Australian media figure says Qantas lounge staff told her to button up to 'protect other cultures'

An Australian media personality says a Qantas lounge employee in Brisbane told her to button up her cardigan to “cover yourself to protect the other cultures in the lounge,” an incident she says left her humiliated and degraded in front of a male colleague. Nikki Osborne, 44, described the moment during a work trip to the Whitsundays, when she was dressed in tailored white shorts, a pink bodysuit and a knitted white cardigan.

Osborne wrote in her Q Weekend column that a lounge staffer rushed over, grabbed her arm and delivered the request. “Firstly, I’m a long-time fan of yours, but I’ll need you to button your cardigan up to cover yourself to protect the other cultures in the lounge,” she recalled. She said she was shocked and felt humiliated, angered and frustrated, noting it happened in her hometown and in front of a male colleague. “Do I have cleavage? Yes. Had I covered the top of it? Yes. Was that enough? Apparently not!” she wrote, describing the moment as a painful reminder of how she perceived her appearance was being policed.

After she spoke about the incident on her breakfast radio show, Osborne said she was struck by the press coverage and online backlash. She was particularly angered by commentary suggesting she should be kept out of the lounge, arguing that many readers knew nothing about what she wore. “I read the comments and so many people, without hesitation or any knowledge of what I was wearing, were lumping on about keeping trash out of the lounge. I’m trash now? How did this happen?!” she wrote.

The broadcaster said the airline later reached out with assurances the incident would not be repeated. However, she said the follow-up phone call left her feeling scrutinised, with staff allegedly going through her outfit item-by-item. Despite the ordeal, she said a later interaction with a flight attendant—who greeted her warmly by her comic persona, “Bush Barbie,” and treated her with respect—helped restore her faith in the airline for that trip. “That air steward salvaged my week,” she recalled, and she added that she would still fly Qantas but would think twice about what she wore in the lounge.

Qantas’ own dress guidelines indicate that entry to its lounges can be refused if clothing is deemed too casual or inappropriate, with examples ranging from thong footwear and bare feet to head-to-toe gym wear, beachwear, sleepwear and torn or offensive clothing. The airline notes the guidelines are meant to create an environment everyone can enjoy and urges travelers to dress accordingly when visiting Qantas Clubs and Business Lounges in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. The Daily Mail approached Qantas for comment on the incident.

Osborne, a Nova 106.9 Brisbane breakfast host and mother who performs under the Bush Barbie persona, has said she will continue to travel with Qantas but will consider lounge attire more carefully in the future. The incident adds to a broader conversation about dress codes in airport and airline lounges and how they intersect with cultural sensitivities and public expectations.