A former technology manager is suing ANZ bank after he was allegedly fired for speaking out against workplace bullying he suffered at the hands of a senior executive.
In January, Stephen O’Reilly was made redundant from his role as general manager of technology after seven years working at ANZ.
Though his termination letter reportedly cited a recent restructure of the bank’s technology assurance team, O’Reilly has alleged ANZ fired him just months after he complained about a senior executive’s behaviour towards him.
In court documents filed late June, O’Reilly alleged former chief operating officer of technology Megan Anderson routinely spoke in an “aggressive manner”, had on occasion raised her voice towards him, and had levied a range of invalid performance concerns at him.
“[Ms Anderson] made comments to the applicant [Mr O’Reilly] to the effect that ‘life’s too short to waste time in the workplace’,” O’Reilly’s statement of claim reportedly alleged.
O’Reilly – who was 65 years old when he departed ANZ – further alleged he was terminated because of his age.
The former tech manager is suing for approximately $430,000 in the Federal Circuit Court: some $380,000 for a year’s salary, and $50,000 in non-economic loss relating to depression and anxiety.
ANZ has not filed a response but says it will defend against O’Reilly’s claim.
“ANZ can confirm that legal proceedings have been commenced by a former employee,” a spokesperson told Information Age.
“As the matter is before the court, ANZ will not be commenting in detail.”
HR contacted about threats
According to O’Reilly, Anderson raised “a number of illegitimate performance concerns” with him during a performance review in August 2025.
After Anderson allegedly claimed he was not meeting expectations, O’Reilly reached out to human resources (HR) and flagged that she had threatened to terminate him “on multiple occasions".
His message to HR said Anderson’s performance concerns blocked him from securing a bonus, and that Anderson had made a habit of raising her voice to him, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The complaints escalated in a follow-up letter to HR where O’Reilly alleged he was outright “bullied by Ms Anderson”.
In November, some three months after his performance review, O’Reilly said he lodged a claim for psychological injury with workers' compensation authority Comcare.
Anderson left ANZ in April 2026 after a collective eight years and five months working at the bank – over four years of which she served as chief operating officer.
Information Age understands she is not a defendant in O’Reilly’s case.
Selected for redundancy
According to his claim, O’Reilly took personal leave twice in the period surrounding his Comcare claim: once in September, and again in December to attend his mother’s funeral overseas.
O’Reilly alleged that he participated in a meeting with ANZ chief information officer of technology Donald Patra in early December, during which he “outlined his concerns in respect of the investigation into his previous complaint”.
“[O’Reilly] had not received written reasons for the final outcome, and there were several aspects of the concerns he had raised previously that were not considered,” court documents read.
In January, he received a letter to notify him his role was selected for redundancy.
“For operational reasons we are changing the structure of our business and your current role no longer exists,’ Patra reportedly wrote.
Further to compensation, O’Reilly has asked the court to issue penalties to ANZ for its alleged conduct.
O’Reilly has reportedly claimed these should also be paid to him.
When asked about the case, a legal representative for O’Reilly said he had “no comment”.
