Albanese breached workplace law by cutting crossbench staff, Sally Rugg claims in court

Filing by former political staffer says PM was aware of heavy workloads and that staffing cuts would lead to longer hours

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Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to cut crossbench staff amounted to conduct that breached workplace law and required staff to work longer hours, former political staffer Sally Rugg has claimed in an updated court filing.

In her statement of claim filed on Friday, Rugg – the former chief of staff for independent MP Monique Ryan – argued that Albanese’s June 2022 decision amounted to a request to work unreasonable additional hours.

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