ICAC to investigate allegations of corruption at University of Wollongong
The anti-corruption watchdog will look at recruitment, contracts and conflicts of interest at the besieged university.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption will hold a public inquiry into University of Wollongong chancellor Michael Still and other senior university staff, it announced on Tuesday.
The Herald last month revealed that the NSW anti-corruption watchdog had visited the Illawarra campus in its investigation of corruption allegations.
“The commission is investigating whether the university’s chief governance officer and secretary, Alyssa White, or any other University of Wollongong staff ... intentionally [subverted] recruitment processes for governance roles, to benefit persons associated with Alyssa White,” the ICAC said in a statement.
“The commission will also examine whether, since 2024, Chancellor Michael Still, Alyssa White, or any other University of Wollongong staff or contractors … exercised their official functions by improperly awarding work to Aspirall Consulting International Pty Ltd.
“Finally, the commission will investigate whether Michael Still, or any other University of Wollongong staff or contractor, partially exercised their official functions by failing to manage the conflict of interest relating to the employment of John Dewar as interim vice chancellor and the engagement of KordaMentha Pty Ltd.”
The former head of lobby group Universities Australia and partner at KordaMentha, Dewar was made interim vice-chancellor in 2024.
KordaMentha was awarded a contract for the university’s “transformation strategy” worth $2.9 million while Dewar was in the role.
Still told NSW parliamentary inquiry into the university sector that Dewar was appointed on June 30, 2024, and KordaMentha started “as part of the tender process for the review of operations” three weeks later.
Dewar’s role, the inquiry heard, was nine days a fortnight at the university while doing one day at KordaMentha.
“There was no conflict because there was a tender process in a normal fashion, undertaken very strictly, for the appointment of a consultant. Totally outside that process, John Dewar was asked if he would step in as an interim vice-chancellor,” Still said in December.
“John Dewar is one of the most highly regarded university chief executives in the country. We were very fortunate that he was able and willing to come and be vice-chancellor for six or seven months ... he said [the university] was not running like it should.”
Long-serving university employee Lisa Simmons told the committee hearing she had been granted whistleblower protection after flagging suspected corrupt conduct with the ICAC. Those allegations, which included alleged conflicts of intere
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