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A former Royal Australian Air Force airwoman has broken her silence over an alleged sexual assault and cover-up within the Australian Defence Force, reigniting urgent calls for whistleblower law reform.
Julia Delaforce, who served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), broke her 15-year silence about an alleged sexual assault and subsequent cover-up within the Australian Defence Force (ADF) during a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and 9Fairfax aired on 6 July.
In the televised investigation, the former airwoman recounted the harrowing incident in which she was sexually harassed at knifepoint by what the Human Rights Law Centre described as a “drunken, machete-wielding senior male corporal” while stationed at a military base in NSW in 2010.
She claimed that, following the attack, she was ordered by a superior officer to drive her attack home.
Despite reporting the incident internally and later to the Australian Human Rights Commission, Delaforce said she was the one who faced consequences – and continues to suffer them.
“For 15 years, I was silent. I asked for help so many times: from inside the ADF, to multiple defence ministers and even to the Prime Minister over many years. Yet, instead of the corporal who sexually harassed me being punished, I was the one punished,” she said.
“I couldn’t speak about the abuse and cover-up in the ADF, which led me to losing my career and suffering complex PTSD. The Human Rights Law Centre helped me get my voice back.”
Delaforce’s internal complaint contributed to the establishment of the 2011 inquiry into the treatment of women in the ADF.
However, under the terms of a confidential out-of-court settlement in 2013, Delaforce was prohibited from participating in the inquiry and other official investigations – including royal commissions – into sexual misconduct within the Defence Force.
Now represented by the Human Rights Law Centre’s Whistleblower Project, Delaforce said she has finally regained her voice and is determined to advocate for change.
The Human Rights Law Centre urges the Albanese government to establish a federal Whistleblower Protection Authority to ensure that individuals who expose institutional wrongdoing are protected, heard, and empowered to speak out.
Regina Featherstone, senior lawyer at the HRLC’s Whistleblower Project, emphasised the urgent need to support women who come forward about sexual assault and harassment, rather than allowing a culture of silence to persist.
“Women who speak up about sexual abuse, harassment and wrongdoing should be supported, and the wrongdoing should be addressed. Instead, they lose their careers and are often silenced. This important public interest journalism shows the systemic abuse and mistreatment of women in the ADF,” Featherstone said.
“The Albanese government must fix Australia’s broken whistleblowing laws and implement a federal Whistleblower Protection Authority to ensure that women can speak out against wrongdoing.”
Delaforce’s breaking her 15-year silence comes after former Australian Army lawyer and whistleblower David McBride lost his appeal for a reduced sentence in late May after being sentenced for leaking classified documents to journalists.
In response to the court’s decision, civil society groups – including the Human Rights Law Centre, the Whistleblower Justice Fund, and the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom – renewed their calls for urgent reform to Australia’s whistleblower protection framework.
Kieran Pender, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, criticised the prevailing legal framework that enables the criminal prosecution of whistleblowers.
“The truth should not be criminalised, yet Australia’s broken whistleblower protection laws have led to numerous whistleblowers being prosecuted for speaking up,” he said.
“The Albanese government must act with urgent law reform and the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Authority to ensure prosecutions like this never happen again. Whistleblowers should be protected, not punished.”
