Arabic version: راندا عبد الفتاح تقاضي منظمي مهرجان بنديغو

According to ABC News, Palestinian Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched legal action against Greater Bendigo City Council and La Trobe University over the 2025 Bendigo Writers Festival. She claims the council and the university, which sponsored the event, discriminated against her on the basis of political belief or activity.

Dr Abdel-Fattah had been due to speak about her book, Discipline, at the August 2025 festival. A code of conduct sent to authors days before opening night prompted more than 50 participants to withdraw over censorship concerns. Her lawyer, Michael Bradley, managing partner of Marque Lawyers, said the complaint had been lodged with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Mr Bradley said the code “was a mask for getting rid of Randa” because it included a contested definition of antisemitism that she was required to sign up to. He said it was designed to exclude her on the basis of the organisers’ perception of her political beliefs or potential activity.

Before the festival, La Trobe received a letter from a consortium of Jewish academics raising concerns about Dr Abdel-Fattah’s planned appearance on a panel sponsored by the university. Documents obtained by the ABC through freedom of information showed the university raised community-safety concerns with the council and suggested a highly skilled and experienced moderator for the session.

Mr Bradley said Dr Abdel-Fattah was seeking compensation, a public apology and commitments from both organisations to freedom of political expression. La Trobe said it had been notified of the matter and could not comment further because of the proceedings, while Greater Bendigo City Council declined to comment. Following a review, the council decided to take a year off from the festival and pledged to return in 2027.