A University of Wollongong (UOW) governance manager has told the NSW corruption watchdog she received extensive assistance during recruitment processes that led to her appointment.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) inquiry is examining recruitment processes at UOW.
It is also investigating allegations that chief governance officer Alyssa White subverted the recruitment process to benefit friends or associates from the University of Sydney on at least 10 occasions.
Stacy Oon, who holds a PhD in Environmental Science, told the inquiry she chose a career in university governance rather than academia, and developed a strong attachment to the close-knit governance team led by Ms White at the University of Sydney.
Stacy Oon gives evidence before the ICAC. (Supplied: ICAC)
The inquiry heard Dr Oon wanted to maintain the relationship after Ms White left the University of Sydney in 2023.
Recruitment integrity
Dr Oon agreed Ms White encouraged her to apply for the deputy chief governance officer position as a way to “get into the system”, despite viewing it as a step down from her University of Sydney role.
The inquiry heard Ms White was at the same time developing a new executive governance position using Dr Oon’s Sydney job description as a template.
After being unsuccessful for the deputy role, Dr Oon was directly appointed to the newly created senior manager executive governance position in December 2023.
The interview panel for the role included Alyssa White and then-deputy university secretary Lucinda Wright, a former University of Sydney colleague and friend.
Under questioning, Dr Oon agreed that both Ms White and Ms Wright had conflicts of interest in sitting on panels assessing her application, and accepted the integrity of the recruitment processes had been undermined.
Text messages tendered to the inquiry showed Dr Oon recognised potential perception issues before one interview, messaging Ms Wright to say “OMG you’re on my panel. Lol dinner after is probably pushing it then” followed by a laughing emoji.
Asked about the exchange, Dr Oon agreed the “optics” of the situation would not have been good.
From mentor to close friend
Dr Oon agreed she and Ms White had become close friends by 2024 after an earlier mentor-mentee relationship at the University of Sydney.
Dr Oon said discussions began in mid-2024 about creating a new associate director governance role at UOW.
The inquiry heard Dr Oon was consulted on the development of the role and likely provided input into the position description before it was approved.
Dr Oon said she corresponded with Ms White via private Gmail accounts because they knew the conversation “was not appropriate and might be flagged”.
The inquiry heard Ms White reviewed Dr Oon’s application material, provided feedback, worked with her on a pre-interview exercise for candidates and later supplied draft questions before the interview.
Dr Oon accepted that gave her a significant advantage over other candidates and agreed it “significantly undermined the integrity of the recruitment process”.
Counsel assisting the Commissioner, Emma Bathurst, suggested to Dr Oon that, “It wasn’t a fair or transparent process, you’d agree with me?”
“Yes,” Dr Oon replied.
Workload pressures revealed
Dr Oon later became emotional while explaining to Commissioner Paul Lakatos SC why she participated in conduct she now accepted was inappropriate.
She described a governance division struggling with excessive workloads, staffing shortages and repeated failed attempts to secure additional resources.
“I guess by this point there was also a sense of desperation,”
she said.
The commission heard Dr Oon rejected an initial $200,000 remuneration package as too low, with the offer increasing to $225,000 after discussions involving Ms White.
Other recruitment processes
Under further questioning, Dr Oon also admitted assisting in a series of other recruitment processes involving people known to Ms White.
She agreed Ms White drafted interview questions despite conflicts of interest, used her as an intermediary to distribute material, and that her own conduct undermined the impartiality and probity of multiple recruitment processes.
Dr Oon will continue giving evidence tomorrow.
The inquiry is set down for three weeks and is yet to examine separate allegations relating to consultancy work awarded to Aspirall Consulting International and whether conflicts of interest were properly managed.
The appointment of former interim vice-chancellor John Dewar and KordaMentha’s expanding role at the university will also be examined.
