Documents seen by MWM indicate that the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is investigating the University of Wollongong. Stephanie Tran reports.
MWM understands ICAC officers attended the University of Wollongong last week and seized laptops as part of an investigation amid mounting allegations of governance failures and conflicts of interest and misuse of public funds. ICAC declined to comment.
The developments emerged as the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the University Sector held a tense hearing on Wednesday.
During the hearing, University of Wollongong Chancellor, Michael Still, was subjected to sustained questioning over his role in major decisions that have reshaped the institution, including the removal of the former Vice Chancellor Patricia Davidson and the appointment of an interim replacement who was a partner at a consulting firm later awarded millions of dollars in contracts to implement a sweeping program of job cuts.
Chancellor questioned over interim VC appointment
Still was questioned on his decision not to appoint a permanent vice-chancellor following the departure of Patricia Davidson, instead installing Professor John Dewar as interim vice-chancellor for a period of approximately 8 months.
Under questioning, Still told the inquiry that appointing a permanent vice-chancellor would have taken “many months”, and that Dewar’s experience meant he could quickly implement “significant change”.
However, committee members challenged the logic of granting sweeping authority to an interim appointee known from the outset to be temporary, particularly when those decisions involved mass redundancies and senior executive departures.
“There seems to be a disconnect between the amount of authority given to someone who was interim and also happened to have the same attitude towards the university as the consulting firm,” one MP said.
Still responded that “John Dewar is one of the most highly regarded university chief executives.”
“He understood quickly what needed to happen,” Still said. “He said [the university] was not running like any university should run, and council gave him the authority to set it up in a way which was consistent with a proper running of a university.”
Conflict of interest concerns
Dewar’s appointment came under scrutiny because he was partner at consultancy firm KordaMentha, which was later paid almost $3m to conduct operational reviews that underpinned large scale job cuts at UOW.
Still acknowledged at the hearing that Dewar worked a nine-day fortnight for the university and retained one day a fortnight to “keep in touch” with KordaMentha, where he intended to return after his interim role. Still said he did not know whether Dewar continued to financially benefit from KordaMentha during this period, but maintained there was “no conflict”.
Documents obtained under freedom of information laws and previously reported by the Illawarra Mercury show Still was aware as early as June 2024 that Dewar would continue working one day a fortnight with KordaMentha, despite the university publicly stating he was on leave from the firm during the tender process.
When pressed on the public perception of the arrangement, Still said he understood the optics, but insisted safeguards were in place.
Vice-chancellor resignation and centralisation of power
The inquiry also examined the circumstances surrounding Davidson’s departure as vice-chancellor in April last year. Still stated that he had “many conversations” with Davidson that included the “possibility of her resignation”.
Still denied asking Davidson to resign stating that she “resigned on her own accord”.
Committee members highlighted a rapid sequence of senior executive resignations following Davidson’s exit and questioned whether authority over appointments had become increasingly centralised under his leadership.
Still rejected suggestions of inappropriate consolidation of power, describing the changes instead as a “centralisation of oversight”.
Scrutiny over $62,000 installation ceremony
The inquiry also examined the chancellor’s personal expenditure, including the cost of Still’s installation ceremony.
Committee chair, Labor MP Dr Sarah Kaine, questioned the optics of the decision amid claims the university was facing a looming financial crisis.
“How does it look if there’s this crisis of cash that we understand, and it’s now on the public record that you spent upwards of $62,000 on your own installation ceremony as chancellor?” Kaine asked.
Still responded that he had been unaware of the cost at the time and described the expenditure as “unfortunate”.
When Kaine pressed him on who had approved the $62,000 expenditure, Still said he did not know and agreed to take the question on notice.
Greens MLC Abigail Boyd told the inquiry the ceremony was highly unusual, citing evidence given to budget estimates that such an installation had not taken place at the University of Wollongong since 1975.
Boyd also pointed to estimates evidence showing that almost $300,000 had been spent on expenses associated with the chancellor’s role over an 18-month period from January 2024.
Still said that figure came as “a great surprise”.
MWM is not suggesting that the Chancellor has engaged in any impropriety.
A playbook for cuts
Two former UOW academics who were made redundant in recent restructures gave evidence sharply critical of the university’s governance and reliance on external consultants.
Dr Adam Lucas told the inquiry the use of consultants had become a mechanism for imposing predetermined outcomes under the guise of consultation.
“The consultants provide a playbook. Executives implement the playbook. It’s a fait accompli,” Lucas said. “There’s a simulation of consultation, but it’s always with a predetermined outcome.”
Lucas argued that humanities and social science disciplines were disproportionately targeted, not because of genuine financial losses, but because they foster critical inquiry and dissent.
“There’s a real lack of transparency,” he said, adding that council business was almost entirely confidential, with minutes rarely made available to staff or the public.
Professor Fiona Probyn-Rapsey, who left UOW earlier this year under a voluntary redundancy scheme, described what she called a “uniquely bizarre and chaotic governance arrangement” in which the chancellor assumed powers normally exercised by a vice-chancellor.
“How did council and Chancellor Michael Still effectively hand over the running of a public institution to a private consultancy firm?” she asked.
Probyn-Rapsey criticised the Chancellor’s lack of background in education, recounting that in a meeting with the Chancellor she had to “draw a diagram to explain how academic workloads consist of teaching, research and administration”.
Overseas expansion amid job cuts
The inquiry also heard criticism of UOW’s overseas expansion through its subsidiary UOW Global Enterprises, which operates campuses in Dubai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and India, and recently announced plans for a campus in Saudi Arabia.
Probyn-Rapsey questioned how the expansion aligned with the university’s statutory obligation to serve the Illawarra region, particularly while cutting local jobs and programs.
“How does UOW justify spending money on a campus in Saudi Arabia and not use that money to support the public mission of the university?” she said.
The Committee heard that since Still assumed the role of Chancellor, UOW has cut more than 270 jobs and made $29 million in redundancy payments.
University response
In a statement provided to MWM, a UOW spokesperson rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing.
“The University of Wollongong rejects any suggestion of impropriety,” the spokesperson said.
“The University operates within established governance, probity and delegation frameworks and major decisions are made through documented processes with appropriate oversight.”
“It would be inappropriate to comment on speculative or unsubstantiated allegations. In relation to any questions about integrity agencies, the University does not comment on speculation and any enquiries about the existence or status of investigations should be directed to the relevant agency.”
Australian unis rob staff, splash on Big 4 consultants, hoard billions