A veteran Seven producer who suffered serious injuries when he fell out of his wheelchair is suing his employer under the Fair Work Act, claiming the network left him “distressed and upset and … humiliated” by reducing his duties after the accident.
But in a statement of defence obtained by this masthead, Seven accused former Sunrise producer Matthew McGrane of aggressive, inappropriate and misogynistic behaviour towards female staff, including sending emails with profane and sexist language.
McGrane, who has a medical condition and uses a wheelchair, sustained serious injuries that caused excruciating pain and required hospitalisation and surgery when he fell while commuting home from Seven’s Eveleigh studios in inner Sydney in 2023.
In legal documents filed with the Federal Court in April 2025, McGrane, who has been with Seven for more than two decades, said the network allowed him to work part of his shift from home while rostered on night shifts. That allowed him to catch wheelchair-accessible buses before they stopped for the night.
He claimed the injury occurred while returning home to complete a shift, and subsequently lodged a workers compensation claim which was denied after Seven told the insurer GIO that there was no formal agreement for McGrane to perform split shifts.
McGrane alleges that upon his return to work six months after the accident, Seven diminished his duties at Sunrise and passed him over for a promotion to executive producer of the flagship morning show. His legal documents accuse the network of injuring him in his employment and altering his position.
He also claims that the network took adverse action against him because of his physical disability, and because he had lodged the workers compensation claim, and later complained to managers when it was rejected by the insurer.
The claim, filed for McGrane by Maurice Blackburn’s principal lawyer, Josh Bornstein, alleges Seven’s actions caused the producer anxiety, distress and “feelings of hopelessness”.
McGrane is seeking compensation and civil penalties from Seven.
Before launching his lawsuit, McGrane was interviewed on camera by ABC reporter Louise Milligan as part of a 2024 Four Corners episode documenting sexism and cultural problems at Seven, in which he discussed the incident at length. He told the program he felt “abandoned, hurt [and] completely in disbelief that this would happen”.
In a statement at the time, Seven said its focus was to build a strong culture where unacceptable behaviour was not tolerated.
In its defence, Seven said that while McGrane was off work, the network had received numerous complaints made by junior employees under McGrane’s supervision documenting aggressive, inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour.
Seven said it had been told by staff that McGrane was “aggressive all the time, whether that be swearing, shouting, it is all the time” and “was so volatile … would yell, scream, freeze”.
One staff member allegedly told the network they had observed McGrane saying words to the effect of “you look fat, that’s disgusting” and “wear a more low-cut top” while watching presenters on television.
He also allegedly used misogynistic language in emails he’d sent, which included liberal use of profanity including “c—”.
This masthead is not suggesting that the allegations about McGrane’s behaviour are correct, only that they were made by Seven in its defence.
McGrane’s lawyers declined to comment. A spokesman for the network said: “As this matter is before the court, Seven is unable to comment. Seven will defend its position.”
Seven’s defence also accuses McGrane of breaching his employment obligations by appearing on the Four Corners episode, an act which it says was in conflict with the network’s interests and brought it into public disrepute.
“The applicant [McGrane] stated that he considered the Four Corners interview as an ‘insurance policy’, a way to ‘blow things up’ with the respondent and in turn an opportunity to ‘get millions’ from the respondent,” the network submitted.
Seven claims that McGrane’s behaviour, and his appearance on Four Corners, led to him not being considered for the Sunrise executive producer job.
According to Seven’s defence, there was never a formal arrangement for McGrane to split his shifts between his home and the Eveleigh office, but it had offered to pay for him to use a wheelchair-accessible taxi service. The network also says that his employment duties were changed because he was working from home upon return.
The details of McGrane’s claim and Seven’s response were previously suppressed after Federal Court justice Robert Bromwich granted the network’s application for a non-publication order so that the parties could enter into mediation. The order lapsed late last year when discussions failed.
McGrane remains a Seven employee but is on personal leave.
The matter remains ongoing.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.