment was widespread among its fly-in, fly-out workers. A parliamentary inquiry uncovered similar allegations at BHP in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n

JGA Saddler lawyer Paris Hamrey said when the firm spoke to thousands of women who worked for Rio Tinto and BHP, Fortescue\u2019s worksites were often mentioned as being unsafe for women.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most disturbing regular reports is women on Fortescue worksites being warned against washing their underwear in on-site laundries because theft of female underwear is rife. It is horrendous to think mining women should have to worry about what should be a mundane task. Aside from a violation, it raises concerns about escalation of offending and highlights safety risks to female staff,\u201d Hamrey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been reports of sexual assault, violence and retaliation, especially when female staff reject sexual advances. We have heard from women who have lodged complaints about unacceptable behaviour but are then dismissed, demoted, silenced or blacklisted from the industry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The law firm has requested that the Federal Court redact all names in its filings to allay concerns for the personal safety of its two lead applicants.<\/p>\n

Employers like Fortescue and other companies are liable under the Sex Discrimination Act if they \u201cpermit\u201d a woman to work in an environment where they are likely to be exposed to sexual harassment and discrimination.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"NickNick Toscano<\/a> is a business reporter for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"SimonSimon Johanson<\/a> is a business journalist at The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated June 25, 2026 \u2014 1:24pm,first published 12:01pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-759946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}