Published: 13:16 BST, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 13:16 BST, 15 August 2026
It was the tech company that partied hard – 'one of the best places in Sydney to work'. A big, friendly corporate giant where the 'beer bicycle' wheeled by your desk on Friday afternoons.
It was the office where your bosses played games with you even as they raked in billions and everyone, it seemed, had fun – that was until it turned toxic and the 'open culture, no bulls**' became just that: bulls***.
Atlassian became so toxic that employees would quit simply to preserve their mental health. It was an environment where female top brass were reportedly choosing sides in the co-founders' falling-out, and, according to a new book, one staffer allegedly suggested a colleague make the boss's wife jealous by wearing a 'f***able' dress.
That was in about 2021, according to a new book, Tech Bros, about Atlassian's rise and its friends-turned-rivals co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar.
In the years that followed, Atlassian's mega-successful run as the jewel in Australia's tech industry – one that earned its creators untold wealth, mansions, yachts and luxury cars – all but imploded with the disruptive advent of artificial intelligence.
But back in the day, or at least by the mid-2000s, Atlassian, which struck gold with its essential project-management software for IT developers, was as free-spirited a firm as could be found anywhere in the world.
While the company was on the rise, its envied staff were playing games like the spy-themed 'Mission: Atlassian' adventure race around the city to promote team-building and bonding.
Three times a year, Atlassian held big parties: Melbourne Cup Day at Doyles on Watsons Bay, the Christmas bash on a yacht in Sydney Harbour, and the pub gathering known for its risqué drag performances.
Mike Cannon-Brookes' marriage to fashion designer Annie (pictured together) ended in 2023
Chief of staff Amy Glancey was one of the female executives dubbed the 'velvet vixens' by sources quoted in the book Tech Bros. They were said to be Cannon-Brookes' confidantes
Scott Farquhar (above with his wife, Kim Jackson) left Atlassian in 2024, leaving Mike Cannon-Brookes as the sole CEO, but Farquhar remains as a board adviser
Then there was the go-kart racing, the paintballing, the whitewater rafting – all part of a culture to reward creativity and fire anyone who was an 'a***hole'.
At Atlassian's headquarters on George Street, in Sydney's Central Business District, four beer taps were installed, and from 1pm on a Friday, a chef prepared meals as staff played poker, lunchtime sports or board games to ease into the weekend.
Cannon-Brookes and Farquhar 'thrashed out' the core values for Atlassian, journalists John Stensholt and Perry Williams write in Tech Bros, which included keeping 'your customers happy'.