Apple has been ordered to pay a former worker $18,000 after a tribunal found he experienced indirect discrimination over bathroom access at the company's Canberra store.
The former worker, who had a medical condition that required him to go to the toilet "often and suddenly", took the company to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
There, he argued the company had failed to accommodate his disability and provide appropriate workplace adjustments, including access to toilets.
In a decision published on September 18, 2026, senior member Robert Orr found the employee was disadvantaged by the bathroom conditions.
The worker had been employed by Apple from September 2019 until March 2024, working primarily at the Civic store.
The tribunal heard he had a physical condition that meant he generally needed to use the toilet about 10 times a day, with the need sometimes arising suddenly.
Evidence presented at the hearing showed the store's accessible bathroom was frequently used to store cleaning equipment, including a large floor-washing machine, and the cleaners' room could only be reached by walking through the bathroom.
Staff also used the bathroom as a change room, at times forcing the worker to wait.
Apple argued equipment was stored there because of a lack of space elsewhere in the store. However, the company was unable to establish that the arrangements were reasonable, the tribunal ruled.
Mr Orr said the arrangements created a requirement for staff to rely on standard bathrooms or wait, which indirectly discriminated against the worker.
"In my view there was a condition or requirement that the [worker] use the standard bathrooms," Mr Orr said.
"This had the effect of disadvantaging the [worker] because of his disability which required him to go to the toilet often and suddenly.
"The fact that notwithstanding these factors he could manage to use the accessible toilet, or another toilet, does not defeat the claim."
Apple management testified that they sought to support the worker by adjusting his schedule and allowing him to leave the shop floor without permission whenever needed.
Some concerns were also addressed over time, including when the hand towel dispenser - which was difficult to reach behind the floor cleaner - was relocated, the cleaning machine was moved in 2023, and 2024 renovations created separate change rooms.
However, the tribunal found those later fixes did not erase the indirect discrimination the worker experienced while working there.
At the same time, the tribunal dismissed the worker's separate claims of direct discrimination regarding the bathrooms, noting that the company's actions were not "intentional, calculated or cruel".
Mr Orr also dismissed claims that Apple discriminated by rejecting his requests to work from home.
During the hearing, Apple said all retail roles require an on-site presence, though managers had supported his applications for separate virtual roles.
"In relation to the requests by the [worker] to work from home, there is no basis for finding that the rejection of these requests was because of his disability," Mr Orr said.
A claim for lost earnings was rejected because of a lack of evidence, and no expert medical proof was provided to show the bathroom issues caused formal psychological injury.
In awarding $18,000 in compensation, the tribunal noted the discrimination was unintentional and management had shown "significant concern" for the worker's welfare.
"There is no evidence of serious or repeated discrimination by [Apple]," Mr Orr said.
"Rather, this was a case of indirect discrimination where the [company] put in place quickly those measures it could to address the [worker's] bathroom complaints, and in time addressed all his complaints, and generally sought to assist the [worker] to manage his condition."
