Court stops the ABC publishing an athlete's private text messages

The Supreme Court of NSW has blocked the ABC from publishing private text messages an athlete says were taken from their old phone without permission.

Justice McGrath handed down the ruling on 1 July 2026, ordering the ABC, the athlete's ex-partner and a journalist not to use or publish the messages while the case continues.

The court has also banned anyone from revealing the real identities of those involved. For now, they're referred to only as AB, the athlete; GH, their ex-partner; and the ABC.

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According to the athlete's case, GH accessed AB's old phone multiple times after the pair split and photographed messages from a private group chat that AB shares with a close friend, who is also a professional athlete.

GH then reportedly gave those photos to a journalist working on a story for the ABC.

The court also heard that GH approached AB's sporting club in May 2026 to raise concerns about AB's ongoing selection, days before the club confirmed AB would keep playing.

Justice McGrath found AB had "very strong prospects of success" in arguing the messages were private and had been misused. He rejected arguments from the ABC's side that the messages weren't serious enough to protect, or that they'd already lost their confidentiality by being shared around.

"There is no evidence that they have entered the public domain," Justice McGrath found, adding that nothing in the messages exposed any wrongdoing by AB.

The judge also sealed the case itself, ruling that identifying anyone involved could fuel damaging speculation even without the messages being made public. Court documents, including witness statements and transcripts, are now suppressed nationwide.

AB has until 21 July 2026 to file a formal statement of claim, with the ABC and the other defendants required to respond soon after.

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