Albanese breached workplace law by cutting crossbench staff, Sally Rugg claims in court

Sally Rugg’s allegations could broaden the commonwealth’s liability to other staff of crossbench MPs if accepted by the federal court. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to cut crossbench staff amounted to conduct that breached workplace law and required staff to work longer hours, former political staffer Sally Rugg has claimed in an updated court filing.

In her statement of claim filed on Friday, Rugg – the former chief of staff for independent MP Monique Ryan – argued that Albanese’s June 2022 decision amounted to a request to work unreasonable additional hours.