Palestinian author takes legal action over Bendigo Writers Festival collapse
Randa Abdel-Fattah is seeking compensation and a public apology from the City of Greater Bendigo and La Trobe University, alleging she was discriminated against because of her political beliefs and activities.
Palestinian-Australian author and academic Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched legal action against the City of Greater Bendigo and La Trobe University over the controversy that engulfed the 2025 Bendigo Writers Festival.
A complaint lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal alleges the two organisations discriminated against Dr Abdel-Fattah because of her political beliefs or activities and failed to meet obligations under Victoria’s human rights laws. The allegations have not yet been tested by the tribunal.
Dr Abdel-Fattah had been scheduled to discuss her novel Discipline at the festival in August 2025 before organisers issued participating writers with a new code of conduct only days before the event began.
The code asked speakers to avoid language or subjects that could be regarded as inflammatory, divisive or disrespectful. Participants appearing in sessions associated with La Trobe University were also expected to comply with the university’s anti-racism plan, which incorporated the Universities Australia definition of antisemitism.
More than 50 writers, academics and other participants subsequently withdrew from the festival, arguing the last-minute conditions threatened freedom of expression and could restrict discussion of Palestine, Israel and other politically contentious subjects.
The withdrawals forced the cancellation of a substantial part of the program and damaged the reputation of one of regional Victoria’s most established literary events.
Dr Abdel-Fattah’s lawyer, Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley, said the code was allegedly constructed in a way that organisers expected she would be unable to accept.
“[The code of conduct] was a mask for getting rid of Randa because they knew she wouldn’t agree to it,” Mr Bradley said. He alleged the code had been designed to exclude Dr Abdel-Fattah because of perceptions about her political beliefs and what she might say during the festival.
Ahead of the event, La Trobe University and festival organisers had received a letter from a group of Jewish academics expressing concern about Dr Abdel-Fattah’s participation in a university-sponsored panel. It has not been established whether that letter directly led to the introduction of the code. At the time, La Trobe University said the code had been intended to encourage respectful discussion and community safety.
Mr Bradley said Dr Abdel-Fattah was seeking compensation, a public apology and commitments from both organisations to protect political expression at future events. He said the episode had affected sales of Discipline and caused continuing reputational damage by reinforcing claims that she should be excluded from public events.
“It is indicative of how much damage has been done to her, and she’s kind of had enough, so she’s made the big decision to fight back,” he said.
We will update this story when Bendigo Council and La Trobe University file their responses. Bendigo Writer’s Festival statement on their review is here.
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Council had already expressed regret
The legal action comes seven months after councillors formally acknowledged the damage caused by the festival’s handling of the code. At its meeting on December 15, 2025, the council recognised the “unintended negative consequences” of both the content and timing of the code, particularly for Dr Abdel-Fattah, participating authors, local businesses and the wider Bendigo community.
Council expressed “sincere regret” and acknowledged that its own processes and those of the festival had been inadequate. The resolution stopped short of the direct public apology now being sought through the VCAT proceedings.
Council also committed funding to strengthen the festival’s governance and develop operating principles that would be agreed to by sponsors, partners and speakers before their participation was confirmed. Those principles are expected to explicitly protect freedom of expression and prohibit discrimination. They are also intended to ensure the festival itself sets the conditions for participation rather than allowing an individual sponsor or institutional partner to impose separate requirements.
Future guidelines are to be developed with affected communities and diverse voices and placed before the public for consultation.
Festival return planned for 2027
There will be no full Bendigo Writers Festival in 2026. Instead, the council will work with the Goldfields Library Corporation to present a smaller program of literary events, including activities devoted to children’s literature.
Operational planning will continue throughout the year for the proposed return of the full festival in 2027. The rebuilding process will include new sponsorship guidelines, clearer governance arrangements and a sustainable operating model. The festival began in 2012 and became an important part of Bendigo’s cultural calendar, bringing writers, readers and visitors into the city for more than a decade.
Whether the legal action results in further changes to the rebuilt festival—and whether the council’s expression of regret will be judged sufficient—will now be considered beyond the council chamber and inside Victoria’s civil and administrative tribunal.
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