An Australian Federal Court judge has strongly criticized the Home Affairs Department for failing to properly scrutinize a Sri Lankan diplomat, Himalee Arunatilaka, who confiscated a staff member’s passport and granted her only two days of leave over three years, Australian media reported today.
Arunatilaka, who served as Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner to Australia from 2015 to 2018, has been ordered to pay $543,000 in unpaid wages and interest to her domestic worker, Priyanka Danaratna. The court found that Arunatilaka denied Danaratna minimum pay and working conditions during her time in Australia, and she now faces a substantial fine for breaches of employment laws.
Justice Elizabeth Raper revealed that Danaratna worked from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, and was only given two days off after burning her hand with cooking oil. Over this period, she was paid just $11,200, equivalent to about 75¢ an hour, which was sent to Sri Lanka. Danaratna was also forbidden from leaving the Canberra residence alone and had her passport confiscated.
In a scathing judgment, Justice Raper suggested that if the Home Affairs Department had conducted a thorough investigation, “Ms. Danaratna’s employment may have been very different.” She expressed concern that the department failed to act despite clear evidence that Danaratna would not receive fair pay or protections under Australian law.
Arunatilaka, who currently serves as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, is one of several diplomats recently penalized in Australia for violating employment laws.
The case follows a similar ruling last year, where the Australian Federal Court ordered India’s former High Commissioner, Navdeep Suri Singh, to pay $189,000 in unpaid wages and a $97,200 fine for wage theft after it was revealed that he kept his domestic worker in “slave-like” conditions.
Both Arunatilaka and Singh did not defend the legal actions against them, and it remains uncertain whether the claimants will receive the awarded amounts.
These cases were made possible by the Federal Court’s recognition that the residual immunity granted to former diplomats does not extend to employees in their direct employment, who are protected under Australian fair work laws.
David Hillard, a pro bono partner at Clayton Utz who led both cases, emphasized that these are not isolated incidents, pointing out that domestic workers in foreign diplomatic residences are among the most vulnerable and isolated workers in Australia. Hillard praised the court’s decision, stating it clearly confirms that these workers have rights in Australia, and that senior diplomats cannot use diplomatic immunity to exploit their employees.
