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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

How a $400K executive university job led to a corruption probe

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • An inquiry into the University of Wollongong (UOW) is focusing on its governance department amid allegations of biased recruitment and suspect consultant engagements.
  • A proposed $400,000-a-year executive role, intended to address losses from declining international enrollments, became a focal point.
  • Evidence suggests a former chief governance officer planned to take the role herself and allegedly stacked the department with friends.

An inquiry by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is scrutinizing the University of Wollongong's (UOW) governance department, focusing on allegations of biased recruitment and questionable consultant engagements. The investigation has centered on a proposed executive position that was never filled but became a key element in uncovering deeper issues within the university's administration.

I was shocked for various reasons. That she was discussing the creation of a new senior executive role that she was putting forward [and] she would be the incumbent for … just how brazen almost it was.

— Alison BourkeThe chief people and culture officer of UOW describes her reaction to the proposed executive role.

The university executives claimed a need to offset financial losses stemming from a drop in international enrollments by early 2025. Simultaneously, internal concerns about recruitment practices within the Governance and Policy Division were already surfacing. Into this environment, a proposal emerged for a new senior executive role, positioned directly below the vice-chancellor, with an initial salary of $388,000 that quickly escalated to $400,000 annually.

Evidence presented to the ICAC indicates that the former chief governance officer, Alyssa White, was heavily involved in developing the proposal and intended to assume the role herself. UOW's chief people and culture officer, Alison Bourke, testified that she was alarmed by the proposal, describing it as "brazen" that Ms. White would propose a new senior role for herself. Ms. Bourke also stated that the chancellor, Michael Still, suggested the people and culture department should simply "do whatever a manager tells them to do."

to just do whatever a manager tells them to do

— Michael StillThe UOW chancellor's alleged comment to the chief people and culture officer about her department's role.

Further concerns were raised on Ms. Bourke's first day, January 6, 2025, when a report from an external whistleblower detailed complaints regarding the recruitment of Matthew Dawkins. Mr. Dawkins, described as a friend of Ms. White's from high school, was employed in 2024 despite having no governance experience, working instead as an electrician with a commerce degree. The ICAC heard allegations that Ms. White filled the Governance and Policy division with "close friends and former associates," providing some candidates with "preferential assistance."

a report had come through from the external whistleblower, complaints pertaining to the recruitment of Mr Matthew Dawkins

— Alison BourkeDescribing the initial whistleblower complaint received on her first day.
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Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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