Budget Estimates questions asked by the independent Member for Kurrajong, Thomas Emerson MLA, have revealed that 69 public sector misconduct investigations have been stayed over the past five years due to staff who were under investigation leaving the service.
“These revelations raise serious concerns about accountability within senior ranks of the ACT Public Service," said Mr Emerson.
“Public Sector Standards Commissioner investigations play a vital role in upholding the integrity of our public institutions, and these numbers suggest it’s far too easy for those facing misconduct allegations to circumvent accountability.
“If we’ve got an average of one misconduct investigation being stayed every month due to the subject leaving the public service, clearly our integrity framework is not meeting community expectations.
“Senior government officials should not be able to make an investigation just go away by leaving the service, potentially with a golden handshake on the way out.
”This practice sends the message to public servants with the courage to call out wrongdoing that their allegations might never see the light of day.”
This comes after the former Chief Executive Officer of the Canberra Institute of Technology resigned with a $445,000 payout in the midst of serious concerns about her conduct. It remains unclear if any investigations into her alleged misconduct will be completed, and whether any findings will be made public.
“CIT staff are telling me they want to see any investigations into the former CEO continue despite her resignation,” Mr Emerson said.
“Given the nature of the allegations, it would be completely inappropriate for investigations not to reach their full conclusion.
“A senior official’s resignation should not mean they’re never held accountable – especially where concerns relate to endemic cultural issues within a public institution.
“In the wake of Operation Kingfisher, the ACT Government needs to demonstrate it has zero tolerance for inadequate accountability processes across our public sector.”
Mr Emerson has written to the CIT Board and the Public Sector Standards Commissioner requesting the continuation of any investigations underway at the time of Dr McNeill’s resignation.
MEDIA CONTACT: Will Devine | 0402 183 296 | william.devine@parliament.act.gov.au
BACKGROUND:
Under parliamentary privilege, Mr Emerson raised concerns during Estimates hearings about a former ACT Health Director General leaving the service with a payout while an alleged misconduct investigation may have been underway.
You can access the transcript from the relevant Estimates hearing here.
A response to one of Mr Emerson’s questions indicates her engagement as an SES member ceased on 4 July 2025. She had been reappointed as a Director General some time on or after 1 March 2025.
An additional QTON on this matter can be found here.
Under section 72 of the Public Sector Management Standards 2016, an SES member whose engagement is ceased must be paid the greater of 6 months of their salary or two weeks of their salary for every year of service up to a total of 44 weeks. This arrangement exists even if their engagement ends during a misconduct investigation, as long as no misconduct findings have yet been made.