Overview
- Alyssa White resigned on Saturday and the ICAC alleges she steered about 11 governance roles to friends or former colleagues, a claim now being tested in a three‑week public hearing.
- Dr Pei Shan (Stacy) Oon told the commission she received interview questions and helped draft a candidate exercise, and she agreed those actions significantly undermined the integrity of UOW recruitment.
- Former deputy Brenden Hooke and appointee Matthew Dawkins admitted close personal ties to White and acknowledged that her involvement and advice gave favoured candidates a material advantage.
- The inquiry heard White asked staff to change procurement timelines to distance the appointment of interim vice‑chancellor John Dewar from a tender won by KordaMentha, a firm where Dewar was a partner, and documents show the contract later expanded far beyond its initial scope.
- Witnesses described extreme workloads, a 2024 hiring freeze and use of personal Gmail for sensitive discussions as drivers of poor choices, and the ICAC is examining those workplace pressures alongside conflicts over a $79,000 consultancy to Aspirall and the KordaMentha engagement.