COLLINGWOOD has defended its commitment to a "safe and inclusive" workplace after the club and its chief executive, Craig Kelly, faced fresh allegations of racism in court documents filed on Monday.
Mark Cleaver, the club's former head of First Nations strategy, is the sole applicant in the documents filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, while the Collingwood Football Club is the only respondent.
In a statement released on Monday evening, Collingwood said it was aware of the allegations raised by Cleaver, and had looked into the matter via two separate investigations that had "found no breach of workplace law".
"Collingwood continues to work hard on our commitment of ensuring our environment and workplace is welcoming, safe and inclusive at all times, on and off the field," the club said.
"We take all matters raised seriously and when the former staff member raised matters internally in March this year, the club looked into those concerns in line with our organisation's workplace policies and procedures.
"In addition to the internal process which took place, an external expert was engaged to review the findings. Both processes found no breach of workplace law.
"Following the conclusion of both processes, the former staff member made further allegations to Victoria Police, which examined them and determined not to take any further action.
"The former staff member was employed by Collingwood for a period of six months. The employment ended for reasons unrelated to their concerns. Following their departure, the former staff member lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission but the matter was not resolved.
"While it is unfortunate this situation has not been resolved, the club believes that it has acted lawfully and intends to defend the matter."
However, the law firm representing Cleaver said the allegations raised questions about Collingwood's commitment to improving its culture since the release of the Do Better report into systemic racism at the club in 2021.
"The allegations in this case call into question whether the Collingwood Football Club has learned anything from its multiple self-inflicted racism scandals," Daniel Victory, principal with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said in a statement.
"We are entitled to expect more from a club that has promised to do better."
Victory said that if the allegations were proven, the AFL should consider docking premiership points from the Magpies.
AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said the League's Integrity Unit was made aware of a human resources workplace complaint by a Collingwood employee.
"The matter was deemed a workplace issue for the club and was triaged to the club's HR department to manage accordingly," Allen said.
In 2021, Collingwood commissioned an independent review to deal with racism.
Former Magpies president Eddie McGuire labelled the release of the report "a historic and proud day".
A week after his highly-criticised comments, McGuire stood down following more than 20 years in charge.