A Sydney aged care facility will have to pay a former nurse more than $346,000 in compensation after a court found she was unfairly fired because of her race.

Wei Han, who also goes by Casey, worked at St Basil’s Homes in Lakemba for nine years before being dismissed in January 2020. A recent Federal Court judgement found that her termination was racially motivated and mishandled.

Han, who is Chinese, told the court she was targeted by a group of Filipino staff who worked closely together.

Prior to her dismissal, she raised concerns with her Filipino manager, saying she no longer felt safe at work and had been repeatedly targeted by a co-worker.

In one email sent on Christmas Eve 2019 — her final day at the facility — Han expressed concern that colleagues were refusing to assist her in caring for residents.

Rather than investigating her complaints, the court found St Basil’s management used the emails to question Han’s professional conduct. She was later dismissed for allegedly failing to provide proper care — claims that the court found were poorly supported and unfair.

Justice Yaseen Shariff said the nursing home “turned Ms Han’s complaints on their head” and failed to protect her right to speak up about workplace issues. Another judge, Justice Steven Rares, previously described the internal investigation as a “trumped up attack” against Han.

Both judges agreed that Han was fired in part because of her race, and because management favoured staff of Filipino background.

“The allegations… were based on flimsy foundations that were ultimately unsound,” Justice Shariff said. He added that Han suffered both mental harm and financial loss as a result of the ordeal.

The court ordered St Basil’s to pay her $346,348 in compensation.

Since Han’s departure, the staff involved in her case are no longer employed at the facility. The court also noted that the aged care home has taken steps to improve its workplace culture and complaint-handling systems.

In a statement sent to Neos Kosmos, St Basil’s NSW/ACT acknowledged the Federal Court decision and while they won’t comment on individual legal matters, they “recognise the importance of listening, learning, and continuing to evolve as an organisation.”

The statement said that this took place during a period of significant challenge for St. Basil’s.

“Since then, we have undergone a major transformation, including the appointment of new leadership with deep expertise in governance, compliance, and aged care reform.”

“As discussed in the judgment, St. Basil’s has also taken considerable steps “to ensure that there are better systems in place to guard against the risk of repeated contraventions. In that sense, it has now taken steps to ensure compliance.”

They said they are proud of the “genuine” progress made across their homes that are now fully compliant with national aged care standards, and remain committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment.