Tarnawsky alleges Hanns routinely did not respond to her messages, belittled and criticised her in front of colleagues and withheld crucial information.

In early 2024, more staff allegedly bullied Tarnawsky by gossiping about her within the hearing of Marles and herself, refusing to engage with her about a trip to Ukraine and excluding her from team outings.

Tarnawsky claims she informed Marles of bullying in April. He responded that he valued her and would discuss the issue that day, but the pair agreed to postpone the discussion, Tarnawsky alleges. Then in another call, he backed Hanns and, Tarnawsky claims, said the situation was not “fixable” and she would have to leave “with dignity”.

Hanns, the deputy prime minister’s office and the prime minister’s office were contacted for comment, with a government spokesman from Special Minister of State Don Farrell’s office responding. “This matter is subject to legal proceedings, and it would not be appropriate to comment further,” the spokesman said.

After returning from leave in May 2024, Tarnawsky alleges she was informed by another government employee that Gartrell and Marles had decided she should take an inferior job outside the deputy prime minister’s office. She was restricted from entering her old office without 24 hours’ notice, Tarnawsky alleges.

But Tarnwasky was allowed back to Parliament for the week of the 2024 Budget, which was held on May 14, where she was to network in the hopes of finding a new job that would give her what Gartrell allegedly described as “agency” in her “story about leaving”.

Tarnawsky met with Marles and Gartrell in parliament house on May 16 where she claims the minister allegedly told her to take half a year of leave “off the books”. Tarnawsky did not agree to the proposal that would have cost the taxpayer $135,000 for no work.

By August, Tarnawsky claimed she was effectively removed from her role after another person began acting as chief of staff, moved into her old office, and her office group chats became inactive.

Marles himself is not accused of bullying Tarnawsky – who is a former diplomat and one of the most senior women in government – and she claims he had never raised issues with her performance before her ouster.

Tarnawsky previously said the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service was briefing lawyers to deal with her after she engaged her own lawyers to access more counselling services.

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Marles has previously praised Tarnawsky and said he had worked to support her wellbeing and that of his other staff as he managed the situation. “She has given me great service, and I remain deeply grateful for that,” Marles said.

His spokeswoman has also disputed unspecified parts of Tarnawsky’s “assertions and recollections” in a statement.

Earlier this month, this masthead revealed the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service handled 339 cases in its first nine months, including some categorised as relating to serious issues such as sexual assault, with fewer than 10 formal complaints.

Her lawyer Michael Bradley, a senior partner in Marque Lawyers, said the workplace support service had been “set up to fail”.

“[It] ends up being a support service for the member of parliament, including providing the member of parliament with free legal support, and the staffer is left on their own,” he said.

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