Record $305,000 Payout Awarded to Woman in Sexual Harassment Case

A young migrant woman has been awarded a record $305,000 in damages by the Federal Court for sexual harassment, victimisation, and aggravated damages - the highest sum ever granted under the Federal Sex Discrimination Act.

The award to Biplavi Jarga Magar surpasses the previous record of $268,000 granted to a jewellery store worker in 2023.

Ms Magar moved from Nepal to Australia at age 18, seeking what she described as a "land of opportunities." In 2021, shortly before her 21st birthday, she began working at a Mad Mex outlet in Sydney's Hills District, owned by franchisee Sher Khan.

Almost two years later, Ms Magar said inappropriate behaviour from her boss began. She told the court she had tried to "keep her head down" and focus on work, fearing for her safety as a migrant and student.

"It wasn't about chasing a fairytale ending - it was about accountability," she said. "I wanted to tell my story in my own words."

Court Findings and Damages

The payout included:

• $175,000 in general damages
• $10,000 for victimisation, after Mr Khan allegedly threatened defamation proceedings when she complained
• $5,000 in aggravated damages, due to the way his defence was conducted at trial

Justice Bromwich found that Mr Khan, then 62, engaged in repeated sexual harassment, including sexualised comments about female staff and customers, intrusive personal questions, and exposing Ms Magar to sexually explicit materials.

She told the court he had asked her to accompany him on work trips, during which he allegedly showed her pornography, displayed a bag of sex toys, and in one incident touched her inner thighs with them.

"My body was protecting me by freezing," she testified. "Inside, I was begging for it to end."

Mr Khan denied wrongdoing, claiming he was impotent and unable to be sexually aroused. The judge rejected this as a defence, noting that sexual harassment can involve "boasting or bravado" about fictional sexual acts.

Several elements of the defence were described by Justice Bromwich as "scandalous" and "offensive," prompting the aggravated damages award.

Impact on the Victim

Ms Magar, now 25, has not worked for two-and-a-half years, telling the court the experience left her socially withdrawn, anxious, and distrustful even of close friends and family.

"It felt as if everybody was sexualising me. I stopped going outside. I started having trust issues with even the people closest to me," she said.

Justice Bromwich said he had no reason to doubt Ms Magar's account, describing how the harassment came from a man she had initially trusted, at a time when she had no family support in Australia.

The ruling is now the largest financial award in Australian legal history for a sexual harassment claim.