A company that suspended NRL star Jai Arrow’s wife on the day she returned from maternity leave had allegedly announced her replacement in a Slack message to staff more than a year earlier.
Berina Colakovic was stood down from her role as director of sales at AI advertising platform StackAdapt just days after her husband was diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
Ms Colakovic, who married Queensland State of Origin forward Arrow in July, is suing the company in the Federal Court, claiming she was discriminated against and denied procedural fairness.
StackAdapt denies unlawfully suspending Ms Colakovic or taking adverse action against the mother-of-one, and alleges complaints from other staff justified its decision.
Ms Colakovic began working for StackAdapt as a customer success manager in Canada in April 2019 before transferring to Australia in February 2022, where she was promoted to director of sales in July 2024.
Documents filed in the Federal Court by Ms Colakovic’s lawyers at Maurice Blackburn allege that a superior at StackAdapt ‘threatened’ her in September that year.
The 31-year-old claims she was told there would be ‘performance discussions’ unless she could ‘turn the business around’ by making ‘organisational changes ASAP’.
Those changes allegedly included sacking two employees in circumstances Ms Colakovic believed might be unlawful. She raised the matter with the company’s human resources department.
A company which suspended NRL star Jai Arrow’s wife Berina Colakovic on the day she returned from maternity leave had allegedly announced her replacement in a Slack message to staff more than a year earlier. The couple is pictured with daughter Ayla Rae Arrow
Berina Colakovic (right) was stood down from her role as director of sales at AI advertising platform StackAdapt days after her husband (left) was diagnosed with motor neurone disease
Ms Colakovic informed StackAdapt the following month she was pregnant and was due to give birth to her first child with Arrow in April 2025.
She was allegedly told the company would arrange someone to cover her position while she was on paid and unpaid maternity leave, which commenced in March last year.
On March 27, 2025, the superior who had allegedly threatened Ms Colakovic announced in a company Slack message a new employee had been hired as director of sales.
The Daily Mail understands it is part of Ms Colakovic’s claim that the Slack message did not mention her or the fact the new director of sales would be covering for maternity leave.
Ms Colakovic had planned to return to work in September 2025 – five months after giving birth – but extended her intended leave until May 1 this year.
In early April, StackAdapt’s ‘people business partner’ allegedly told her she would resume work in the director of sales position.
Two days later Ms Colakovic was allegedly told she would still be returning as director of sales but an existing investigation into her workplace conduct would resume and her team would no longer be reporting to her.
Ms Colakovic was subsequently instructed not to come in at her usual 9am start time on May 1 but to attend a midday meeting at which she was suspended.
Ms Colakovic, who married Queensland State of Origin forward Arrow in July, is suing StackAdapt, claiming she was discriminated against and denied procedural fairness
She was directed not to contact colleagues, clients or other stakeholders while a disciplinary process was conducted, and a date was set for another meeting.
‘I had no idea what the complaints were against me,’ Ms Colakovic told News Corp earlier this month.
‘When I was told, they were vague, lacking detail and I believe no basis for suspension.’
Maurice Blackburn contacted StackAdapt three days later, describing Ms Colakovic’s suspension as an ambush and claiming she had been denied procedural fairness.
Arrow, who played for South Sydney, the Gold Coast Titans and Brisbane Broncos, announced his retirement from the NRL on May 20, after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in April.
Ms Colakovic, who remains employed and continues to be paid while suspended, launched her Federal Court action on June 2.
‘It’s not just about the money, but the principle,’ she said.
‘I have seen it before where women are replaced or demoted while on maternity leave.
‘It’s not just about the money, but the principle,’ Ms Colakovic said of her Federal Court action. ‘I have seen it before where women are replaced or demoted while on maternity leave’
‘It’s wrong and I don’t want [daughter] Ayla to grow up in a world where this can happen.
‘It would be easy to avoid the stress of fighting what’s happened to me, especially at this time, but to me it is wrong and my fight is about discrimination in the workforce.’
StackAdapt denies Ms Colakovic was threatened by her superior and claims she had ‘expressed her satisfaction’ with the outcome of her HR complaint in September 2024.
The company alleges she demonstrated a ‘pattern of disengagement’ in meetings, was unreceptive to feedback and showed an absence of empathy.
It also claims some employees felt unheard or misunderstood while working with her.
Ms Colakovic’s lawyers allege StackAdapt contravened the Fair Work Act. They have called for the company to withdraw its allegations, end her suspension and return her to her former position as director of sales.
StackAdapt has done none of those things and denies the investigation into Ms Colakovic or her suspension constitute adverse action.
Ms Colakovic said she and her husband now faced the possibility of them both being unemployed while raising their young daughter.
Arrow vowed he would stand beside his wife during the case after she supported him through his illness.
‘Now it is my turn to support Berina in her fight for what she believes is right,’ the 31-year-old said.
‘She has been, and is, amazing.’
StackAdapt has been contacted for comment but has not responded.
On July 10, Justice Craig Lenehan ordered Ms Colakovic and StackAdapt to enter into mediation.
