When HR Gets Woke and the Commission Gets Real
- Tim Dive
- Jul 4
- 3 min read
We’ve hit a turning point, and for once, it’s the kind we should all be paying attention to.
In what can only be described as a rare but much-needed return to common sense, the Fair Work Commission has handed down a decision that protects not just one worker, but the broader right of every employee in Australia to not be forced into an ideological corner by HR policy.
The case?
Turner v Darebin City Council [2025].
The issue?
A street sweeper questioned, sarcastically, yes, why an Acknowledgement of Country was suddenly being read at a toolbox meeting.
The response?
HR hit the panic button and terminated his employment for alleged misconduct, citing breaches of their values and code of conduct.
The verdict?
Fair Work said: not so fast.

Let’s be clear.
This wasn’t about racism. This wasn’t hate speech. This was a bloke, direct, old-school, clearly frustrated, making a flippant comment about something that had never been part of the toolbox meetings before.
And instead of having a grown-up conversation, HR went full activist and made him out to be a threat to the company’s entire cultural identity.
That’s not what good HR is supposed to do.
What this ruling really exposed is the slippery slope that some parts of the profession have launched us down: where a difference of opinion is treated as insubordination, where participation in every single workplace initiative is no longer voluntary but compulsory, and where values have become rules, punishable by termination if not obeyed word-for-word.
The Deputy President of the Commission saw right through it.
He made it clear that the worker’s tone was “forthright,” not aggressive. His comments were grounded in personal belief, not contempt. And, most importantly, no one in the meeting was materially impacted by his remarks.
Yet he was sacked anyway.
Even more astonishing, the council’s entire argument hinged on the idea that not only must employees comply with these cultural expressions, but that they must personally adopt them too. As if holding a different view is now enough to justify a dismissal.
That should scare every business owner, every manager, and every employee with a mind of their own.
This decision is a line in the sand.
It says: you can’t mandate belief. You can’t force employees to speak or act in ways that go against their personal views, just because it fits neatly into a corporate policy. You can’t weaponise HR under the guise of inclusion, while silencing anyone who doesn’t clap loud enough.
That’s not diversity. That’s control.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it, we need more balance. HR needs to remember its job is to support good people practices, protect the business, and foster workplaces that are actually safe for everyone, not just those who agree with every initiative being pushed.
This case isn’t just about one man and one comment. It’s about whether we’re still allowed to think critically in the workplace without fear of retribution.
It’s about the right to disagree, respectfully. And it’s about calling time on the kind of HR culture that confuses values with law.
The Commission got this one right.
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